Later, I came across the work of Dr. Steve Bierman, an emergency medicine physician who speaks about Noetic Medicine—the idea that what a patient hears and believes can shape their physiological response to treatment.

I was also fascinated reading Dr. Alia Crum’s research, where she has demonstrated that our beliefs about stress, food, and treatment influence physiological responses. For example, one of her studies showed that viewing stress as enhancing rather than harmful was associated with better health, emotional well-being, and productivity. These findings suggest that how we frame an experience changes how the body responds to it—a concept with profound implications for healing.

The way we talk about illness, treatment, and recovery has the power to empower or diminish, ease suffering or amplify it.

For example, when discussing chemotherapy, we often hear it described as “an aggressive treatment”. While medically accurate, this wording can unintentionally reinforce the idea that the body is under attack, creating a sense of fear and resistance in patients. If instead, we say, “This treatment is working with your body to restore balance,” we shift the perspective from one of battle to one of collaboration and healing.

Even the way we describe stress is important. We often hear that stress is harmful, but stress is also the body’s way of preparing for challenge. If we help patients see stress as a sign of resilience rather than depletion, we can shift their experience from helplessness to empowerment.