It appears we have similar opinions about this book! Like you, I believe that there are a number of health concerns (particularly as they relate to infants) that are simply out of anyone's control. And while I don't think anyone would deny the importance of a healthy mental attitude, I agree with you that this book reaches --- a lot.

Agreed. It's one thing to have a healthy mental attitude. It's another thing to feel responsible (guilty even) for disease. Thanks for the comment.

"remember that this author will take on no responsibility for your success or failings in these teaching..." What author would? There isn't an author around that doesn't realize how important it is to protect yourself from all the lawsuits. When you publish a book most publishing houses have a legal dept that would insist upon it. Not just books either. Look at any commercial today on TV, internet, radio or newspaper. There is ALWAYS a legal disclaimer. Medications, health products, programs etc, they ALL tell you that they don't take responsibility for your actions. I am 53 yrs old & I have NEVER, ever seen any writer proclaim that if you follow their advice you'll succeed. If there weren't the courts would be overflowing with ridiculous lawsuits because people don't want to take responsibility for their actions. If you smoked cigarettes & got lung disease would it be someone else's fault? If your overweight & continue to stuff yourself would you hold the Ice cream company responsible for your diabetes or obesity? Many diseases are the results of our bad habits. It's about time people started paying attention to what the eastern cultures have known for over 5000 yrs or more. Taking pills only covers the symptoms & causes more side effects. Grant it there are viruses & infections that require a prescription. There are also some meds that are good. It's just a huge money producing racket. Do you even realize that the body heals itself in countless situations? When you break a bone, it is the body that heals it. All the Dr. does is put it in a cast or ALIGNMENT. Just like the body is supposed to be, in balance. Dis_ease is just that. There is no way the billion dollar pharmaceutics behemoth would want people to realize that over 90% of all Dr. visits are a direct result of stress. There is tons of research showing how stress causes everything from obesity, cardiac, stroke, diabetes, addictions, etc (I could be here all day) Until people realize the mind body connection they are lost. Louise has never claimed to be a Dr. or suggested anything other than her own experience. In fact I don't agree with all of her ideas but that doesn't matter. Nobody has all the answers or knows everything. If you look at the other comments here & countless other sources you would see that over 88% of the readers endorse her books. I wonder where all your anger comes from. I sure hope you find peace of mind. Namaste...

Thank you, Debi, for your comment. I am aware of the reason why the disclaimer appears and was referencing it as a tongue-in-cheek reminder that no matter what ditch Hay's advice may lead readers into, Hay will not be responsible for it. I am also aware that there are many who support and endorse Louise Hay (and even teachers that are more dubious). However, this does not change the fact that her teachings are useless and, in my opinion, incredibly harmful. They encourage people to believe that their illnesses (and everything) stem from their own thoughts (and can be cured by such). I am all about taking responsibility, but the sort of self-responsibility that Louise Hay and those like her endorse is absurd and scientifically unfounded. It also leads to a delusional victim-blaming that is disgusting. I cannot even begin to condemn the ridiculous wild goose-chase that Hay's material sends people on by having them analyze their thoughts and diligently work day by day with affirmations and such to improve their day. I think it is horrifying that she encourages sick people to dig up their past traumas and "clean them up." There is no evidence that this works. And in fact, I think there is more psychological damage done by people trying to urgently bring themselves to a "positive" place when they are amidst a very serious illness. Studies are even showing that positive thinking is not all these sorts of authors have tried to convince people it is. John W. Lee and W.Q. Elaine Perunovic's study found that people with low-self esteem actually received no benefit from their positive affirmations. And Coyne and Tennen's study showed that there was no correlation between positive thinking and treated cancer patients' recovery.

Furthermore, I am not impressed that Hay used early HIV victims as her audience. These people were desperate for answers and turned to those like her because no one else had answers. One would think that if there were any validity to Hay's claims, we would have all these HIV patients from her early days touting their medically verified cures. Alas, as one would expect, her methods still fall under the category of pseudoscience and the only verification we get for them are anecdotes and testimonials (which even outed charlatans have had to endorse them). I think authors like this should be appropriately criticized and mocked as frequently as possible because their words are not answers. They are garbage.

