In the 1950’s, Richter at Harvard University did an interesting experiment. They put rats in water and saw how long they would tread water. A stressed rat or wild rat would only last fifteen minutes; however, hope could dramatically change that.
Tame rats who were regularly handled by humans could tread water for sixty hours–they knew that humans would probably eventually save them. Wild rats who were saved when they were just about to die at the end of fifteen minutes, were saved and then allowed to rest for a few minutes before being put back in the water.
After a brief rest of some minutes, these rats on their second treading of water were able to last the full sixty hours. On the second try, they had hope that they would be rescued so were not anxious and able to go the maximum sixty hours.
It seems the effects of hope are hard wired into our bones and brains. I know it was what kept me in my journey to full remission described in “Multiple Sclerosis Mission Remission: Healing MS Against All Odds.”