“No placebo effect going on there.” Much attention has been given to the placebo effect. The placebo effect shows that what we believe – what we think – matters when it comes to health. Some wonder if the positive effects on health of spirituality are simply a variant of the placebo effect. Wendy Margolese, Health Blogger
Placebos can be a bit tricky. Color, size, shape, quantity, brand, price, and packaging all seem to matter. Eric Nelson, Health Columnist from Los Altos, California who writes about the link between consciousness and health, delves into the visual cues involved with placebos in one of his recent articles in The Washington Times. Here are two
Only two countries permit the direct advertisement of pharmaceutical drugs to consumers. Can you guess which ones? These advertisements invariably list side-effects. Ingrid Peschke, health blogger in Massachusetts, writes in The MetroWest Daily News about side-effects, placebos, and a pre-med student who found a non-pharmacological approach to health without side-effects. An interesting read: A Prescription For Health Without Side-Effects.
A guest post written by John D. Clague, media and legislative spokesperson for Christian Science in Oregon. I have a friend who suffers from SAD — seasonal affective disorder. The long periods of clouds and rain depress her so much that she feels she can no longer live in the northwest. She and her husband
(Glowimages.com/stock photo — model used for illustrative purposes only)
Think thought doesn’t matter when it comes to health? Consider the following two articles that look at how thought affects our health – both of which address all of the following:
How can changing our ideals bring excellence to health care? Russ Gerber takes up this question in a recent in-depth article in The Washington Times entitled, “First, health care excellence” – apparently inspired by a question asked at a recent talk sponsored by the Harvard Medical School. Gerber draws some interesting lessons from placebos and the
Highlighting the “care” in Health Care, this month two articles delved into the role of compassion, caring, and empathy – in short, love – in health care. (1) Forget the Placebo Effect: It’s the ‘Care Effect’ That Matters by Nathanael Johnson on Wired.com Jan. 18th. Excerpts: …the “care effect” — the idea that the opportunity
The curious case of one Mr. Wright, suffering from advanced lymphosarcoma, who gets better and then worse and then better and then dies, reveals how what we think matters for our health. Mr. Wright was a patient of psychologist Bruno Klopfer in 1957, had large tumors, and was expected to die from the disease. Mr. Wright
The nocebo effect causes a dilemma: ethically sharing possible side effects of drugs with patients may cause patients to experience them.
Here, below, are excerpts with links to some interesting articles in the news this month about placebos and nocebos – the last one offering an interesting solution to the nocebo effect.
Explosive! That’s how correspondent Lesley Stahl described it.¹ And a study on the implications it raises for all drug-based therapy would be impossible – or would it?