Teas work. Don’t be afraid to make them strong (many studies will quote 5 tea bags). Here’s a fun overview with citations of a favorite: German chamomile - Roman Chamomile: Benefits, Side Effects, Dosage
Love Dr. Balick’s comment on “placebo” which is being renamed the “meaning response” - mainly because “placebo”
has such a negative connotation.
The meaning response is the unique, human ability to heal through participation in a culturally meaningful healing process.
This reminds me of a influential quote for me as a physician by Voltaire — ‘The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.’
This is not to put down doctors, but rather reinstill confidence that herbal teas amplified in the context of this community (thanks for bringing me in Kaveh) have physiological impact, but even more important - they have meaning - that for many will be therapeutic - activating our own innate healing response.
Beware of the quick fix/instant gratification! One thing I hope Sofi can reinforce - teas are a ritual to be used on a regular basis a context (setting) that triggers meaning for each one of us! (Could be a prayer, or meditation, or aromatherapy or even a candle).
You might not get “knocked out” as you would with a medication I prescribe, or even a stiff drink - but your sleep (incredibly complex process we still don’t clearly understand) will improve long term on many measures without the concerns the other substances carry (addiction, withdrawal, dependence, disruption of a deeper, restorative sleep). Stick to the ritual!
A few late night thoughts on another amazing Sofi thread.
@stephendahmermd I remember listening to your “sofi talk” some time ago (transcribed here for anyone interested!), and it was the first time I had heard the notion of “meaning response.”
What a paradigm shift…and especially so for Western medicine! Suddenly placebo effects become valuable from a research perspective, and whether its the sense of community, a particular ritual, or simple change in mindset that’s responsible for causing the meaning response - it is no longer dismissed as invalid, or pseudoscientific! So empowering!
emphasised textAnd here’s the quote from our sofi talk by @stephendahmermd:
In modern medicine, we typically conduct research comparing against a placebo response or sugar pill.
Throughout all my training in research, from medical school and beyond, placebo was always deemed something negative — a factor that we’re taught to study against, and not with.
In traditional cultures it’s quite the opposite.
This is one aspect that I think has inevitably got to be changed. Already, we’re beginning to see research studies that label placebo as something called a “meaning-response.” In other words the effects aren’t resulting from the placebo, they’re resulting from the attribution of meaning.
You think about this meaning-response in other cultures and you begin to understand the vast differences in how we view medicine.
Music, art, aromatherapy, even word incantation and chanting are all seen as perfectly effective meaning-response forms of healing; not only are they not compared against, but they’re actively embraced.
