Crystal Healing Research Paper

Words: 611
Pages: 3

In recent years, the New Age movement has taken the world by storm. Despite no scientific evidence to back up claims, many followers of the New Age movement believe that using a crystal will cure them of any number of mental and physical diseases. Amethyst for example, is said to prevent drunkenness, along with treating insomnia. I first got into this subject, when looking for an alternative way to treat my anxiety, instead of taking medication.” Crystal healing“, as the New Age movement calls it, claims to date back to ancient times, when healers would use different crystals for different ailments. Each crystal is said to give off its own vibration, meaning that they each have an energy specific to that individual crystal. With no scientific events to support the idea of “vibrational …show more content…
A placebo effect is defined as,”a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment”( Merriam-Webster, Collegiate dictionary,10th edition.). Crystal healing is nothing more than a placebo effect, and consequently is not a reliable source of medical treatment.
The major flaw in the belief of crystal healing, is the evidence of placebo effects. In 2001, a study in Rome was held, “ 80 people filled out a questionnaire designed to gauge their level of belief in “paranormal” phenomena. Later, the study team asked everyone to meditate for five minutes while holding either a real quartz crystal or a counterfeit crystal made of glass.” (Markham Heid,Time). The study found that an equal number of participants who received the fake crystal, felt the same sensations as those who received the real crystal, in the case of the study it was clear quartz. Another study was also done in 2001 at Goldsmiths College, at the University of London. 80 similar people were given either a fake or real crystal, and told to meditate.”However, the strength