Andrew Badham 2018-06-01 10:51:37
The Placebo Effect is certainly one of life’s stranger quirks. The fact that you can take a sugar pill and feel better simply because you thought you would is strange to most of us, and yet, it gets stranger still. Apparently, even if you know you’re receiving a placebo, you will experience similar effects to if you had been deceived into thinking it was real. A research article published in December 2017 in the concisely named Journal, Pain, detailed this phenomenon.
The researchers asked participants to place their arm on a heating plate until they could no longer bear the pain. They were then treated with a placebo slave for the burn, at least, some were. The participants were broken into three groups:
- Those who would receive no treatment
- Those who would receive the placebo and be told it was medication
- Those who would receive the placebo and be told it was a placebo
Their unexpected results showed that the participants who received the placebo and knew about it experienced very similar levels of pain relief to those who thought it was medicine. Basically, even if you know you’re fooling yourself, it still works.
Obviously, this has some interesting implications for the world of medicine, but what about the rest of our lives. Is there some way we could apply this new knowledge that would actually be useful? Maybe. Here are a few ideas that could work.
A Magic Amulet
Our stories are full of heroes receiving magic amulets to protect themselves against danger, bring luck, or even more exciting abilities. Romans would wear pendants of red-jasper for the approval of the war-god, Mars. Catholic travelers would wear the pendant of Saint Christopher for luck and safety on their voyages. The idea of an amulet isn’t as popular as it used to be, but small groups of people do still embrace the concept. Some folks will keep gemstones on them such as jade for wisdom and luck.
Now, do any of these things actually work? There doesn’t seem to be any evidence to suggest it does, that is, except for the placebo effect. This is where things get interesting. Let’s say someone gave you a chunk of Sunstone and told you it gave you confidence, would it work? Should you take it even if you don’t believe it would help? Maybe. There’s a chance that knowingly using the stone as a symbol for being confident might help you achieve that. There’s no magic here, just weird psychology. So, putting on your lucky underpants for a big day might actually make a difference.
Ceremony
Many people use ceremony or ritual before important tasks. Tennis player Raphael Nadal will adjust his shorts before every single serve; it’s unlikely that he’s gotten a wedgie that quickly, nor is it likely adjusting his shorts has any physical impact on his actual shot. But, would he do less well if he didn’t adjust? Probably. He has decided that, in order to serve as best as he can, he must follow certain steps, even if those steps have no logical benefit to his serve.
Can we follow a similar concept? Absolutely. Let’s say you have to give frequent presentations and it really stresses you out. You could create a ceremony like shuffling a deck of cards or just about anything else before you head to the meeting. As long as you’re telling yourself that it’s a necessary part of readying yourself for the task, it’ll help.
Positive Thinking
If all this sounds a little too out there for you, that’s fine. You could turn to simpler methods like good old positive thinking. Imagine yourself completing your upcoming task, make sure your inner monologue is full of encouraging ideas and not cynical critiques, or simply list things you've done well today. These are all simple ways in which we can deceive our brain into thinking that it's being treated, that it's being cared for. At the end of the day, how we trick our brain into thinking we're healthy and safe is not as important as the fact that we do it, because the placebo effect is very real and could be very helpful.
It's important to remember that, while the placebo effect is curiously powerful, it isn't magic. It can't cure terminal illnesses or enigmatically make you fitter, but it can help.