Few terms have been more misused and caused more confusion than placebo and the placebo effect.
Placebo is most commonly defined as an inert substance such as a sugar pill or an injection of salt-water or a fake treatment used in medicine. But there is another definition of placebo that is more useful in practice: a response to the context and meaning of a treatment. Using this definition, knowledge about the placebo response can be used to enhance the effects of any treatment and should be a standard part of medical practice.
Watch this video, as I describe what the placebo effect is and the benefits it brings to healing the whole person.
The placebo effect is essentially the meaning response that is induced by the context of treatment. The physiological, psychological, and clinical effects of this give outstanding value to how people can heal.
Find out more this month as we discuss the placebo effect, its value, and the cultural influences that act upon it and our healing process. And, of course, to learn more check out my book How Healing Works: Get Well and Stay Well Using Your Hidden Power to Heal.
Your Health Into Your Own Hands
Drawing on 40 years of research and patient care, Dr. Wayne Jonas explains how 80 percent of healing occurs organically and how to activate the healing process.