Like I said I wish you well. No evidence that it works? There are millions of people worldwide that are using Holistic & Alternative Therapies with documented successes. Entire cultures including the Chinese, Indian, Japanese plus countless others who have practiced what we call alternative Medicine for over 5500 years! Even in the US we have multiple therapies replacing the pill pushers with fantastic results. Where have you been? So many people are having really good results with holistic therapies that I simply would be foolish to ignore them. I was the biggest skeptic going myself, my arrogance cost me years of pain. I had over 25 yrs of Traumatic PTSD related nightmares,flashbacks. As a Disabled Veteran I tried everything the VA had, including the addictive pills. Nothing helped. A little over 3 yrs ago I read something on the Internet about EFT. I won't give you the whole story as obviously you have no interest. I can tell you that since having learned EFT with about 9 other Veterans I came home and have never had a nightmare or anxiety attack ever since. I no longer have to take any medications for depression either. They even filmed a documentary about our successes. Every single Veteran that participated had improvements. Everything was documented (as any study should be) In fact we still have had to keep filling out all kinds of paperwork every six months because we where part of a study. In Washington DC the movie has won awards within the Vets movement. With so many Vets coming home with PTSD, committing suicide it has been horrible. So I say if it works, does it matter what skeptics claim? The only thing that saddens me is the years lost because of my arrogance. Had I been opened minded years before, I can only imagine the possibilities.
In my Dads lifetime when he was a child his father used to put him down for believing in comic books. Told him he was just a dreamer, didn't want to here anything about sending rocket ships to the moon. It would never happen, just as you put down people who have had incredible changes in their lives.

Hey again, Debi. Yes, I am aware of the anecdotal evidence that people use to support alternative therapies. However, the reason they are classified as alternative is because there is nothing to show that they can do what they claim to be able to do. In the study you discuss, I would ask: was it a double blind study? What was the control group? How did they establish success/failure in the study? Where was it published? Was a placebo used? I have seen so much pseudoscience attempt to validate their authenticity through dubious studies that are, in essence, incredibly unscientific. In fact, most of the studies I have seen that cover alternative therapies have been handled very unethically by those doing the testing. I understand if you feel there has been some value to EFT, but feeling something has been of value is not a scientific study. People have felt wonderful results from self-admitted frauds. Even homeopathy, which has been exposed as absurd plenty of times, continues to have strong followers despite any scientific evidence of it's success. The "success" that most of these therapies achieve can be given (not to EFT or other psuedosciences) but to the power of the placebo effect (which cannot cure cancer or HIV and numerous other ailments).

I agree that if it works, it doesn't matter what the skeptics say. However, I will emphasize once again: my problem is that there is no proof that they work. And I never said anything against people dreaming. I think dreaming is a great thing. But even if you really like Harry Potter and it changes your life, it's not going to cure HIV and cancer. If anyone claimed it did, I would be more than willing to express my critical perspective.

No Proof? I' LMAO 'anecdotal evidence' You must be living in a cave or so desperately fearful that you remind me of a child who puts their hands over there ears while they throw a tantrum "I don't care what you say I can't hear YOU" How out of touch are you? I can be bothered enough to direct you to 1 website that lists years of documented studies, research world wide I couldn't possibly fit their findings in one page. I couldn't believe you actually said this..."In fact, most of the studies I have seen that cover alternative therapies have been handled very unethically by those doing the testing." Are you for real? One would have to be living with their head stuck in the sand not to realize where the rest of the world stands as far as Complementary Therapies. Even in the US which is sadly lacking on the issue of Healthcare we have an agency, perhaps you've heard of them, "The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine"? Its part of Health and Human services, listed under Government Agencies. You keep using the word pseudoscience, I'm laughing because the last time I heard it used was by my 88 year old grandmother who didn't get out much either. Just this past Tuesday perhaps you missed this press release:
................................................... "National Institute of Health... Launches Web Resource on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Evidence-Based Information for Health Care Providers A new online resource, designed to give health care providers easy access to evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), was unveiled today by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health.

With this new resource, providers will have the tools necessary to learn about the various CAM practices and products and be better able to discuss the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine with their patients.

The portal on the NCCAM Web site at nccam.nih.gov is tailored to fit the needs of all health care providers, including physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and CAM providers. It includes information on the safety and efficacy of a range of common health practices that lie outside of mainstream medicine—natural products, such as dietary supplements, herbs, and probiotics, as well as mind-body practices such as meditation, chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage.

