The placebo effect

CBS news magazine 60 Minutes aired a report this past weekend about new research that’s causing something of a stir within the health care community.  The report contains an interview with psychologist Irving Kirsch, associate director of the Placebo Studies Program at Harvard Medical School, and his research calls into question whether antidepressants — used by millions of Americans today — work any better than placebos.

If you’re not familiar with the term “placebo,” here’s a basic description —

Placebos are sugar pills — actually, they’re usually made of milk powder — which doctors give to test subjects to measure the effectiveness of a drug they’re studying.  Some subjects receive the actual drug in pill form, while others are given a placebo.  The drug’s effectiveness is then measured by the different results arising from the use of the different pills.  When a subject who’s been given a placebo experiences improvement or results similar to what's expected of the drug, it’s commonly called the “placebo effect.”

Today, I’ve noticed there’s increasing attention within the health care community when it comes to the role the placebo effect has in uncovering the mental nature of health and the effect one’s thinking can have on the quality of one’s health care.  Research indicates, for example, when a patient places faith in a particular treatment and believes the treatment will do something beneficial for him — and this faith is supported by the care and attention of an attending physician — the patient can experience positive health outcomes, even when the medicine that’s supposed to effectuate the positive results is absent.

Following the 60 Minutes segment, I really enjoyed reading an article about this report by Syndicated Health Blogger Keith Wommack.  Keith is a friend and colleague from Texas who writes frequently about health and other topics.  Here are a few things he has to say in his article, “60 Minutes – Explosive – What mind can do to affect health,” and how this research ties in with the method of spiritual care offered by Christian Science:

“. . . Is this report ‘explosive?’  Yes, because 17 million Americans take antidepressants.  It puts a billion dollar pharmaceutical industry under a microscope.

And, yes, as well, because the report is quite thought provoking for those in the scientific community who have never before recognized the broad impact the mind has on physical health.  However, it is not so explosive for those who already had indications of this phenomenon. . . .

. . . A pioneer in the mind/health connection in the late 1800s, Mary Baker Eddy, confronted these questions.  Her final analysis, many feel, was also quite explosive.

. . . Eddy, years ago, experimented with differing healing methods, including homeopathy and the use of placebos.  During her research, she discovered that as medications were diluted by attenuation, patients’ improvements increased.  She recognized that the drug had no intrinsic power of its own.  The human mind was empowering the medication. Eddy’s and Kirsch’s findings seem to be similar on this point.

Yet, Eddy’s research went further.  She felt there was something missing.  And she felt that she uncovered the missing key during her own struggle with a serious physical challenge. She realized that the human mind could do marvelous things.  However, she also felt it was the cause of most pain and disease.  The real cure she said was in the spirit or mind of God (Christ) that Jesus utilized.  She discovered during her own healing that both the human mind and body are subordinate to this divine mind.

While putting into practice what she learned, Eddy became known as a Christian and mental healer.  Cures of acute, chronic, and organic disease as well as functional difficulties were documented.  She taught others to heal.  She then began calling her wholly mental and spiritual system of healing Christian Science. . . .”

These are highlights from Keith’s article.  If you’d like to read it in its entirety, you can find the article on his blog at www.christiansciencetexas.com or with other media outlets.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy the audio chat, “Let spirituality — not stimulants — renew your strength.”

Bridging the economic divide

This week's news about Occupy Wall Street indicates that with a few exceptions, most of the sit-ins and protests around the nation have winded down.  Yet, I also see public discussion is still strong about a perceived and growing "economic divide" between rich and poor in our country.

For example, a recent Pew Research Center survey titled, “Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor,” finds the increase in poverty in the United States — and the apparent inability of government policies to curb it — is leading to what many are calling a growing class conflict in society.

The survey finds, among other things, that 66% of Americans believe there are either “strong” or “very strong” conflicts between the rich and the poor.  That’s up 19 percentage points from 2009.  And 30% feel there are “very strong conflicts” between rich and poor — double the proportion in 2009 and the largest percentage holding this viewpoint since the question was first asked back in 1987.

