Illness is not simply a matter of biology. Our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, can make us feel pain or become unwell. If you experienced side effects from your Covid vaccine, the chances are that these were caused by your belief that you would experience them. When a nurse tells you 'this is going to hurt', it generally does - but perhaps it shouldn't.

In this revelatory study, neuroscientist Helen Pilcher explores the hidden impact of the 'nocebo effect' - the placebo's evil twin. Medical studies have proven the nocebo effect to cause pain, nausea, paralysis, seizures, and even blindness. The nocebo effect impacts how we grow sick and grow old, explains why people who don't have food allergies have dietary intolerances, and why adults and teenagers are equally susceptible to catching tics through social media.

From Havana Syndrome to hex deaths, chronic pain and mystery illnesses, this book explains what happens when illness, psychology and society meet - and shows us what we can do to become less ill and more well.

Absolutely fascinating and never more relevant than today. Helen has a talent for making confusing subjects clear in your mind. I will be recommending this one far and wide -- Dr Julie Smith, author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Absolutely fizzing with fascination. Helen Pilcher knows just the stories to make ideas stick and she tells them so fluently. What makes her storytelling so captivating is that it shows us just how susceptible to stories we are - to the point of possible death. This book will widen your range of understanding of who you are and how your complexity offers a whole new world of risks that are both real and not real. It may cause side effects, but it will be really good for your health too. -- Robin Ince

Helen Pilcher is a science writer and former scientist with a PhD in cell biology. She contributes regularly to BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus, and has penned many popular science books. Life Changing was named a Science Book of the Year by The Times and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing.