“Just as thoughts are the language of the brain, feelings are the language of the body. And how you think and how you feel create a state of being. A state of being is when your mind and body are working together. So your present state of being is your genuine mind-body connection.”
― Joe Dispenza, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter
State-of-being refers to the overall physical condition of a person. As a healthcare professional I have spent a good portion of my adult life explaining to people their “state-of-being” as it relates to their diagnosis. Case and point, if you have been around my content for awhile, you might be pretty good at telling me about your “state-of-being”. If I have done my job, you can tell me about your neurologic injury and maybe go so far as to link that to how your physical being shows up in everyday life.
I receive emails on a regular basis from people explaining back to me just how well they know their “state-of-being”. “I am a stroke survivor who has hemiplegia (one sided weakness) due to the damaged neurons in my brain”. So, I guess I should pat myself on the back. I have done my job. However, I can’t say with confidence or any amount of certainty that I have done my job well. In fact, I might go so far as to say I haven’t…..
You see, medical explanations are great. And medical terminology is necessary to ensure medical professionals can communicate with one another. “Medical explanations” are necessary to develop a hypothesis for scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is a necessary process to test potential interventions that might “cure” said suboptimal “state-of-being”. So medical terminology and medical explanations are good and necessary. But are they necessary for you?
Joe Despenza reveals the power of the mind in his book You Are The Placebo. Joe explains placebos and nocebos. These are two phenomena that demonstrate the impact of the mind on our physical state-of-being. A placebo effect is when someone receives a medication with no therapeutic effect (sugar pill), yet believe it has a therapeutic effect. And, as a result, their state-of-being will respond positively. On the other hand, a nocebo effect is a phenomena where the opposite occurs. Someone receives a medication with no therapeutic effect (sugar pill) yet believe the medication is harmful. In this case their state-of-being will respond negatively.
There is no dispute that placebo and nocebo effects exist. In fact, many scientific studies will include a “placebo group” when determining the effectiveness of a medical intervention.
So, if there is no dispute that the mind is intimately connected to the body, to what extent might this occur after a neurologic injury?
I am torn. Yes, “knowledge is power”. And yes, “awareness can be a catalyst for behavior change”. But when is it too much? When can knowledge of your condition negatively impact your physical state-of-being? In other words, is it possible that a “diagnosis” can become a stumbling block in neurologic recovery?
Francesco Pagnini explains this potential problem where he links one’s belief on “illness perception” and the impact on our physical state-of-being.
In Pagnini’s words, “In fact, every individual with a medical condition develops a certain mindset toward the illness, with expectations that spontaneously emerge. These expectations, which represent the result of the elaboration process of the information collected about the disease, can promote different physiological effects.”
In other words, one’s perception of their illness and illness expectations will impact the physical manifestations of the illness.
But the work and thoughts of Pagini and Mr. Despenza continues…..Personality also impacts our state-of-being.
Per Mr. Despenza’s work, optimists might have a more favorable outcome when compared to a “pessimist” with the same condition. In other words, “expecting the best possible outcome” (the optimist) has it’s advantages.
Similarly, Pagnini shares compelling evidence that spirituality can also impact one’s physical state-of-being.
Pagnini’s continues with the impact of “rigid thinking” on one’s physical state. Pagini defines rigidity as an “inability to maintain a dynamic view of one’s status”.
So, what does all of this mean? Language matters. Who you listen to matters. What you say matters. What you choose to focus on matters.
For some, there is a point when “knowledge ISN’T power”.
“I am a stroke survivor who has hemiplegia due to the damage in my brain”
For others, our language matters.
“I have a traumatic brain injury”
“I have lesions in my brain”
“I had a massive stroke”
Or, worse…..
“I am crippled”…etc. etc…
How we identify matters.
