Traditionally, the placebo effect occurs when false, or dummy, treatments of inert substances [that appear to be real but aren't] are administered during trials on new drugs, and patients still see their symptoms improve.
The objective is to compare the effect of the new drug on the
sample of patients who received it with a sample who received the
placebo and also with a further sample who received no treatment.
As
a broad generalisation the placebo effect takes place with
approximately 30% of the sample to who it was administered. This means
that about 1 in 3 people report that they are feeling better after they
have received a placebo. However this has increased to 60% in certain recent drugs trials.
The
word placebo is Latin for "I will please" and this provides the key to
understanding what it is and what it isn't.
The power and the benefit of the placebo lies in how it makes people feel.
Placebo is about feeling it is not about healing.
If it meant healing the word would be Sanabo for "I will heal". Steven Ross Pomeroy, editor of "RealClearScience" says quite emphatically that:
'The placebo effect is mistakenly viewed as the "power of positive thinking" creating a physiological healing process triggered by belief or expectation, when in reality it is an improvement in perceived symptoms.'
You can not cure cancer or heal a broken leg with a placebo, but it might ease the pain and suffering associated with these conditions.
The placebo effect is at the interface of biology and psychology.
McGill University pain researcher Jeffrey Mogil offers a more nuanced perspective:
“The placebo effect is the most interesting phenomenon in all of science, it’s at the precise interface of biology and psychology...
Placebos seem to have the greatest power over symptoms that lie at the blurred boundary between the body and the mind.
The placebo effect is about all the other surrounding stuff that accompanies the placebo.
Ted Kaptchuk at Harvard Medial School, who is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the placebo effect, said in a recent interview that the study of the placebo effect is about:
“...finding out what is it that’s usually not paid attention to in medicine — the intangible that we often forget when we rely on good drugs and procedures. The placebo effect is a surrogate marker for everything that surrounds a pill. And that includes rituals, symbols, doctor-patient encounters.”
Some of these factors include:
Traditionally we usually think of the placebo effect in the context of various medical interventions and treatments, and we associate the benefits with pain relief and feeling better.
However, there is growing evidence that the effect can also work in other ways:
Dr Christian Jarrett has written an informative article with references and resources that explore the wider impacts of the placebo effect:
The Placebo Effect Digested - 10 Amazing Findings
[1] The Power of Expectation
The placebo effect is based on the power of belief and expectation of an outcome regardless of the lack of any substance to that belief or expectation.
This is not magical thinking, but the interaction of your mind and body and the positive neurological benefits that can be generated by your belief and expectation.
How you feel has a major effect on how you think and behave.
How you think and behave has a significant effect on the quality of your response to the events in your life.
It is the cumulative effect of your response to the events in your life that shape your long term life experience.
Put simply, the stronger your response to events - the better the outcome.
[2] The Power of Empathy And Compassion
We are all susceptible to people who are persons of direct influence in our lives.
Considerable research into the placebo effect has shown how the power of empathy and compassion from a person of direct influence in someone's life can reinforce and support a positive belief and expectation.
How you make someone else feel can have a significant effect on how they think and behave and thus have a significant effect on the quality of their response to the events in their life.
Compassion is an important aspect of living a balanced life, not only is it good for the other person, it is good for you - it is in your self interest.
Return from "Placebo Effect" to: Cognitive Distortions
LATEST ARTICLES
Drop The Story - Deal With Your Demons and Transform Your Experience
Are you living your life from the stories you tell yourself? Learning how to drop the story and deal with that voice in your head can be a game changer. When you can do this you will have a powerful t…
Standing In The Gap Between No Longer And Not Yet
Standing In The Gap In Conditions Of Imposed Change. This is about imposed change and surviving a dire and desperate situation where you are stuck in a difficult or seemingly impossible set of circums…
Preparing The Ground - For Things You Can Not See
We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground. The phrase "preparing the ground" is a metaphor for making the necessary preparations to create the favourable conditions for something to…
Easing The Weight Of Expectation
Don’t you often feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your back? Our start point is understanding that the ego has a very clear idea of how things ought to be, and its intention and ex…
Coram Deo - Living In Consciousness
In you there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought. It is the very essence of who you are. Coram Deo is about living in consciousness. It is a Latin phrase which literally means “to…
The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality
Nothing in the world can take the place of patience. Patience and persistence are omnipotent. In everyday life, patience is often overshadowed by the desire for immediate results. We live in an era of…
Demonizing The Other and Personal Acts Of Compassion
What Does Demonizing The Other Mean? Demonizing the other refers to the act of portraying a group of people or an individual as inherently evil, threatening, or inferior. It often serves to justify di…
Why You Should Embrace Anomalies - The Incredible Value Of Disconfirming Evidence
Is Your Desire To Be Right Greater Than Your Desire To Have Been Right? An anomaly is a deviation from what is expected or commonly regarded as the norm. It often appears as an unexpected observation…
Amazing Grace - The Majesty And The Mercy of Freedom From Your Pain
"I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see." The hymn and popular song "Amazing Grace" was written 250 years ago by John Newton, a former slave trader who in 1748 nearly died in a…
The Transformative Power Of Acceptance
Experience The Power Of Acceptance. This website contains about 500,000 words. You could read every single word and it wouldn't make any real difference to you. You might become better informed, but t…