Many of you are familiar with the concept of placebo, which is often used in medicine when it finds a positive effect in the treatment of diseases with a drug that does not have any special and miraculous capabilities. The patient's belief in the efficacy of the drug somehow leads to an improvement in the patient's well-being, which makes us think about the relationship in our body, physical and spiritual. So why do pacifiers really help? Let's try to figure it out together in this article.
What is the placebo effect?
Placebo is a substance, usually without any special properties, that is used in research aimed at studying the effect of the mind on the human body. It is believed that a patient who sincerely believes in the miraculous properties of the "pill" can somehow improve his condition even in the absence of another, more effective remedy. The placebo effect was commonly used until the early 20th century, when doctors used “miracle pills” to relieve their patients. Researchers now claim that the surprising effect is based on suggestion, which does not require any special skills due to the patient's high degree of confidence in the attending physician. In addition, there is also a nocebo effect in science, in which the patient believes in the negative effect of the drug, which, in turn,causes a further deterioration in the patient's condition.
Action * Medication for laziness * is based on placebo effect.
Psychologists tend to believe that the placebo effect is achieved primarily because of the belief in the miraculous properties of the drug, in the presence of which the patient's brain begins to produce large amounts of the hormone of joy - endorphin. A hormonal surge leads to an increase in immunity and activation of the body's defenses, which can even lead to a complete recovery.
Can science explain the placebo effect?
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In quantum physics, there is the concept of the "observer effect", the properties of which are still trying to apply researchers to real life at the macro level. The fact is that when conducting an experiment with two slits, in which an electron or a photon of light is passed through a certain obstacle with a hole made in it, an absolutely unexpected result can be observed if certain conditions are met. If there is only one slit on the obstacle, an electron or photon will be displayed as a point on a given surface, but if there are two slits on the obstacle, the particle will unexpectedly form a wave pattern instead of one single point. The moment the researchers install a special wave detector in order to see what is happening, the wave pattern immediately changes, registering as a particle in the detector. In other words, the presence of an observer of the process completely changes the result of the experiment, which may indicate the possibility of the mind's influence on the surrounding reality.
In this case, the placebo effect may indeed be associated with the “observer effect”, for each of which the result of the action is influenced by the presence of one or another “detector” interested in a certain outcome of the situation. Due to the fact that the placebo phenomenon is not yet fully understood, researchers have yet to uncover the veil of secrecy that may hide unexpected answers to the main questions of our universe.
Daria Eletskaya