Placebo Effect

The placebo effect is basically the [[power-of-belief|power of belief]] and is used a lot in the medical field where patients are giving medicine that has no active ingredient.

Because people have different beliefs, the placebo effect is different for each person. Current popular placebos work because most people have a common belief. (I.E, placebo surgery works because most people believe that surgery will help them a lot).

Generally, the more you believe that something is true and the more it aligns with your [[Expectations|expectations]] the stronger the placebo effect. In this video op talks about how people can use the placebo effect to feel better, by believing in things stronger.

It is important to note that the placebo effect is not the only factor that causes people to improve after taking a placebo. The [[natural-history-of-a-disease]] and the [regression-to-the-mean](/note/Regression to the Mean) play an important role too.

The placebo effect is useful (and some think [[Ethics|ethical]]) for when modern [[medicine]] has nothing to help chronic ailments.

The placebo effect is a big player in [[Alternative medicine|alternative medicine]].

The antonym of the placebo effect is the [nocebo-effect](/note/Nocebo Effect) and it is just as real as the placebo effect.

See Also

1. [[mindset]]
2. [[psychology]]