About sceptism on Reiki:Whether it is a placebo effect or not as long as it works, is it harmful?

Question 1
About sceptism on Reiki:Whether it is a placebo effect or not as long as it works, is it harmful?...  

Answers
1)   The danger from reiki stems from those practising it who MAY make claims that a) they can diagnose someone's illness and b) that they can treat illness.

Unless they are qualified medical doctors also (and no self-respecting doctor would entertain such nonsense) then they cannot diagnose or treat illness.

Danger also comes from customers who may not tell the difference between a doctor's prescribed treatment and a reiki practitioner who uses similar terminology: "I think you should come back for further treatment" or "you have lots of bad energy that needs to be released" could easily become confused in many people's minds.

Is reiki safe for people who are already healthy? Yes.

Is the placebo effect a predictable phenomena? No, and so reiki CANNOT make any claim to treat people via the placebo effect; it varies too much between individuals to rely on.

I personally have an issue that those who use reiki lie about it: "I'm moving energy in and out and around you using just my hands" is a total and utter lie.

Why would anyone want to go to someone who deliberately lies to them?

Edit: There are no high quality trials showing reiki has any effect beyond placebo. It is not used in hospitals because it doesn't work.

Edit2: "It has been noted that many people die of out fear of snake bites than by the poison itself." What a load of rubbish! This is EXACTLY the type of deluded ignorance and unjustified self-assurance that turns reiki from harmless nonsense into something that's potentially harmful.

Edit3: Nosey's pathetic "Appeal to Tradition" fallacy again. Trepanning has been around a long time too, think that works as well? - dave

2)   Hi there,
Yes, studies have shown that reiki is very beneficial for the alleviation of symptoms for depression, stress, anxiety and and pain:

http://www.centerforreikiresearch.org/RRTouchstone.aspx

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20706088

It is used in many hospitals in the UK and USA as a complementary treatment for illnesses such as cancer (it isn't a cure for cancer). The placebo effect simply shows that people have the ability to get better and heal themselves if they have enough belief and intention. Reiki works along the same lines as it is sent via intention (you can see where the similarities are and how they cross over). Don't worry though, reiki is very safe and very beneficial for your whole wellbeing. It is always given to the recipient for the highest good. Find a professional and reputable reiki practitioner who can give you more information on the subject - best of luck with it!

Sky x - The Skybird

3)   First of all, it doesn't work. At best it provides a short improvement of subjective symptoms only. It never helps with objective symptoms. Secondly, it is harmful because it delays real treatment and wastes money. Reiki is a scam. - William T

4)   I am a practicing Reiki Grand Master for 6 years now. I can say with certainty that though some say Reiki has a placebo effect, it truly works. And it works on all levels of one's being. Take the case of allopathic medicines. Even when you have a splitting headache and you take a pill, it's your mind and belief that plays an important part in healing yourself by that pill. Over the course of generations, peoples minds have been programmed and/or conditioned by say our family/friends/doctors to believe that when we pop a pill, we are healed. But what truly happens here is that you healed yourself by the inherent power of your body to heal itself, with the help of your subconscious mind. Reiki works on similar lines. But that's where the similarity ends. There have been many placebo tests; carried out by doctors and like minded individuals where-in they have shown that the placebo effect is real, not just with regard to medicines and Reiki but with all life situations.
Take the case of snake bites. It has been noted that many people die of out fear of snake bites than by the poison itself. There are many more such studies that are carried out. You could search up on them. Also, just as with the placebo effect, there is also the nocebo effect, which is the opposite of that. Here in one study, a patient heard his doctor speaking to another doctor about his critical condition (the doctor was actually speaking about another patient, as part of the study, speaking within ear shot of this patient and but not mentioning names, just to confuse the mind of the patient). This patient on hearing this mentioned to his nurse that he was going to die and that his situation was bad. Even though the nurse calmly told him that that was not the prognosis, this patient had taken what he heard from the doctor as the truth and shortly he died of a heart attack.
So Reiki does work wonders in that it is a spiritually guided energy that brings about wholeness by gently and effectively healing a person's whole being and not just the problem at hand. Hence I always advice people who have been suffering long term illness to actually become a Reiki practitioner than to constantly come back for treatments. This way I help them avoid dependency, which clearly as you can see about you, not many people, allopathic or others, do.
Also Reiki does no harm. As it's just energy, it helps if the person receiving it is open to the healing. If the person receiving the healing is closed off and not ready to accept something that he/she has no belief in, then the energy flow just stops and no one benefits from it. It's just a waste of the practitioners time and the person who has gone to "test" it.
But from my personal experience, it has helped in many cases. In those cases where the patient has told me that it hadn't helped, I've noted that the person didn't continue the healing sessions as I had directed them to. They left in-between thinking that all that they were doing was just lying down and not experiencing something fancy. So, it all boils down to how open a person is.
Please note: At the start of the Basic or Level I Reiki class, it is always mentioned that one should use discernment about their problems or illness. I'm not sure if others do it, but I do so. I give the following example - If a person who has had a fracture comes in for a Reiki treatment without first setting the bones straight through a qualified Doctor, then the Reiki energy will fuse the bones as is and at a very swift rate. It is always advised that he first set the bones in a cast and then come in for a session. Now that the bones have been set straight, healing can begin freely and quickly. Also it is always mentioned that a Reiki practitioner must not diagnose a person's health condition. It is up to the person coming in for Reiki to have first consulted a doctor as to what their symptoms are and then make a healthy choice of either balancing their healing with Reiki and allopathy and/or any other therapy as they may seem fit. A Reiki practitioner must never ask a person undergoing treatment through a qualified Doctor to stop it and only put his/her faith in Reiki. That is not ethical any more than the government asking you to compulsorily take a shot of vaccine that hasn't proved itself or such like. - Sandyz

