The Power of a Doctors Words
January 22nd, 2007Most of us have a great deal of respect for doctors and therefore we place an enormous amount of trust in a doctor’s word. I can say that in most cases I certainly do but not in all cases. Although I believe most doctors do have their patients best interests as their highest priority, it is important to understand that a doctor is not impervious to the same problems we all face in life. Doctors are still susceptible to relationship problems, money problems, drug problems and any other problems we may encounter as individuals. I thought long and hard before writing this article since this particular topic has been a particular concern of mine for quite some time. I realize I might upset some people by addressing this sensitive issue although that is not my intent, however, I am also aware that many will agree with me. Frankly, the real reason I am writing this article is because I believe this is an extremely important social issue that effects us, our friends and our families either directly or indirectly at some stage in all our lives.
Doctors in general are considered by the majority of the population to be pillars of human decency and are looked upon, deservedly in many cases, with admiration. We have all heard the stories about doctors being caught up in scandal, illegally dealing drugs through their position of power and taking advantage of the sick. Although this does happen on occasion, I believe these incidences are in the minority and most doctors would never breach the doctor’s code of ethics or confidence. However, although doctors are in the business of helping the sick, they are also in the business of making money and when people are sick, doctors are making money, just like drug companies thrive on sick people buying medicine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making money but a doctor treads a very fine line when making decisions with the lives he is entrusted to serve for the highest good and he also has a tremendous amount of power through the words he or she speaks when evaluating the health and making a judgment on the treatment of an individual. Let me explain more precisely what I mean.
I am a huge advocate of the tremendous power of the subconscious mind and have spent a lot of my time researching information related to this topic. Through my research I have come to the conclusion as have millions of others that the subconscious mind is easily impregnated with new beliefs and as a new belief enters and is accepted by the subconscious, it begins to work towards executing that belief immediately, there is no set time frame as to how long this process will take, it depends on the individual. The mind works towards bringing these new beliefs to fruition in many amazing ways. Whether you are aware of it or not, your subconscious mind is the most powerful life tool you have at your disposal and when your mind accepts a new idea it will stop at nothing to make it so. So how is this related to what a doctor says to you? When you go to a doctor with a problem, you are going for two main reasons, firstly, you need help to overcome or deal with some health related condition and secondly, you go to see the doctor because you BELIEVE he can help you. If you didn’t believe or trust in him you wouldn’t be going to see him. This is the exact reason why his words have so much power over you, in the majority of cases, you have already placed your trust in him and are prepared to believe what he tells you before he even utters a single word. This all comes back to the astonishing power of suggestion.
Even though you may not initially believe what your doctor tells you, the very fact he made mention of a potential condition you had previously never considered you may be at risk of, he has planted a seed in your subconscious that has the ability to germinate if you spend your time giving it thought, worrying about it or eventually believing it. The point I’m trying to express in this article is that doctors have this incredible power of suggestion at their disposal and the use of this power by some doctors is not only unprofessional but despicable when they make assumptions or come to conclusions before any results have been proven through the necessary tests.
Studies have shown that doctors with a positive and comforting bedside manner almost never get sued by patients, no matter what the outcome of the treatment or from the surgical operations performed on their patients even when the doctor may have been negligent. Doctors with poor bedside manner and those willing to “jump the gun” so to speak by trying to instill fear in their patients before any definite results are in hand, regularly get sued by their patients. Let me give you some examples to specify exactly what I mean.
The dinner is ready so you go out into your back yard and call your young daughter to come inside to eat her dinner but realize she is not there. Panicking, you comb the entire house and neighborhood looking for your daughter but cannot find her. Within hours you head to your local police station and report your daughter missing. After providing details to the police officer in charge, he makes an early assessment of the situation and says to you “I can’t say for sure but your daughter might be dead”. Now the truth is, this would rarely ever be the response from the police officer in charge, he would most likely say something like this “please be calm, we are going to help you and make finding your daughter our number one priority”. Now if we analyze this example and look at all the possibilities, there is in fact a possibility that the daughter could be dead. But would a police officer bring this possibility up before an investigation has begun? I’d say probably not and I believe most people would agree with me on this point. If this did happen the family involved would go “nuts”, there is no way they would stand for such a response from the police officer and no doubt they would report him to the relevant authorities and rightly so.
