Placebo Effect: Harnessing Your Mind’s Power to Heal

January 1, 2004

The January issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource details several

theories on how the placebo effect might work:

Benefit from attention: In a placebo-controlled research study, patients

often have frequent and intensive medical attention. Some people respond

favorably.

Stimulus response: People may have a trained positive response to taking

a pill or receiving treatment, whether it’s real or not.

Beliefs or expectations, including the meaning you attach to a

treatment: A person with positive expectations of the treatment may

experience the placebo effect more than someone with lower expectations.

Relationship with your doctor: A person whose doctor is supportive and

positive may experience more benefit from a placebo -- or the standard

treatment -- than someone who doesn’t have that relationship.

Pleasing your doctor: You feel better because -- consciously or

unconsciously -- you want to show your doctor that you’re a good patient

and you appreciate the care.

Probably a combination of many psychological and physiological

mechanisms are at work. Research studies and theories hold important

clues to solve the mystery behind the placebo effect, but more research

is needed to examine how these factors interplay to produce this healing

force.

Recommended Posts