“I am an MS warrior”
“I am a stroke survivor”
“I am a young stroke survivor”
“I am a traumatic brain injury survivor”
What do you believe about your condition? How do your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs impact your “illness expectations”? What thoughts, language, feelings, and/or beliefs can you add or remove to harness the power of the placebo?
“What we’re conditioned to believe about ourselves, and what we’re programmed to think other people think about us, affects our performance, including how successful we are.” – Joe Despenza, from his book You Are The Placebo
Like your “musings”. Yup. I feel broken” and want to “fix” things so I’m whole again. I need to rephrase and reframe my terminology. I’m a WIP (work in progress).
I love it! I just might have to borrow that for myself 🙂
I’m a stroke survivor that has always been optimistic. Until now.,it’s been 3 1/2 years and getting tired of recovering at a snail’s pace. I was a hardcore runner having exceled in running over 100 races in about a 15 year span. Loved being super fit at 69 until all hell broke loose! Working with a young therapist 4 days a week helps tremendously.,Basically feel like neoroplasticty is kind of a hoax.
DOC;
On a daily basis i am asked”how are you? I respond with ; thank you for asking, but i will spare you the involved details and I continue with
“I am eternally ‘hopeful, I’m patient and I’m thankful!! I depart with “enjoy the remainder of your day and “cherish every step”. And, I continue to write:
IT IS SO EASY TO GIVE UP; REMEMBER WE ALMOST DIED TO BE HERE;
OHNO!!
DON’T GO;
You seem low
Why so?
The sun so high
Death is not nigh
So don’t die !!
The birds’ cry,
Floats by
On the fly
Calling all;
To drink
Her call
So don’t fall
And languish in the pall
rise up;
Sip FROM your cup
“ it’s FULL “
Grip the pull;
From the gift of “FEEL”
It Is part of the real!
THE SEAL Of the deal;
Above, the surreal,
Draws us to bathe in the light;
To power the foolish feeble fight
Through the dreamy night
Filled with scenic voices. drifting inward from out of sight
From a distant height
Come obscure messages Packed with
Mangled mysterious meanings in a secretive celestial tongue
With the songs your angels have sung
Keep the faith brother, AND sistersThe world hungers
For your wonder
GTC 2023
Thanks for sharing your gift with this community!
oh no! I think I did not see this comment because I did not respond! I always love your words and your encouragement! Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks for caring and sharing
“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life,the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need.’ It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment–not discouragement–you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow. “Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.” —(Joseph Campbell)
I am a 53 year old stroke survivor(14 years ago stroke). Despite significant remaining left-side weaknesses, I am thankful I have thus far enjoyed a considerable recovery. I have 2 go-to optimistic responses when people ask about my stroke & how I am doing:.
1) “I believe there are better days ahead, but there is nothing wrong with where I am RIGHT NOW”
2) “I can do most everything I need to do and many things I want to do, even if I can’t do them in the manner I want to, YET.”
Yes! Please keep shouting this from the roof top! The framing, mindset, outlook are spot on. Keep going! And YES the only direction you are going is up!
Well joe thanks for the response; so I guess the good doctor wants us to share; so here is a blessing from native Americans that I routinely pass out; to those i meet on my journey
May the sun bring you new energy by day,
may the moon softly restore you by night,
may the rain wash away your worries,
may the breeze blow new strength into your being,
may you walk gently through the world and know it’s beauty all the days of your life.
After the stroke I had no mental problems and I found Joe’s books, I read them all except the last one. I was interested in the approach and thinking outside the box. I studied and worked in electrical engineering all my life, while Joe studied medicine. I started with biology, physiology, neurology and myology for physiotherapists. All of this was helpful, Tara’s videos with explanations and exercises helped me the most. Other articles on nutrition, behavior, and motivation are valuable help and supplements to the exercises. Every time I look again I notice some new detail. Thanks Tara for the valuable tips, keep it up.
Thank you for always being so kind and sharing such valuable tips with this community! You are appreciated beyond words
Enjoyed a lot. Want my son to receive it too..