Now let’s step in to the doctor’s office. You have been feeling slightly ill with what you feel is only a minor problem but after a few days and having discussed the condition with your wife you decide the best thing to do is visit your local doctor and talk to him about it. You meet with your doctor and tell him what it is that seems to be bothering you and his initial response is “we will need to run some tests but I want you to know it could be cancer”. On hearing this you immediately fear the worst. What you had considered to be only a minor problem has just blown out into a potential life threatening condition. Without running any tests and having no solid evidence to suggest there is any cancer present in your body, your doctor has just planted a seed in your conscious mind that if given enough thought, could become a belief in your subconscious mind and in time actually manifest cancer in your body. Now what a proficient doctor would tell you when you asked for his advice would be something like this “your condition could be caused by a number things and we won’t know for sure until we get back the results of your tests”.
So when comparing the 2 examples I have just mentioned, the one with the police officer and the one with the doctor, are they really any different? I don’t think so and I should mention that the second example is a true story which happened last year to a member of my family. On hearing that he could have cancer he was predictably distressed and when he went home and told his wife she broke down in tears. When they made the return visit to see the doctor a few days later together, the condition seemed to have disappeared. Without showing any emotion, the doctor explained that in fact the condition was only minor and there was no cause for concern, apparently oblivious to the pain and anguish he had already inflicted with his previous unprofessional conduct. Of course they were both relieved to hear that there was no cancer but the doctor had no right, just as the police officer has no right to jump to his own gratuitous conclusions. If this person did have cancer, well then the doctor would obviously need to inform his patient and then take the necessary steps, but not before. Even though there was no cancer in this case, a cancerous seed of uncertainty has already been planted in the patient’s head which has the potential to germinate.
Just recently I heard about a friend who had a minor problem with one of her eyes, she went to see the doctor who promptly informed her with this initial response, once again before performing any tests “I don’t know what is causing the problem with your eye but it could be from a tumor inside your head”. I don’t need to tell you that she was obviously distraught on hearing this news. Once again this is another example of a doctor using his powerful words improperly and once again there was no tumor, the condition had been caused by a burst blood vessel which in this case was only minor.
This is a topic of great personal concern to me since I have a passion for exploring the power of the subconscious mind and I understand how easily it is to plant vicious and unhealthy seeds of thought into a persons mind. A doctor’s power of suggestion would most commonly supersede other members of the community and it’s because of this I wrote the article. I’m not anti-doctor, I have a great deal of respect for good doctors, from ground breaking pioneers to equally important general practitioners. If you go into a doctor’s surgery with a problem and ask the doctor if it’s cancerous or life threatening, well then the ball is in your court and you, not the doctor, are responsible for whatever bad news he may give you before any results are in.
I understand that not all conditions can be diagnosed even after tests have been done and in those cases perhaps your doctor needs to inform you of all the possibilities. However, if your doctor tries to inflict you with an early death sentence without having performed any tests or without any concrete proof and you feel this is a violation, tell him, I certainly would. Perhaps he does this all the time and people just accept it as being ok because he’s a doctor. It’s not ok and you should be treated with his paramount professional care, you not only deserve it, you are paying for it.
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January 23rd, 2007 at 2:09 am
Hey there buddy! This is an awesome site you have here… a true treasure trove of pearls of wisdom. I think synchronicity is happening big time! What you have just written about doctors was also mentioned either in the book I just gave you, The Holographic Universe, or the one I’m going to give you next called The Field (I forget which one). Anyways, it cites an real life situation in which a pharmaceutical company gave placebos to a doctor by mistake and who, in turn, gave it to the patient. Since both the patient and the doctor “believed” the medicine to be legit, they actually got better!!! However, when the company finally informed the doctor who then informed the patient, he regressed back into the sickness! Imagine that! The belief system we hold in our minds is truly amazing…Anywayz, see you this thursday for legs….cheers mate!
January 23rd, 2007 at 5:20 am
I liked your posting. I agree the human mind can be led down a track by the power of suggestion and its important to be alert and assertive and not simply accept one diagnosis. If you’re concerned or skeptival, its common practice to seek additional professional opinions. You aren’t forced to accept the view of one physician. You may be interested in books written by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. She was a psychiatrist and specialist in death and dying. She often wrote about the power of mindset, support and understanding to sooth and calm the terminally ill. She also spoke about effects of fear and lack of medical compassion. Bernie Siegel’s books would also likely interest you such as “Love, Medicine & Miracles.” He and Deepak Chopra speak freely about the power of the mind to help facilitate or hinder healing.
February 3rd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
[…] John Hill has provided us with a disturbing recount of a story that is happening all too frequently in medical offices throughout the land these days. Please read: The Power of a Doctor’s Words posted at Universe Of Success. Thanks, John, for addressing this important issue so thoughtfully. […]