# Can a person be convinced to cease breathing and die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489 "2013-08-29T12:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CloneFive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@CloneFive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloneFive)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/1 "2013-08-29T12:07:51Z")
Researching into the ‘‘nocebo’’ effect, I came across a couple of articles which mentioned a case in which a doctor informed his patient that he had only five years left to live, as a result of a lung disease. Exactly five years later to the day, the patient was found on a beach, unconscious (the patient was snorkeling at the time) and had endured oxygen deprivation for four minutes. After being resuscitated, he was put on life support, which failed to maintain him after he slipped into a coma. Is it possible for suggestion to cease such autonomic processes such as breathing? It is acknowledged that the nocebo effect can trigger death by hypotension if the subject is tricked into believing that he or she is bleeding to death, as I mentioned in a previous post, but that is a different matter as breathing involves the brainstem. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/2 "2013-08-29T12:51:10Z")
> [@CloneFive](#): > > Is it possible for suggestion to cease such autonomic processes such as breathing? I don’t see how it could. The autonomous breathing reflex is pretty hard to overcome. You will breathe if unconscious so I can’t see how any conscious thought could override that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/3 "2013-08-29T13:04:15Z")
What articles, where? What supporting evidence or citation was provided? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/4 "2013-08-29T13:17:02Z")
Both of my parents lived longer than their doctors told them they would. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/5 "2013-08-29T14:59:59Z")
> [@CloneFive](#): > > Researching into the ‘‘nocebo’’ effect, I came across a couple of articles which mentioned a case in which a doctor informed his patient that he had only five years left to live, as a result of a lung disease. Exactly five years later to the day, the patient was found on a beach, unconscious (the patient was snorkeling at the time) and had endured oxygen deprivation for four minutes. After being resuscitated, he was put on life support, which failed to maintain him after he slipped into a coma. Cite, please? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/6 "2013-08-29T15:22:54Z")
I believe it’s possible to have a heart attack while snorkeling. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/7 "2013-08-29T15:45:57Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/8 "2013-08-29T16:26:00Z")
Breathing is an involuntary muscle, ie. you cannot stop breathing because your body won’t let you. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/9 "2013-08-29T18:07:08Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Breathing is an involuntary muscle, ie. you cannot stop breathing because your body won’t let you. well thank you very much, now I am manually breathing! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/10 "2013-08-29T18:54:11Z")
Even IF you could convince a person to stop breathing, the worst case scenario is that he’d pass out, and then his body would start breathing automatically again. ---
**Author:** ![CloneFive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@CloneFive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloneFive)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/11 "2013-08-29T19:00:27Z")
The release of stress hormones is also an involuntary action, which can be invoked via the nocebo effect. Do excuse me as the subject of neurology is not what I am the most adept in, hence the question. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/12 "2013-08-29T19:00:49Z")
**ALGERNON.** My dear Aunt Augusta, I mean he was found out! The doctors found out that Bunbury could not live, that is what I mean—so Bunbury died. **LADY BRACKNELL.** He seems to have had great confidence in the opinion of his physicians. I am glad, however, that he made up his mind at the last to some definite course of action, and acted under proper medical advice. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/13 "2013-08-29T19:05:23Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > **ALGERNON.** My dear Aunt Augusta, I mean he was found out! The doctors found out that Bunbury could not live, that is what I mean—so Bunbury died. > > **LADY BRACKNELL.** He seems to have had great confidence in the opinion of his physicians. I am glad, however, that he made up his mind at the last to some definite course of action, and acted under proper medical advice. uh… what? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/14 "2013-08-29T19:05:52Z")
> [@Saffer](#): > > well thank you very much, now I am manually breathing! Try stopping voluntarily and see how long that works. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/15 "2013-08-29T19:06:56Z")
> [@CloneFive](#): > > The release of stress hormones is also an involuntary action, which can be invoked via the nocebo effect. Do excuse me as the subject of neurology is not what I am the most adept in, hence the question. You haven’t really established that there is anything to the nocebo effect. ---
**Author:** ![CloneFive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@CloneFive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloneFive)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/16 "2013-08-29T19:18:45Z")
I was implying if it would be possible to somehow convince that portion of the brain to stop sending signals to the diaphragm. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/17 "2013-08-29T19:20:32Z")
> [@CloneFive](#): > > I was implying if it would be possible to somehow convince that portion of the brain to stop sending signals to the diaphragm. And your cite for the tale in your opening paragraph is…? ---
**Author:** ![CloneFive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@CloneFive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloneFive)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/18 "2013-08-29T19:21:55Z")
It was a result of a search on the nocebo effect. Searching the keywords should bring up the articles I got my information from. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/19 "2013-08-29T19:23:40Z")
> [@CloneFive](#): > > It was a result of a search on the nocebo effect. Searching the keywords should bring up the articles I got my information from. It’s your story-why don’t you go ahead and just give us the cite, please. ---
**Author:** ![CloneFive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@CloneFive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CloneFive)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489/20 "2013-08-29T19:30:24Z")
> **[The Nocebo Effect: Negative Thoughts Can Harm Your Health](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/owning-pink/201308/the-nocebo-effect-negative-thoughts-can-harm-your-health)** > > Most of us have heard of “the placebo effect [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-convinced-to-cease-breathing-and-die/667489.md?page=2)