Without question, society has grappled long and hard to alleviate the economic challenges that face large numbers of people.  Yet, when I look at the support structures in place today, it seems like more services are in operation now than ever before, — services to help feed the hungry, cure the sick, lessen poverty, and offer opportunities for education, to name a few.  Still, many acknowledge this help is only temporary at best, and poverty and economic hardship continue.

But what if support services incorporated a spiritual element in their work — an element that focuses on help and improvement not so much from a material standpoint as a mental and spiritual one?

Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, writes:

“Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered, for more than all others spiritual causation relates to human progress.”  (read more)

While the discouragement of the protesters is understandable, I feel what’s needed today by citizens, politicians, and businesses alike is less emphasis on materialism and financial gain, and greater emphasis on honesty, wisdom, and mutual support.  In the biography, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, the author quotes Mrs. Eddy as saying: “A life or a nation is saved, in proporation to the predominance within of purity, patriotism, and other right motives.”

Public services offering spiritual support can help instill these and similar values and thus uplift society as a whole.  And I think this would help bridge the so-called economic divide and ease concerns of class conflict.

If you like these ideas, you might also enjoy the Christian Science article, “No losers in the divine economy.”

Diversity in church

Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously observed that eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is “the most segregated hour” in the United States:

“We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America.  At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing [that] Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation.” (read more)

Dr. King offered these remarks nearly half a century ago.  And as we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, they lead to a timely question, — namely, How far along are we today in experiencing greater diversity in church?

A 2010 study in Sociological Inquiry is quite revealing.  It’s called “Race, Diversity, and Membership Duration in Religious Congregations,” and it finds there hasn’t been the increase in church diversity that one might expect.  In fact, according to the study, nine out of ten congregations in the United States have a single racial group that accounts for more than 80% of members. 

One of the study’s authors explains:

“Socially, we’ve become much more integrated in schools, the military and businesses. But in the places where we worship, segregation still seems to be the norm. . . . People choose churches where they feel comfortable.  Maybe they get challenged there, but they’re going for the comfort. . . . It doesn't matter whether you’re a white member of a Latino church or a black attending a white church or what the specific groups are.  If you’re the under-represented group, do you call it ‘my church’?  That feeling of ‘us’ is the key.” (read more)

Interestingly, the study finds that churches which enjoy diverse congregations share certain characteristics, such as having a diverse church leadership, a racially inclusive worship, and opportunities for membership interaction.

The topic of diversity in churches caught my attention recently when I learned January 13 – January 19 is officially “Church Diversity Week” in our state.  Church Diversity Week is a local preacher’s inspiration for encouraging and promoting unity and diversity within congregations.  (For more, see Saturday’s Oklahoman article, “Oklahoma City preacher to turn focus on church diversity.”)

In thinking about the need for and value of diversity in churches, I’ve been giving more consideration to what St. Paul says about unity in diversity in his First Epistle to the Corinthians.  He writes, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit,” and describes these gifts as wisdom and knowledge, faith and trustworthiness, healing and preaching, and so forth.  (read more)

When these spiritual qualities formed the basis of diversity in the early Christian church, the young church attracted a wide variety of members, including Jews, Gentiles, and Greeks.  For me, this offers an important lesson for today.  As modern churches reflect on how to encourage and retain diverse congregations, perhaps centering the focus first on the “spiritual gifts” mentioned in the Bible will help usher in a greater diversity of race, ethnicity, and so on, and thereby foster a genuine feeling of comfort — "that feeling of us" — in the pews.

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” (I Corinthians 12:28)

The church experience

What happens in the hearts and minds of people when they go to church? 

It's an interesting question.  And it's the subject of a new survey by the Barna Group, — a survey which sheds light on what Americans experience when they attend Christian services today.

The most notable finding is that most people (66%) say they’ve had “a real and personal connection” with God in their church experience.  This is good news, especially since this connection with God, as the survey points out, is “perhaps the most important outcome facilitated by churches.”  What’s a bit disconcerting, though, is that one-third say they’ve never felt this connection when they've attended church.

