Mind Over Morphine

AP Article from the Columbus Dispatch entitled "Cheer up: Negative view of pain treatment actually affects outcome, researchers find." Whether you perceive the glass as half-full or half-empty could impact the way you react to pain and other medical treatments, according to a new study into the effects of negative thinking. The researchers discovered that by lying to the volunteers--for example, telling them that the painkiller was about to wear off and that they should expect pain to increase, even though the painkiller never actually stopped working--they could affect their perceived level of pain. How do you think this could impact future studies on pain management? How could you change a patient's attitude to assist with their pain management?