5)   If it didn't work it wouldn't have been around as long as it has. Ditto for if it was harmful.
The people who post rude and negative remarks about anything that isn't mainstream drug based medicine have no real knowledge of other forms of medicine -- it's a pretext. No rational person would spend their time doing this type of thing.
The "placebo effect" is involved in every form of medical intervention especially drug based treatment but conveniently that's not mentioned, is it? 80% of conventional medicine gets a failing grade for living up to the notion of a having an evidence base. But that's not mentioned either.
People will continue learning, practising and using Reiki regardless of what some kooks on this site happen to think. - thenoseknows

6)   SandyZ has shown perfectly why reiki is harmful. They are utterly deluded or a bare faced liar. People like this are not fit to treat sick people.

Dying of fear not of the poison after a snake bite,someone dying after over heard doctors talking about a bad prognosis? This is just insane! How could you trust your health to someone so bizarre?

Also telling was that nonsense about knitting bones, this plonker is trying to take credit for what the body will do itself anyway.

Why is none of their proof or evidence published in a respectable journal instead of silly special interest websites or new age comics? Because they are incapable of producing proper RCT.

Not only does this person think they can heal people by waving their hands about but they also show their real colours as an anti-vax loon. You probably seen this question many times before but if someone told you they could fly would you let them jump off a building?

http://whatstheharm.net/vaccinedenial.html - Michelle

7)   you have to remember that a placebo is the cut off point for modern medicine, meaning that if you want real doctors to use your treatment, the treatment has to do BETTER than the placebo, and the placebo effect doesn't always cure the illness. so yes it is harmful in that people are taking something that isn't as effective. - evirustheslaye


_____ powerd by Yahoo!Answers ________
Question 2
Does a shot of vinegar cure a hangover?...  Is it a good idea to have a shot of vinegar in the morning? And if you have a hangover, will the acid kill the shit you've put in your body the night before? Seems like a stupid question im sure!

cheers

Answers
1)   No vinegar will not cure a hangover. Nothing will cure a hangover, but drinking lots of water will make it less horrible. Only time, is the cure. - Why me

2)   I've heard coconut milk is meant to be good but ideally should be taken before bed. - Melikemore

3)   Even i have heard so. Maybe it is true. - Utsav Aryal

4)   Grace.. Good there. Before sleeping try - Miteqi Smith

5)   Water is the best thing. Vinegar would probably just irritate the stomach lining more than it already was from drinking. - Just me

6)   You've drunk a heap load of acidic drink the night before, more acid won't do a darn thing. - dave


_____ powerd by Yahoo!Answers ________
Question 3
He Lost His Memory...Why do you say marijuana is good?...  Hi
I have a friend who is smoking marijuana and hash for 3 years.
he lost his short term memory about one year ago.
so why do you say marijuana is good and harmless?

Answers
1)   I don't. Most people do though, just because they want you to try it and get addicted to it. That's the art of drug dealing. Lying. - Amanda

2)   I don't, I'm actually very much against it, although I only got that opinion after smoking it for years...if he gives up the bud some of it will come back. - Tink

3)   How do you know it was the pot? I've been smoking it for 35 years and it hasn't done a jot of harm. Sagan was a very famous pot user it didn't seem to do him any harm either.

