The Magic Healing Power of Empathy

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The Magic Healing Power of Empathy

The amazing mind-body connection to healing is well known to anyone reading this newsletter, but it’s always wonderful when research confirms it.

Recently, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health found that when doctors expressed concern for the feelings of their patients– and paid attention to their concerns– those same patients were sick for an average of one day less than the patients of doctors who acted like Sgt. Joe Friday in the old Dragnet series: “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts”.

Empathy is hard to establish in a four minute visit at your local HMO where patients frequently feel like little more than a number: Wait in the room, “Doctor” will see you soon (meaning anywhere from 30-60 minutes later), four minute interview (“what are your symptoms?”) write the script, call it a day.

But empathy and caring might just be among the most healing commodities on the planet.

The body’s immune system is a wondrous thing, but there’s a direct pipeline between what happens in the head and what happens in the body. (The study of this amazing interaction is called psychoneuroimmunology.) Interleukins are chemicals that “turn on” all kinds of armies in the immune system, sending out troops to fight invading microbes. Guess when interleukins are turned on the most?

When you’re happy, excited, pursuing your bliss and generally enjoying life.

Interestingly, in the University of Wisconsin study I just spoke about, there was a direct relation between a doctor’s empathy level and his or her patient’s level of Interleukin-8, one of the chemicals that sends out signals to the immune system cells to get busy and start fighting!

The randomized control trials also showed that the colds of patients who were assigned to “low-empathy” docs lasted a full day longer than those assigned to physicians known to be caring and empathetic.

Empathy helps to heal. And it’s something you can give freely.

It doesn’t require a prescription.

It doesn’t require a checkbook.

It just requires a heart.

2009-11-30T20:11:47-08:00

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4 Comments

  1. Renee Devereaux December 26, 2009 at 11:45 am - Reply

    Thank you for this……I am a practitioner and have been one for many years. Sometimes I have wished I didn’t get so emotional about the well-being of my clients and you’ve helped me recognize that that could well be the reason my clients do so well!
    Renee Devereaux

    • Dr. Jonny December 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm - Reply

      they will never remember how much you know as much as they will remember how much you care

      thank you for your service!

      warmly
      jb

  2. MaryK December 30, 2009 at 8:13 pm - Reply

    This is so true. My husband died suddenly 2 years ago and the only doctor that let me grieve was my eye doctor who also sent me a card. Another doc looked away, mumbled something and told me to ask for the name of a therapist on my way out. Another told that it is better to have loved than never loved at all. Empathy would have taken a few minutes and would have validated my emotional pain. Thanks for sharing this study.

  3. the best forex signals May 15, 2010 at 8:41 pm - Reply

    Great post! I am just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to learn how to do it well – resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our company is based in the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your product is useful in that case.

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