Surprising new research shows that placebos work even when you know they’re not real.
"Here the are,” John Kelley said, taking a paper bag off his desk and pulling out a big amber pill bottle. Inside were the pills we’d designed: a magical concoction put together to treat my chronic writer’s block and the panic attacks and insomnia that have always come along with it.
I’ve known Kelley since we were undergrads together. Now he’s a psychology professor at Endicott College in Massachusetts and the deputy director of PiPS, Harvard’s Program in Placebo Studies and Therapeutic Encounter. It’s the first program in the world devoted to the interdisciplinary study of the placebo effect.
The term placebo refers to a dummy pill passed off as a genuine pharmaceutical or, more broadly, any sham treatment presented as a real one. By definition, a placebo is a deception, a lie. But doctors have been handing them out for centuries, and patients have been getting better, whether through the power of belief or suggestion—no one’s exactly sure. Even today, when the use of placebos is considered unethical by many medical professionals, a survey of 679 doctors showed that about half of them prescribe medications such as vitamins and over-the-counter painkillers primarily for their placebo value.
Interestingly, the PiPS researchers have discovered that placebos seem to work well even when a practitioner doesn’t try to trick a patient. These are called open label placebos, or placebos explicitly prescribed as placebos.
So I had turned to my old friend for help with my writer’s block. “I think we can design a pill for that,” he’d told me initially. “We’ll finetune your writing pill for maximum effectiveness, color, shape, size, dosage, time before writing. What color do you associate with writing well?”
I closed my eyes. “Gold.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2018-Ausgabe von Reader's Digest US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2018-Ausgabe von Reader's Digest US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Cookies for Forgiveness
My blowup was half-baked. The apology wasn't
Puff the Magic Pastry
It always rises to the occasion
New Year's Traditions Around the World
1 MOST OF US spend the final seconds of each calendar year watching a nearly 12,000-pound geodesic sphere descend over Times Square in New York City.
Mom's Wall-Sign Wisdom
She never met a plaque or bumper sticker she didn't quote
Protect Your 'Holiday Heart'
This joyful time of year can also be dangerously stressful
Heroes of the Holidays
It's not just Santa Claus bringing the holiday magic this season. As you'll see, he's got elves all over.
The Man Who Looks After His Wife's Ex
For him and his bride, \"in sickness and in health\" meant something really special
How Risky Are Those Holiday Cocktails, Really?
The latest recommendations about drinking and your health
HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF
Downtown Hazard had lost its small-town mojo to drugs. Former addicts are helping to bring it back.
Dream It, Do It, Done!
Your bucket-list goals, accomplished