Sunday, March 22, 2020

Can Reiki reduce public speaking anxiety?












Page 107 of a 2019 book titled The Healing Power of Reiki claims that: 

“Reiki is a practical remedy for calming your fears and reducing anxiety. Even if you are not ordinarily the anxious type, using Reiki as a calming agent is a good idea. With the help of Reiki, you may be able to overcome certain phobias, such as the fear of public speaking, death, flying, hospitals, darkness, water, heights, poverty, thunderstorms, or riding in elevators.”

But a web page at the Rational Wiki says:

“Reiki is a pseudoscientific energy therapy that claims a long and venerable tradition, although it was invented from whole cloth in 1922. It is based on the following beliefs:

There is a universal and inexhaustible spiritual energy which can be used for healing purposes.

Through an attunement process carried out by a Reiki Master, any person can gain access to this energy.

This energy will flow through the Reiki Master’s hands when they place their hands near the patient.

As the energy has human-like intelligence, there is no need for diagnosis – the energy will automatically judge the disease and heal the patient.”


Similarly, the Wikipedia page about Reiki dismissively says:

“Reiki is a pseudoscience.”

An article by Stephen Barrett at Quackwatch on August 22, 2015 is titled Reiki is nonsense. A recent article by Jonathan Jarry at the McGill Office of Science and Society on February 19, 2020 titled Should we take Reiki seriously? concluded we should not, so it likely doesn’t reduce anxiety.

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