The hottest Placebo effect Substack posts right now

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The Placebo Effect in Therapy (Part 2/2)

Living Fossils • 19 implied HN points • 05 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychotherapy Placebo effect Mental health
  1. Belief and expectation can significantly influence healing, often making the placebo effect just as powerful as actual medicine. When patients believe they will get better, it can boost their healing.
  2. Therapy often works not because of specific techniques, but due to the relationship between the therapist and client. That caring connection can lead to real healing and change.
  3. The effectiveness of therapy may not rely on the method used, but rather on the simple fact that someone is there to listen and support the client, making therapy a type of meaningful social interaction.

The Placebo Effect in Therapy (Part 1/2)

Living Fossils • 18 implied HN points • 08 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Placebo effect Psychotherapy Behavioral Science
  1. There are over seventy types of therapy, each with its own method, but research shows they often work about the same. It's called the Dodo bird verdict.
  2. The placebo effect plays a big role in therapy success. Just believing that therapy will help can lead to real changes.
  3. Instead of focusing on which therapy type is best, it might be smarter to understand what makes therapy work, like a supportive environment and the client's expectations.

The Placebo Paradox: Why Placebos Are Ineffective In Psychedelic Research

Tripsitter • 79 implied HN points • 20 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychedelics Placebo effect Research Methods Clinical Trials
  1. Researchers struggle with placebo controls in psychedelic trials due to the unmistakable subjective experiences and physiological effects of psychedelics, making blinding participants difficult.
  2. The power of expectations and beliefs influence the effectiveness of psychedelics, leading to challenges in maintaining placebo controls and interpreting trial results.
  3. Alternative approaches in psychedelic research involve creating placebo psychedelic experiences or comparing psychedelics directly to established treatments, offering potential solutions to traditional placebo limitations.

A Materialist's Guide for How to Listen to Your Body (PLACEHOLDER)

Defender’s corner • 19 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Self-care Body awareness Mind-Body Connection Placebo effect Emotional Intelligence
  1. Listening to your body involves more than just your rational mind; your body needs to be convinced too.
  2. There is clinical proof that placebos can work even when you know they are placebos, showing the mind-body connection.
  3. Pay attention to your initial bodily reactions to things before your thoughts, and learn not to override your body's signals.

Perkins' Tractors: a fashionable remedy put to the test

The Quack Doctor • 19 implied HN points • 01 Dec 23
💾 History Medical Devices Clinical Trials Placebo effect Medical History
  1. Perkins' Metallic Tractors were an 18th-century medical device believed to relieve pain by attracting fluid away from the body using metal prongs, based on the concept of 'Perkinean Electricity'.
  2. Dr. John Haygarth conducted an early clinical trial on Perkins' Tractors, revealing placebo responses that influenced disease perception through imagination, showcasing the importance of evidence in medical treatments.
  3. Haygarth's experiments demonstrated the significance of comparing new treatments against controls, emphasizing the ongoing process of making clinical research as objective as possible.
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