Placebo Effects
May 29, 2011
The power of the mind is again highlighted in an article on the placebo effect in the 5/19/11 on-line version of The Economist. Vexing medical researchers for decades, the effect is the watermark against which any treatment is compared. The effect is widely recognized but also frequently derided as if it were not as important as a medical procedure or a drug. The Economist article focuses on the work of medical researcher Edzard Ernst, the world’s first professor of Complementary Medicine. Dr. Ernst’s recent research focused on the effectiveness of complementary modalities and found that in fields such acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and reflexology the effects are statistically no different from a placebo; in only 5% of studies was there a clear benefit beyond that of a placebo.
The implication in the article was that this finding was bad; that these modalities were producing results barely better than what the mind could produce on its own if given the appropriate, positive suggestions in a believable fashion. I, on the other hand, think this was great news! There seems to be something about belief that causes people to get well. There appears to be something in the treatment being provided by these practitioners that is causing change in the belief systems of their clients; change that is allowing them to feel better and get well. It is the belief that causes the change and these modalities help create that belief for many people. I was excited by these results but then I’m a hypnotist and hypnosis is all about belief and expectation and placebos.
Unfortunately, a lot of the placebos I dispense every day are to counteract the nocebos given to my clients by other people(or themselves). The dark side of the placebo effect is the nocebo effect. Meaning “to do harm” the nocebo effect is seen in the mind’s willingness to accept negative suggestions just as willingly as positive suggestions. The most dramatic example is in the stories of followers of certain religious cults who go home to die because a powerful priestess has given them the evil eye or cast a spell on them. We see it often today when a family member is told he has 6 months to live and should go home and get his affairs in order. We experience it when we are told that the medication just prescribed for us has powerful and uncomfortable side effects. We experience it when we are told that nothing can be done for our pain. We will “just have to live with it.” Sometimes we even gobble our own nocebos as when we tell ourselves we can’t quit smoking or lose weight or reduce the chronic pain. If this is true of you or someone close to you, call me. I have some very powerful placebos.