When given the chance, the mind can be a powerful healing tool. The idea that your brain can convince your body a fake treatment is the real thing (the so-called placebo effect), and thus stimulate healing, has been around for thousands of years. Science has found that under the right circumstances, a placebo can be just as effective as traditional treatments.
Placebos won’t lower your cholesterol or shrink a tumor. Instead, placebos work on symptoms regulated by the brain, such as pain. “Placebos may make you feel better, but they will not cure you,” says Professor Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, whose research focuses on the placebo effect. “They have been shown to be most effective for conditions like pain management, stress-related insomnia, and cancer treatment side effects, like fatigue and nausea.
The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person’s anticipation that an intervention will help. Depending on the relationship, a health care provider may also have the power to influence an independent healing or damaging response.
A placebo is any treatment that has no active properties, such as a sugar pill. Clinical trials often occur where a person who has taken the placebo has reported an improvement in symptoms. Belief in a treatment may be enough to improve a person’s physical symptoms.
“The placebo effect is more than positive thinking — believing a treatment or procedure will work. It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together,”
–https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect
-https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/placebo-effect#:~:text=The%20placebo%20effect%20is%20a,independent%20of%20any%20specific%20treatment.
-https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/placebo-effect
postcovidcontemplations.art.blog 