Counterclockwise is, easily and and hands down, one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Did you finish it?? SO GOOD RIGHT?!
And just like last time, there are a million ideas and phrases and studies that I want to pull out . . . so much juicy brain food in here! But I’ll do my best to narrow it down.
So let’s talk!
1. Chapter 6 was by far my favorite, as I am absolutely fascinated with the concept of placebos and their undeniable efficacy in so many situations. If a remedy is successful, does it even matter whether it “should” work or not (like homeopathy, for example?) Is believing in something enough? What if you believe in placebos, but not in the specific treatment itself – could it work then? (like me and homeopathy) How much of Western medicine is actually placebo???
I’m curious, what do you think of placebos? Insulting to medical science, or important to whole-body healing?
2. I found Langer’s work on “priming” to be especially relevant as well. One study that really struck me focused on Asian women: half the group was primed for gender, while the other half was primed for race (they were all *Asian women*). They were both given the same math test, and those who had been primed for race significantly outperformed those who were primed for gender. (Presumably, because “Asians are good at math” and “women are bad at math”.)
This, of course, got me thinking about my own life. How are we each “primed” by the world around us, every day? How does our own internal voice “prime” our experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
3. The hotel maid study. WOW. Maids were asked how often they exercise, and were given a number of tests to measure their health. The vast majority reported that they never/rarely exercise, and for the most part their bodies reflected this. Then, half of the group was given a demonstration that taught them how the work they do all day, every day, is actually exercise! Vacuuming burns this many calories, making a bed uses these muscles, etc. A month later the researchers returned and measured both groups. Of course, the ones who had been educated regarding exercise, had totally lost weight, although nothing else about their lifestyle had changed. Amazing.
A few weeks back I told Damian about this study. Then, two nights ago he was getting undressed for bed, and I was like “Damn babe! You look GOOD!” He told me that every day on his bike commute, he has been practicing mindfulness, and thinking abou the ride as exercise instead of transportation. He’s especially been holding the thought of how biking works his upper body.
Swear to god, he is getting CUT! So what do you think of that?
4. Langer talks about the idea that in any given situation, the outlier is not an anomaly – it is the main event! Outliers indicate possibility. For example, if one chimp can learn to talk, then it follows that –> chimps can learn to talk. If just one person can recover from this “incurable” disease, then it follows that –> the disease is actually curable.
As well, we simply cannot be sure that anything is impossible. For example, we don’t know that humans can’t fly; we only know that no human has flown . . . yet. What a radical, beautiful way of seeing the world! Or is it? Do you think that there is a practical application here?
5. Labels. Another WOW. Why is it that we “cure” a cold, but that our cancer is “in remission”. Right?! I was blown away by the study that tracked breast cancer survivors. The women who described their cancer as being “in remission” were significantly more likely to have it return, as opposed to women who had described themselves as “cured”. Again – WOW.
What are some of the labels that you consciously or subconsciously place on yourself and your health? How do you think they’re affecting you?
There’s so much more, but we’ll start there. Feel free to add anything else that caught your interest!