Healing Crystals: Myth or Magic?

by Tegan Piper

There is no doubt you've probably seen, heard of or touched a crystal by now especially if you are plugged into the world of alternative medicine or spirituality. ‘Crystals’ - the name given to minerals or fossilised resins that are believed to have beneficial health properties.

Having a crystal on you or around you is believed to promote physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Crystals supposedly do this by positively interacting with your body’s energy field or chakra. Crystals are said to alleviate stress, others can improve concentration or creativity.

Unsurprisingly, researchers have carried out a few conventional studies on crystals. One conducted in 2001, concluded that the power of these crystals is “in the eye of the beholder”. This study wasn’t published but was presented at the European Congress of Psychology in Rome. 80 people filled out a questionnaire designed to gauge their level of belief in ‘paranormal’ phenomena. Then later the study team asked everyone to meditate for five minutes while holding either a real quartz crystal or a counterfeit crystal made from glass. After, the participants answered questions about the sensations they felt. Both real and fake crystals produced similar sensations and people who tested higher in the paranormal belief questionnaire tended to experience greater sensations than those who scoffed at the paranormal. “We found that lots of people claimed that they could feel odd sensations while holding crystals, such as tingling, heart and vibrations” says Christopher French a professor of psychology at Goldsmiths University of London. “ In other words , the effects reported were a result of power suggestion, not the power of the crystals”.

Lots of research shows how powerful the placebo effect can be. “If people believe that a treatment will make them feel better, many of them do feel better after they have had the treatment, even if it is known to be therapeutically worthless” says French. His take is what you would expect from a scientist and yes it is almost impossible that crystals themselves possess any of the mystical health properties attributed to them by users. But, the human mind is a powerful thing and I don’t think it's accurate to say that crystals don’t work if you define that as proving benefit.