The Most Powerful Healer Has Been With You All Along

We chase supplements, diets, protocols, experts, and the next “breakthrough.” But what if the most powerful healer has been with you the whole time?

How This Became My First Blog

I didn’t plan to write my first blog about this topic. It found me. I was having a casual conversation with a close friend, enthusiastically explaining a new routine I was about to start. I walked her through the steps, the benefits, the research—fully immersed in how well I imagined it working. I was also, admittedly, trying to recruit her. She started laughing. When I pressed her, she said, “You have this fascinating ability to think positively. You can talk yourself into believing almost anything—and somehow, it actually works for you.” In that moment, it clicked. She was describing the placebo effect. I knew instantly: this was the perfect place to begin.

Confessions Of a Placebo Queen

I’ll admit it—I am a placebo queen. I didn’t always have a language for it, but I’ve practiced it most of my life. When something resonates with me, I don’t just try it—I believe in it. I visualize the outcome and commit fully. I try to learn the science of it as much as I can and research it from multiple perspectives, learn the pros and cons, and often run it by a trusted practitioner. Then I implement. And the benefits begin to show up. Sometimes so clearly that I want to tell everyone: You have to try this. This is amazing!

The Experience That Shaped My Belief

This ability didn’t come from nowhere.

As a child, I was often sick. More than most. Then came juvenile rheumatoid arthritis—painful, debilitating, and life-altering. In first grade, I didn’t attend regular school. There were times I couldn’t walk. Both ankles were affected, as well as the knuckles in both hands. Holding a pen was painful, writing felt impossible. My world narrowed to pain and limitation.

After the most acute phase, I was discharged from the hospital and sent to a rehabilitation sanatorium for sick children. This was in the early 1980s in Ukraine, where I grew up. The goal was to provide basic schooling alongside daily treatments—hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, and other modalities that were progressive for their time. They were supposed to help me heal, reduce the inflammation, re-gain my strength and improve joint mobility. I remember something surprising: I looked forward to those treatments even though some were unpleasant. Not just because they helped physically—but because of how they made me feel mentally. I always felt an additional benefit — the effect it had on my psyche. Each session felt like a step closer to health. I asked nurses questions. I wanted to understand how the treatments worked. Knowing why strengthened my belief in the process and result. This was my placebo bootcamp. Sitting among other sick children, sick myself, I remember thinking: This is temporary. This is where I am now—not where I’ll stay. I imagined running, swimming, riding a bike—without pain. I refused to believe that sickness was my permanent state. With time, care, and extraordinary medical support, I recovered. Looking back, I see it clearly - that experience taught me to believe before the evidence appeared. And that belief became a lifelong skill.

What the Placebo Effect Really Is

The placebo effect is often misunderstood. It’s not pretending. It’s not “all in your head.” And it’s definitely not fake. It’s your brain signaling safety, hope, and expectation—and your body responding with real biological changes. These include the release of endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin, immune mediators, and pain-regulating compounds. These changes are measurable. And they matter.

What Is Placebo Anyway And Why Do They Matter in Medicine?

A placebo is a fake treatment, a sugar pill that can have a positive or negative effect on symptoms, depending on the expectations and beliefs of a patient. Placebos play a critical role in medical research. They help determine whether a treatment genuinely works. For years, the placebo effect was seen as a problem—something to control for or eliminate. If a drug doesn’t outperform a placebo, it fails. But here’s the fascinating part: in many studies, participants experience real improvements from placebos alone. A significant percentage of people, about 30- 40%, derive real, measurable improvements from placebo. If the treatment is inert, what causes the improvement?

The answer is powerful: the body’s capacity to heal begins in the mind.

Why Belief Changes the Body

Belief reduces stress. Lower stress improves digestion, immunity, and healing capacity. Expectation shapes the outcome. When you believe something will help you, your body begins preparing for healing before the action even happens. That preparation shifts nervous system tone, inflammation, and internal chemistry. This isn’t magic—it’s biology. Your brain is the command center. It regulates heart rate, immune function, pain perception, and even gene expression. Through neuroplasticity, it reshapes itself based on repeated expectations.

A Gentle Reality Check

Belief doesn’t replace medical care, nourishment, or support. It amplifies them. Healing is influenced by context, ritual, expectation, and care. How we eat, move, sleep, breathe, connect, and think can enhance treatment effectiveness.

How Come Not Everyone Can Benefit From Placebo?

Here’s the important point—it does not come naturally to everyone. Research suggests that some people may be more responsive to placebo effects due to differences in brain chemistry, including dopamine signaling. The takeaway isn’t that some people are lucky and others aren’t—it’s that belief is a trainable skill. If it is not your second nature, it can be learned.

The Nocebo Effect: The Other Side of the Coin

Just as belief can heal, negative expectations can harm. This is known as the nocebo effect. When we expect something to hurt us, the body can respond with real symptoms—pain, anxiety, inflammation. Chronic stress weakens immunity and worsens existing conditions. The placebo shows us the mind’s power toward healing. The nocebo shows us the same power—misdirected.

How I Consciously Cultivate the Placebo Effect

This is the process I follow. I notice something that resonates—a routine, supplement, or practice. I sit with the idea and imagine how it could support me. Then I research using trusted sources and science-based perspectives and create a plan. I implement it consistently and with conviction. Almost every time, it works beautifully. Is it because the intervention is good? Or because I believe in it deeply? I think it’s both. Aligned action plus belief is very powerful. That is the heart of Glow Wellness philosophy.

The Story You Tell Yourself Is Medicine

What you say matters. Do not say: “Nothing works for me, my body is broken, I’ve tried everything.” Instead, say: “My body is learning how to heal, every step supports me, this is working in ways I may not see yet." Your body believes what you repeatedly tell it—and responds accordingly. It is not passive. It’s listening.

How Can You Use This Every Day?

You don’t need much to practice this. Name the intention before the action. “This meal is nourishing me.” “This breathing practice is calming my nervous system.” Speak to your body. Create a healing narrative. Is your story failure—or unfolding wisdom?

Pair belief with gentle action

A walk. A yoga class. A cup of tea. State the benefits out loud or in your mind. Then imagine how it feels. Repetition builds expectation. Expectation builds change. This is how you become your own placebo.

An Invitation

You don’t need to force belief. Just soften into the possibility that your body wants to heal, that it knows how and that it’s listening for your direction.

What is one story you’re ready to change?

Let’s begin.

Glow-Approved Resources

These are books I've personally found valuable. Some links may be affiliate links, which help support Glow Wellness at no extra cost to you.

Bruce H. Lipton (Ph.D.)

3 Books Bundle Collection (Spontaneous Evolution, The Honeymoon Effect, The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness)

Deepak Chopra M.D.

Quantum Healing (Revised and Updated): Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine Kindle Edition

Bruce H. Lipton (Ph.D.)

The Biology Of Belief: Unleashing The Power Of Consciousness, Matter And Miracles

Dr Joe Dispenza

Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon

Mel Robbins

The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About