I Will Harm

In the last post I ended by asking: can our minds deliver a negative reaction to sugar pills? The answer, interesting, is yes. Its called the nocebo reaction (Latin for I will harm). This is an even more confounding notion.
Think of it this way, you take in a sugar pill thinking its some sort of medication - and your mind, essentially, wills and creates a negative reaction. TO SUGAR!
Often times these negative reactions, or side-effects, are associated with the side-effects of real treatment. A strong example of this is that of hormone replacement therapy for menopause. The study (here), conducted by the Women's Health Initiative, had given a large group of women either correct hormones or a placebo for years (an average of 5.7 years!). They then took them off the pills. Upon discontinuing the treatment, moderate to sever withdrawal symptoms were reported by 40.5% of those who were taking the placebo compared to 63.3% of those on hormone replacement.
Think about it! You are taking a pill that they said was a hormone replacement pill, but unannounced to you, you have been taking a sugar pill for nearly six years - the whole time thinking that this little pill are replacement hormones and is helping you cope with your menopause. You stop taking it, and you begin to feel the very same withdrawal symptoms as someone who actually had the chemical hormones flowing through their blood for nearly six years.
My guess is that these women knew of the withdrawal symptoms and figured that the same would happen to them. That is when the mind then takes over and turns it into reality.
Minions, after reading these two posts (placebo and nocebo) you should see that your mind has incredible control over your body and, as an extension, the way you view the world.

"We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are." - Talmud