Jun 24 2020 6 mins
Can a belief kill you? Can something as intangible and ephemeral as a belief, thought or attitude kill you?
Well, yes they can - and they do kill millions of people every year.
Most deaths from illness are caused by beliefs. The belief that smoking, drinking too much, eating junk food and not taking exercise only damages the health of other people.
These are all pretty obvious examples of beliefs leading to poor lifestyle choices with predictable consequences. What about something less obvious. For example, how could holding the belief that stress is bad for your health, possibly harm you?
A study carried out in the US in 2012, asked 30,000 people the questions "How much stress have you experienced in the last year?" And, "Do you believe that stress is harmful for your health?"
The researchers then tracked them for eight years, and at the end of the study they used public death records to find out who died...
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaeldrayton.substack.com