Crystal healing is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice that uses stones and crystals. Advocates of this healing technique which has seemingly been gaining popularity in the past five years, claim that these have healing powers, although there is no scientific foundation for this assertion.

Most people are now beginning to consider crystals as alternative healing since it was powered by testimonials from celebrities like Adele, Kate Hudson, and Katy Perry, who clutches one during performances to get rid of stage fright.

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Himalayan salt lamps marketed as mood boosters and magnetic bracelets portrayed as pain relievers are easily found on Amazon and at Walmart has become one of the best-selling home enhancement products.

Learned millennials now pay huge amounts per hour for a session of crystal or flower essence therapy from alternative healing centers in San Francisco and New York City. This therapy uses tinctures dropped under the tongue, or Reiki, to transmit healing energy through the hands.

Lisa Levine, a licensed acupuncturist and the founder of the popular Maha Rose Center for Healing in Brooklyn says;
“We get a lot of people who come to New York to work, realize they need some tools to stay healthy because life is really intense, and say traditional medicine is not meeting their needs.”

A one-hour Reiki session there will run $100 to $175, and a palm-sized labradorite crystal cost about $30.

How positive are the Results?
Neuroscientists and psychologists actually believe this treatment works, but not essentially for the reasons people are told they do.

Psychologist Stuart Vyse, author of “Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition.”, Says;

“The placebo effect is almost certainly at play. And the mere act of doing something to take control of your destiny can often increase hope, brighten mood, and expand your capability to cope with a chronic condition, says “There is no scientific evidence to support the medical effectiveness of any of these remedies,” he says. “But there is the possibility that they might have an indirect psychological benefit.”

Scientific perspective
One studies ever to search crystal healing was conducted in 2001 by University of London psychologist, Christopher French. He gave out booklets to 80 volunteers, explaining the sensations they might have while holding crystals, including increased energy, deep concentration and tingling limbs. Then he gave genuine gemstones to half of the participants and the other half fakes made of cheap plastic. Those holding a fake were just as likely to respond physically as those holding the real thing. French concluded by giving credit to the power of suggestion, not flowing energy as many believe.

In 2013, another research examined magnetic bracelets, regularly used as remedies for pain. Researchers assigned 70 people with rheumatoid arthritis to consecutively wear one of four different devices (two kinds of magnetic wrist straps, a copper bracelet, and an ordinary bracelet) for 5 weeks each. They found no difference between the bracelets in easing pain or inflammation.

Sellers of Himalayan salt lamp claim their lamps give off negative ions that can increase feel-good brain chemicals, they can refer to no quality studies.

James Giordano, PhD, a professor in the departments of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University, said;

“Is there something about Himalayan salt that releases positive ions in the air and has a therapeutic effect on the human body at a distance? From everything I have read, I would have to say ‘No,’.”

Though he added that thy may help some people. Numerous studies have shown that short-wavelength blue light can suppress sleep-inducing melatonin, while longer-wavelength reddish-orange lights can stimulate calming brain chemicals, Giordano added.

“Himalayan salt lamps put out a really nice, pinkish light, and it’s certainly possible that could induce a feeling of emotional well-being in some people.”

Giordano also added that the plain ritual of flicking on a salt lamp, putting on a crystal, or paying a visit to a reiki practitioner, with the expectation it can help you, can induce quantifiable changes in the brain and body, a phenomenon described as Placebo effect.

In other words, if you believe it helps, it just might.

Ted Kaptchuk, PhD, director of the Program in Placebo Studies at Harvard Medical School, says the placebo effect is often wrongly assumed to be “all in your head” — a “fake” response to an inert substance. But brain imaging studies have shown that when a patient performs an action, such as taking a sugar pill or getting a sham acupuncture session, it triggers exact regions in the brain and can activate the release of feel-good hormones like endorphins, dopamine, and natural painkillers.

“We are talking about a real biological process, not something you are just making up,” says Kaptchuk.

Researches have indicated that when patients are told they are receiving a drug that will ease pain, they respond twice as well as when they are given that drug secretly (through an IV or otherwise) — a fact that suggests a large portion of prescription drugs’ efficacy comes from the power of suggestion.

The placebo effect works even better when patients relate with a health care professional that is attentive and kindhearted, which are some of the qualities that alternative medicine practitioners are renowned for.

One study of 262 irritable bowel syndrome patients found that 61% of those who got placebo acupuncture along with a patient-practitioner relationship “augmented by warmth, attention, and confidence” for 6 weeks had significant symptom relief.

“The magnitude of effect was better than the best drug on the market, and it wasn’t even real acupuncture,” says Kaptchuk, author of the study.
Source: http://www.healthdiary365.com/2018/03/04/do-crystals-have-healing-powers/