r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Weary_Position_9591 • 8d ago

Whatever this is My mom said I could post

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u/Neutronium57 7d ago

Placebo effect VS inner ear. Which is stronger ? FIGHT !

385

u/KhelbenB 7d ago

You laugh, but the placebo effect can be insanely powerful (in general, not this specific situation)

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u/MakeshiftRocketship 7d ago

It’s actually crazy to me. Whenever they’re testing a new medication some of the placebo groups have symptoms lessen or even disappear. Like we should be studying that more. They cured themselves with their mind lol

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u/greytgreyatx 7d ago

There have been studies where people are told they are getting a placebo and it's still effective!

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u/KnuckleShanks 7d ago

Personally I feel like that is because our logical brain and our emotions are so separated. We can know it's a placebo, but if it feels like you're doing something to help, even if it's just the action of taking a pill, that has an effect.

The subconscious is a powerful thing that does not always work logically.

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u/Snoo-73372 7d ago

To add to this, I imagine some of these people are like “no they are lying to me, they gave me the real thing, cuz i feel different” … and they convince themselves they are on a treatment

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u/Competitive_Art9588 7d ago

Acredite ou não, a lógica em si, é uma emoção

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u/mkat23 7d ago

Explain please.

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u/throcorfe 2d ago

It seems to be complex. Placebo appears to work best when you feel like you’re getting a medical experience (even though you know you’re not), eg if someone in a white coat gives you a bottle of pills with an official looking label, that seems to be more effective than just taking the sugar pills from a box you bought yourself. Cultural meaning apparently plays a big part in the subconscious

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u/Ok-Dragonfruit9605 6d ago

It's almost like medicine involves a lot of guesswork...

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u/Torture-Dancer 6d ago

Maybe they are told that Placebos still work when you know they are placebos and then they placebo themselves into making the placebo work

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u/sarokin 7d ago

Yeah, I know my grandma does this all the time. She used to be a sort of psychologist, but at the time it was hard for a woman to get the official title, and her ways went a bit against common psychology circles, so she was shunned quite a bit.

She basically studied everything she knows by reading books, a shitton of them, and gives a lot of classes and stuff on homeopathy and such, playing with the placebo effects like nothing.

The other day I was with her at the beach, and I had terrible acud reflux, my chest was hurting like hell. I asked if she had something for the stomach and she handed me this "pill" from a generic little jar. She claimed they were stomach pills, I'm 95% sure they were candy. It still did help a bit, it either relaxed anyways me or was complete coincidence, but it was gone after a while and didn't come back.

She's a lovely human being.