A rigorous, skeptical, deeply reported look at the new science behind
the mind's surprising ability to heal the body.
Have you ever felt a surge of adrenaline after narrowly avoiding an
accident? Salivated at the sight (or thought) of a sour lemon? Felt
turned on just from hearing your partner's voice? If so, then you've
experienced how dramatically the workings of your mind can affect your
body.
Yet while we accept that stress or anxiety can damage our health, the
idea of healing thoughts was long ago hijacked by New Age gurus and
spiritual healers. Recently, however, serious scientists from a range of
fields have been uncovering evidence that our thoughts, emotions and
beliefs can ease pain, heal wounds, fend off infection and heart disease
and even slow the progression of AIDS and some cancers.
In Cure, award-winning science writer Jo Marchant travels the world to
meet the physicians, patients and researchers on the cutting edge of
this new world of medicine. We learn how meditation protects against
depression and dementia, how social connections increase life expectancy
and how patients who feel cared for recover from surgery faster. We meet
Iraq war veterans who are using a virtual arctic world to treat their
burns and children whose ADHD is kept under control with half the normal
dose of medication. We watch as a transplant patient uses the smell of
lavender to calm his hostile immune system and an Olympic runner shaves
vital seconds off his time through mind-power alone.
Drawing on the very latest research, Marchant explores the vast
potential of the mind's ability to heal, lays out its limitations and
explains how we can make use of the findings in our own lives. With
clarity and compassion, Cure points the way towards a system of
medicine that treats us not simply as bodies but as human beings.
**A New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize
Longlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize
**
