The World of Religions No. 54 – July/August 2012 —
An increasing number of scientific studies demonstrate the correlation between faith and healing and confirm observations made since the dawn of time: the thinking animal that is man has a different relationship to life, to illness, to death, depending on the state of trust in which he finds himself. From trust in oneself, in one's therapist, in science, in God, passing through the paths of the placebo effect, arises a crucial question: does believing help to heal? What are the influences of the mind – through prayer or meditation, for example – on the healing process? What importance can the doctor's own convictions have in his relationship of care and assistance to the patient? These important questions shed new light on the essential questions: what is illness? What does "healing" mean?
Healing is always ultimately self-healing: it is the body and mind of the patient that produce the healing. It is through cellular regeneration that the body regains a balance it had lost. It is often useful, even necessary, to help the sick body through therapeutic action and the absorption of medication. But these only help the patient's self-healing process. The psychological dimension, faith, morale, and the relational environment also play a determining role in this healing process. It is therefore the whole person who is mobilized to heal. The balance of the body and the psyche cannot be restored without a true commitment from the patient to regain health, without confidence in the care provided and possibly, for some, a confidence in life in general or in a benevolent higher force that helps them. Likewise, sometimes, a cure, that is to say a return to balance, cannot be achieved without there also being a change in the patient's environment: his rhythm and lifestyle, his diet, his way of breathing or treating his body, his emotional, friendly, professional relationships. Because many illnesses are the local symptom of a more global imbalance in the patient's life. If the patient does not become aware of this, he will go from illness to illness, or will suffer from chronic illnesses, depression, etc.
What the paths to healing teach us is that we cannot treat a human being like a machine. We cannot treat a person like we repair a bicycle, by changing a bent wheel or a flat tire. It is the social, emotional, and spiritual dimension of man that is expressed in illness, and it is this global dimension that must be taken into account when treating him. As long as we have not truly integrated this, there is a chance that France will remain the world champion in the consumption of anxiolytics, antidepressants, and in its social security deficit for a long time to come.