This resource was developed based on a series of NCCAM-sponsored focus groups where health care providers identified the need for an evidence-based, one-stop place to help answer their patients’ questions on CAM. With this need in mind, NCCAM developed a resource that provides reliable, objective, and evidenced-based information on CAM, including ETC, ETC
One could not fit all the research results listed on just one website, EFT Universe.Heres their link http://www.eftuniverse.com/index.php?... Between Scientific studies,worldwide research, heres just a tip of the iceberg....
"Psychological Trauma in Veterans using EFT: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Single session reduction of the intensity of traumatic memories in abused adolescents: A randomized controlled trial
Psychological Symptom Change in Veterans After Six Sessions of Emotional freedom Techniques (EFT): An Observational Study
The Treatment of Combat Trauma in Veterans Using EFT
Neurophysiological Indicators of EFT Treatment Of Post-Traumatic Stress
Six Trauma Imprints Treated with Combination Intervention: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) or EFT
Studies Presented at Professional Conferences

The Neurological Foundations of Energy Psychology: Brain Scan Changes During 4 Weeks of Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Critical Incident Recall and Sport Confidence Changes After a Brief EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Intervention
Pain and Mental Health Symptoms after PTSD Remediation in Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of EFT on Psychological Symptoms in Addiction Treatment
World Trade Center Tower 2 Survivor: EP Treatment of Long-term PTSD: A Case Study
The Effect of EFT on Psychological Symptoms: A Limited Replication of Rowe
Measuring Physiological Markers of Emotional Trauma: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mind-Body Therapies...
Welcome to 2011!

Hey Debi, thanks for this discussion.

I am aware of the NCCAM. These were the sorts of researchers I was referring to when I was discussing the unethical handling of studies. NCCAM helped Elisabeth Targ with her study on the power of prayer in healing. It very well could have become one of the best studies on the subject had Ms. Targ not decided to re-blind the study and unethically handled her data when she did not find the results she wanted (it has now been thoroughly discredited).

It comes as no surprise to me that the EFT study you cited had no group using a placebo. Let me first state the necessity of using a placebo in these sorts of studies. As I'm sure you are aware, the placebo effect is what happens when you give a person a sugar pill and another a real pill and the person on the placebo receives the same benefit as the person on the real pill. It's the person's belief in the sugar pill that makes the difference (not the pill itself). The placebo effect is known for being very powerful in treating certain ailments (i.e. depression, pain, etc) but certainly has not been shown to cure things like cancer or AIDs.

A placebo is used in studies that test a particular medicine or treatment to show if the results are coming from the specific treatment/medicine or if they are coming from the placebo effect. People commonly use alternative therapies and find benefit--not because of the validity of the "therapy"--but because of their belief in the "therapy." We could just as easily give them a sugar pill and find the same results. It's essential to use a placebo group when testing a treatment/medicine so that we know whether or not the benefit is coming from the placebo effect or from the specific treatment. Robert Park, author of VOODOO SCIENCE, says of the placebo effect, "Once we are convinced of the healing power of a doctor or a treatment, something very remarkable happens: a sham treatment induces real biological improvement. This is the placebo effect. Healers have relied on the placebo effect for thousands of years, but until recently, it was usually referred to as the "mysterious" placebo effect. Scientists, however, are beginning to understand the complex interaction of the brain and the endocrine system that gives rise to the placebo effect." (But this effect is limited and cannot produce the sort of results that Hay and others like her claim they can.)

In all of the cases you cited, I noticed that no placebo group was used. Instead, the control group had "no treatment," so most unsurprisingly they had results compared to the untreated control group. A study on alternative medicine that shows statistically significant results compared to no treatment is not the same thing as a study that shows statistical significance with a placebo. It's no surprise that it would do better than no treatment, but as I said, many people also get benefit from placebos, which is why researchers have to test placebos against any form of treatment.

Since you brought up the studies (and I appreciate that, because very few people do), I will point out their flaws:

In "Critical Incident Recall and Sport Confidence Changes After a Brief EFT," the results could very well have come from players getting better with practice and no placebo group was used.

"Pain and Mental Health Symptoms after PTSD Remediation in Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Trial" did not use a placebo group.

"The Effect of EFT on Psychological Symptoms in Addiction Treatment" takes itself out in its own conclusion: "This study is limited by the small sample size, lack of a control group, and exploratory nature." Interestingly enough, it also was testing for things that placebos are supposed to be very effective on (i.e. depression, pain, etc).

"World Trade Center Tower 2 Survivor: EP Treatment of Long-term PTSD: A Case Study" is, by it's own admission, a case study. Case studies are notoriously bad for the generalizations that come from them. The reality is: a person can't make any scientific claims based on a case study (because of its limited nature). In this case study (as with most case studies), no placebo was used on another survivor to determine if the results could have just as easily been found there.

