Imagine this: a man is suffering from viral fever, so he consults the doctor. He takes some medicines for a couple of days and then assumes that the medicine is weak. Therefore, he stops and thinks that if he has a good attitude, then he'll be okay.
I am sure we've met such people or have been in a situation ourselves where we feel that positive thinking may help heal from an illness. And that leaves us wondering as to what is the relationship between such a thought process and recovery.
When the health of an individual gets restored due to administering a placebo or sham intervention, this psychological episode is called a placebo effect. This "intervention" may only mean a medicine that is prescribed by a homeopathic doctor or a saline injection that is administered at a hospital. It is not about the potency of these medicines but that the patient believes it holds curative properties. In essence, it underscores the vital role played by the mind in kick-starting the actual healing process. Quite a few theories have been assigned to the working of this phenomenon, like
Expectation and Conditioning: The expectation of the individuals that they are undergoing effective treatment results in hormones like dopamine and endorphins. These hormones nullify the effect of pain-creating hormones; therefore, pain relief occurs.
Psychological Relief: The optimistic perception of the effects of the illness could lessen tension and stress, which would have to heal faster.
Neurobiological Responses: Brain imaging studies have shown that the placebo effect activates the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex, the areas for pain relief, with the same outcome as real medications.
Although much research is conducted on the effectiveness of the placebo effect, there are a considerable number of limitations to the exhibition of this phenomenon as well.
It is not a reliable form of treatment. It might work well for the rather subjective symptoms such as pain and fatigue but not for conditions that require intensive care and attention such as a fracture or infection. It is something that varies from person to person and is affected by several extraneous variables. There are various examples of this phenomenon in our day-to-day life, and it is not just confined to the field of medicine. Most people think that the costly type of any product is more effective compared to the cheaper version, and this is the only reason for most of them to settle just for a low-quality output based on this philosophy.
An example can be given with people believing that wearing athletic clothing will make them run faster and be stronger, even though these clothes have no performance-enhancing ability. There are quite a few other manifestations of this phenomenon that we see around us on an everyday basis. This phenomenon points out the role of the mind in recovering an illness. It is helpful in various ways, but at the same time, it is required to be cautious of its limitations and not blindly rely solely on the effect of this phenomenon. Instead, be honest to yourself and know that the mind and medicine are hand in glove and cannot function without one another.
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