The Mind/Body Effect Quotes

“Latham was aware of this potential when he said: “Among the perils of disease we must not refuse to reckon the errors of physicians.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“Dr. Jean Martin Charcot, a famous nineteenth-century French neurologist, once stated that “the best inspirer of hope is the best physician.” The success of the shaman in many primitive societies has been attributed primarily to psychological factors rather than to the intrinsic value of the therapies themselves.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“Commercial interests capitalize upon people’s expectations of perpetual health. The exploitation of these expectations creates a market for products which are not only useless and costly but also carry risks. The perception of pain in one’s joints, muscles or head has become a target of many different pills.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“Sir William Osler, the first Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School and a unique teacher and clinician, said: “One of the first duties of the physician is to educate… [people] not to take medicine.” You should not assume a physician is inadequate if he does not give a prescription at the end of your visit.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“As a result of these legal actions, “defensive medicine” is being practiced. Defensive medicine involves the ordering of a multitude of tests, regardless of their medical necessity or expense. Therefore, if a malpractice suit is filed, the physician cannot be accused of failure to obtain all “relevant” diagnostic information. Defensive medicine is a poor practice of medicine, as it is excessively expensive and invites iatrogenic disease. Thus the legal profession, due to its own lucrative role in malpractice suits, helps to perpetuate this vicious cycle.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“The placebo effect, or the effect of nonspecific factors of treatment, was not studied further because there was no profit in it.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“Dr. William J. Mayo, one of the founders of Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic, remarked: “One meets with many men who have been fine students, and have stood high in their classes, who have great knowledge of medicine but very little wisdom in application. They have mastered the science, and have failed in the understanding of the human being.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“Dr. Arthur K. Shapiro of the Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic at New York Hospital has adopted a broader view of the placebo. He describes the placebo as any treatment (or any part of a treatment) which does not have a specific action on the patient’s symptoms or disease but which nonetheless may have an effect upon the patient.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress

“However, it appears that medicine in the Western world, which was once an integration of both science and art, has shifted to an emphasis on science at the expense of art.”
― Herbert Benson, The Mind Body Effect: How to Counteract the Harmful Effects of Stress