Placebos

Recently I read an article in the Scientific American Mind (feb/march 2009) about placebos. It spoke of research that proves that placebos, “help not only to alleviate illnesses with an obvious psychological component, such as pain, depression and anxiety, but also to lessen the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and inflammatory disorders”. They even reference a case where tumors were shrunk significantly. We have heard about their effects before but this really struck me because this research emphasized the influence of the subconscious.

They found that even if an individual did not have any faith in the treatment, let’s say a shot or pill that was given, there was still improvement. In other words, the subconscious associations to things that the mind connects with healing, makes a difference. This could be a white lab coat, a stethoscope or those sterile stainless steal cabinets.

So, who’s to say that the father in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, didn’t actually have a healing response to all of those things he sprayed Windex on!

Please write and tell me your thoughts on, or experiences with placebos.

By Nyla Lengacher