Can positive thinking make a difference?

We often tell ourselves that if you believe things will work out, they will – but what part does belief play in good health and recovery from illness?

In the wake of a number of high-profile cases such as Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has issued guidance for medical teams looking after children with serious illness, suggesting doctors must take great care to avoid giving unrealistic expectations to parents.

Last week, Sally Cheshire, chairman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, warned women wanting to have a baby later in life that some fertility clinics were misleading patients about the success rates of IVF, to encourage false hopes.

A number of studies have assessed the role of belief and optimism in health outcomes – and part of the answer is that it depends on the information on which you base your belief.

Ed Diener at the University of Illinois and Micaela Chan at the University of Texas Dallas carried out a worldwide review of studies and concluded that subjective wellbeing, including optimism, is clearly linked with better health and longevity – but only for those who are already healthy. The claim that wellbeing lengthens the

lives of those with diseases such as cancer, they caution, “remains controversial”.

That said, most women who wish to become mothers and most parents of chronically ill children are healthy. Does it help them to be encouraged to feel optimistic, even if the encouragement is based on only selected or unfounded information?

In the short term perhaps they will feel better; even comply more conscientiously with treatment. But when they discover the weaknesses in the claims made – and almost certainly they will – they’ll not only lose their positivity, but also the trust in the professionals on whom they depend.

Therefore, those offering treatment have a big responsibility when explaining their methods. But those on the receiving end must also take responsibility. How?

First, if you’ve not been given the information outlined above, ask for it.

Second, distinguish between your expectations and hope. Expectation is the probability, based on facts, of the effectiveness of a particular treatment. Gather all the facts you can. Remember, however, that most scientific research is based on groups, and won’t necessarily predict your chances as an individual.

That’s where hope comes in. Hope is your wish that something in particular will happen. If you’re hopeful while aware of the expectations, you’ll be able to guard against despair during tough times.

As Laurence Kirmayer at Mcgill University put it, healing is not just the basic bodily processes of repair and rebalance. It also involves making sense of suffering and finding a way to continue, whatever the outcome.