Attention, Placebo, and Suggestibility

Long ago (in modern scientific terms), William James came to understand that (I am paraphrasing): What we decide to pay attention to is, for us, reality.

Meditation practice, something I frequently write about, appears to be helpful within mental health treatment settings, in part because it helps people to focus on (pay attention to) what is going on right now, as opposed to focusing on feared or dreaded future events (anxiety) or sad and deeply regretted past events (depression). In this way, the patient's "reality" shifts from what does not "really" exist (the future, and the past) to what is happening right now, and what is happening right now is usually less distressing than what the depressed and anxious mind tends to dwell on.

Creating one's "reality" by shifting attention appears to have some bearing on fascinating phenomena such as the placebo response, and hypnotizability (or suggestibility), as well. In both of these situations, people come to believe things that are not true, and their beliefs tend to cause demonstrable physical or behavioral changes. And it may be that this is connected with the way that they pay attention to certain aspects of their environment.

There's a recent paper (here) that is a bit technical, but still fascinating, about the relationships between and among these processes. Vaughn at MindHacks wrote about this, saying that the study linked above suggests that "both hypnosis and placebo may both work through the manipulation of attention, essentially influencing the focus of processing within the brain to alter how it regulates the body and mind."

Given the power of attentional processes to alter our experience of reality, it would seem of great potential importance for us to learn and practice awareness of where our attention tends to be placed, and a conscious effort to make wise choices about how to shift our attention in ways that minimize harm, and maximize our own well-being. Mindfulness meditation practice is one method that can enhance our ability to do this.