And while one-fourth of those who’ve been to services indicate their life has been changed or affected "greatly" by this attendance (another one-fourth say it's been affected "somewhat"), nearly half of those surveyed say they haven’t changed at all by going to church.  Even more, three out of five churchgoers didn’t recall having gained any significant or important new insight related to faith during their last church visit.

In commenting about these findings, the Barna Group president writes:

“This research points to both good news and causes for concern. On the positive side, many churchgoers receive a diverse and rich set of inputs by being involved in a church or parish, most notably connecting with God and others.  Yet, the research results are also a reminder that faith leaders cannot take these things for granted. Millions of active participants find their church experiences to be lacking. Entering the New Year, consider spending time thinking and praying how your faith community can identify, plan, and measure a deeper, more holistic set of experiences and outcomes so that people are not mere observers of ministry but genuine participants.” (read more) 

In looking over this survey, I'm reminded of a broadcast sermon years ago in which a preacher said, in essence, that God’s presence is known and felt in church when the congregation is at worship and its thought is alive to the Word of God.  This makes sense, and I think it might be an indicator of what's missing from the church experiences of so many today.

For me, gaining new insight in church, for example, is often the outcome of spiritual preparation before the service begins.  Just as one takes care to dress for and arrive at church on time, I feel it’s also important to mentally and prayerfully prepare for the service before the doors even open.  This approach has had an uplifting effect on my church experience over the years, and I’ve seen it elevate the whole atmosphere of a service when others in attendance come prepared as well.

The next time we set off to church, it might be worthwhile to do a little preparatory work beforehand to support us and our fellow churchgoers in seeing and enjoying more of what the service has to offer.  And maybe then, the number of people who say they feel a connection with God in their church experience will grow.

If you liked this entry, you might also enjoy “Church and community.”

New year, new opportunities

It’s the first week of 2012, and many are putting into practice their New Year’s resolutions.  According to media reports, popular goals this year are ones we’ve seen before — lose weight, eat healthier, and get in shape.  In fact, a survey by FranklinCovey finds resolutions centered on health and fitness have climbed in priority over the past decade.

Unfortunately, these resolutions don’t always last.  Another FranklinCovey survey found only 23% of people keep their pledges for the year, while 35% break them by the end of January.  One reason for this, many feel, is a lack of balance when it comes to setting goals.  Resolutions focused solely on one area, such as physical fitness, run the risk of weakening efforts to tackle other areas deserving attention, including mental fitness.

One thing I appreciate about Christian Science is that it approaches health and wellness by addressing what I like to call the "three dimensions" of healthy living — the moral, the spiritual, and the physical.  And this balanced approach can go a long way in helping us fulfill our goals for the New Year.

Here are a few tips for starters —

• Moral:  I’ve found the Ten Commandments provide a solid moral basis for healthy living.  Take ones like “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and "Thou shalt not steal."  Most would agree we wouldn’t want to condone these actions, but how many days this past year did we entertain television shows that repeatedly popularize them?  Perhaps we could begin 2012 by tuning out more of these shows and spending less time in front of the TV.  This alone can help put us on the right track to realizing our objectives.

• Spiritual:  Over the years, I’ve learned that spirituality involves something far more than religious discipline or attending church, though both are important.  It has a lot to do with how one views the world and those in it.  For me, the Beatitudes establish important guidelines to experience more spirituality in one’s life and in one's relations with others — to be "in the world, but not of it."  Developing characteristics such as “poor in spirit,” “pure in heart,” and being a “peacemaker,” for example, can elevate one’s entire outlook.  Setting aside a few moments each week to read the Sermon on the Mount can support our efforts to fulfill our resolutions.

• Physical:  Experience shows that the physical aspect of healthy living improves naturally, sometimes effortlessly, when it goes hand-in-hand with the moral and spiritual areas.  Of course, eating wisely and being active make good sense, but diet and exercise by themselves usually won’t cut it in the long run.  By grounding our actions on a moral and spiritual basis, our goals to enjoy better physical health will be more reasonable and thus more attainable.

I think these ideas, integrated in some fashion throughout the days and weeks ahead, can help each of us get a fresh start to meeting our resolutions for the New Year and to experiencing a real sense of health and fitness — morally, spiritually, and physically!

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10)