"The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on Psychological Symptoms: A Limited Replication" admits the small-scale nature of its study. No placebo group used.

And finally "Measuring Physiological Markers of Emotional Trauma: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Mind-Body Therapies." Another study that reveals that if you don't have a placebo group, then you get great results. No placebo was used. The control group was receiving "no treatment."

Again, I want to stress the importance of using a placebo as the control in any study on the effectiveness of any treatment/medicine. The studies you cited could be great studies on the effectiveness of the placebo effect, but they do not validate the methods they are testing. It doesn't surprise me that no placebo was used in them, however. If they had been, I'm confident they would have found that their was no statistical significance between the placebo group and the treated group. In fact, I'm sure that is why the studies were conducted as they were. There are other problems to some of them. For instance, many cited themselves as small-scale studies.

To look at a more critical study of EFT, in "Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear," a placebo was used and it was revealed that the EFT and placebo group both received positive results (but EFT was no better than the placebo).

So, in response to your comment, I would like to say that I have not had my "head stuck in the sand." Instead, I have been expecting researchers to provide ethical and scientific studies in support of their treatments/therapies. In conclusion, I would like to refer to a quote from Kimball C Atwood from "The Ongoing Problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:" "After more than ten years and $200 million, OAM/NCCAM-sponsored research has not demonstrated efficacy for any CAM method, nor has the Center informed the public that any method is useless (Green 2001). It continues to fund and promote pseudoscience. It continues to be influenced by powerful ideologues."

You know what, HAVE A NICE DAY! look for somebody else to argue with because there is no end to your type. You can choose to be miserable all you want, blame others for your problems etc. I don't have the time, nor the desire to be involved in such ridiculous babble. It is quite obvious you invest more time in arguing with someone who has tried to explain to you several times. I & HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of OTHERS have used EFT now with POSITIVE RESULTS. You don't have to educate me on placebo theories. In order for a placebo to work you need to involve belief systems & there is verbal communication as well. Since animals can't speak to us when EFT is used with them there are no words exchanged. No psycho babble only positive results where the animal is much more comfortable, calmed down & much happier. At PEACE, something you will never understand because your too busy looking for arguments. So please don't go on with your pseudoscience babble, save your time & efforts. I have no interest in playing your games. I don't care why something works, as long as it does. I don't need to understand why a plane can be streaming through the sky,flying high overhead. Don't need an education in aerodynamics to go on a flight.
There is a filter mechanism in the human brain called The Reticular Activation System. Since we are bombarded with millions of pieces of information on a continual basis, we filter out over 99 % of it. That way we 'see what we are looking for'! I'll simplify this. Those that go around looking for negativity will always find it to support their miserable existence. This is why my friends & I surround ourselves with positive, like minded individuals. Namaste!

A lot of EFT people try to bring up this inability for the placebo effect to work on animals as if it means something. Classic conditioning is actually what is occurring with the supposed placebo effect/alternative therapies on animals. Also, a lot of this has to do with the subjective nature of determining the results in animals (more so than objective tests that would show no benefit).

I understand that since you have found benefit in this that you want to continue to pursue it. Many find benefit in things that don't work outside of the placebo effect. That's fine. But it is irresponsible and unethical for people to purport that there is more to these pseudosciences than just...the placebo effect.

And I've heard of this idea of people finding negativity where they look for it, but as a skeptical person, I have actually--many times--been pleasantly surprised when I have found something that stood up to my scientific analysis. For instance, I have yet to find holes in probability and evolution, despite my initial skepticism to both. Evidence against them did not magically appear for me as I looked at them critically.

But I do appreciate your willingness to discuss this with me. I appreciate your info, but I'll stick to scientific facts.

Debi is very unstable and angry... looks like she needs to read this book again.

Poor Debi. for a discussion to become violent it takes violent people and reactions, you have created that. Thank you both for providing specific cases/experiments.. very interesting.

Everything in life..from Music to Religion to Food, etc..The reason for variety, is because ONE thing doesn't fit the needs/likes of ALL. For the people who relate with Ms.Hay & the Hay House Affiliates..good for them. If their "ways" do not suit you..don't waste time/energy insulting it..It does work for many people! Put your energy on finding what DOES work for you. Have you found it? If so, then good for you! Let us all celebrate what works for ourselves..and not insult what we THINK is rubbish, just because it doesn't work for us..PEACE