Maybe your friend was just psychotic in the first place - Nitram

4)   Marijuana has actually been proven to not cause memory loss or any damage to the brain. Also, there have never been any pot related deaths, but there certainly have been plenty of alcohol, over the counter drug, and prescription drug related deaths. The stuff that is legal can kill you, but pot can't. You can't od on pot, its impossible. People have tried. And I have really bad social anxiety. I smoke, and it helps calm me down and when I'm high I'm not anxious at all, so I can be around a lot of people without having a nervous break down. I've been smoking for almost 6 years, and I'm perfectly fine. My boyfriend is getting over leukemia. When he was in the hospital he lost so much weight and his appetite. When he got out he was a little under130lbs. He had no appetite at all and couldn't eat. He was also extremely depressed all the time. He started smoking just a few days after he got out and once he did his appetite came back quick and he started eating a lot and he is now about 160lbs. He also rarely gets depressed anymore. He has been smoking for almost 8 years. He is perfectly fine...well, other than leukemia, but nobody knows what causes that, and the doctor said he's in remission now, and is more than likely cured. So, you tell me why people say....no...why people KNOW marijuana is good. It's medicine. It's natural, not man made like other drugs. Your friends memory loss is due to something else. - SomePerson

5)   We all know someone whose memory literally went to pot after using it for a few years on a regular basis. Anyone who is currently using will always have some lame rationale for it, just like anyone else who makes bad choices. It's only when there are negative consequences that some of them wise up.

I see that there are a couple of skeppie users on here defending their wacky tabacky habits. Now it's really obvious why their brains are so addled. Imagine, people bashing natural medicine and poking fun at people who use it or practise it, and they're present or former drug addicts who used a substance that's notorious for destroying brain cells. Figures. - thenoseknows

6)   I've heard that, but my memory has never suffered. In fact, I think it is better. Probably depends on the person and the amount they smoke. - Riley Cronan


_____ powerd by Yahoo!Answers ________
Question 4
Do alkaline drops really work to change your body from an acid state?...  

Answers
1)   No.

This rubbish about 'acid' and 'alkaline' states in your body is utter BS. Anyone with even a basic grasp of human biology and the Log scale that pH works on would understand that a few drops of either acid or alkali will have NO affect on your body whatsoever.

It's just another scam to sell worthless products to the worried well who missed science class at school. - dave

2)   No, they're just a scam. You cannot change your body's pH. - William T

3)   lol no. You're dropping them straight onto hydrochloric acid, you'll get a little water and a salt - Nitram

4)   The alkalinity or the acidity of the body is determined by the kidneys and to a lesser extent the lungs. The range of normal pH is very broad, around 7.43-7.45. Drops won't be affecting this unless you choose to take a whole lot of them.

When your pH becomes out of whack, you will definitely feel it. In fact, you'll feel it so bad you need to be brought to a hospital.

Don't get scammed by these alkaline quackery.

edit: pH range is 7.35-7.45 - angrydoc

5)   As explained by Angrydoc, the body is by nature slightly alkaline. Various regulatory mechanisms in your body works to maintain a stable slightly alkaline pH. This is necessary for the body to function properly.

So one really can't (and shouldn't wish one could) make the body more alkaline/acidic. The rumours that claim that altering the body pH will prevent/cure for instance cancer, and that this can be achieved through certain diets or supplements are false. The changes in urinary pH is simply a result of the body's regulatory mechanisms, where excess acid/base is eliminated through the kidneys.

If you want to read further details on this myth, these sites are recommended:
http://anaximperator.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/ph-balance-and-cancer/#more-4028
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html
http://foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/C_ancer_31/080202532008_Busting_Cancer_Myths_Acidic_Foods_and_Cancer_Risks.shtml - JLI


_____ powerd by Yahoo!Answers ________
Question 5
Seriouseee people only plez?...  Its rele akward but I need helpp I think I been constiapted for two weeks but I been passing hard terds about two inches wide but I feel a rock in there and so much gass is trapped behind it what can I do to help get it out instead of enemas I'm scared its too big to come out but idk why I wud pass some small stools a few times a day helppp please

Answers
1)   You gotta eat some fiber! It seriously sounds like you utterly lack fiber in your diet. Eat some fruit, whole grains, fiber one products, or both and you should be good. - Adam

2)   Get a laxative or stool softener and find out what's making you that way. Also, take some spelling lessons and learn how to stop typing gibberish. Hard for people to take you seriously when you read like a child. - Quexner_the_wonder_leech

3)   an enema would be the quickest way but if you don't want to do that, take some ex lax with about 3 stool softeners and 8oz of water with them and that should work. if it does work keep taking the stool softeners for about 2 or 3 days. prunes will also work or prune juice. make sure you get lots of fiber and water. if the ex lax does not work you need to go to the doctor. hope everything gets better for you. - ~nO~wOrRiEs~

4)   You are constipated. By the sound of it, probably from too little water and possibly things like caffeine and sports drinks that leech water from your body. You need to wait until you have solved this problem before eating a lot of fibre - that will make it worse.

There are herbal laxatives you can get - ask at a health food store. You can also buy a laxative from a pharmacy. These will soften the stool to allow you to pass it and the gas easily.

But an enema may be the quickest way to solve your problem. - Theresa


_____ powerd by Yahoo!Answers ________