Minds are the most powerful tool in your body. It can do many things, one of them being the placebo effect. They believe that something is happening to them when in reality it is not happening. It is something that affects many people.
Some people make themselves believe they are deathly ill and the doctor will give them a medicine that is only a vitamin or something, and they suddenly are cleared.
“The placebo effect is more than positive thinking — believing a treatment or procedure will work. It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together,” says Professor Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard in an article from Harvard Health.
The placebo effect has been around for a long time. Henry Beecher discovered the placebo effect as a medic in World War II. After running out of pain-killing morphine, he replaced it with a simple saline solution but continued telling the wounded soldiers it was morphine to calm them. To his surprise, almost half of the soldiers reported that the inert saline solution actually reduced or erased their pain, in an article from brainfacts.org.
Placebos can set off the body’s natural painkillers. This is known as endorphins. Some say that the brain responds to an imagined scene the same way as it responds to an actual visualized scene.
In an article from healthline.com, says “One in three people experience the placebo effect.”
Taylor Sasser, a junior, gave an example of a time she tested this effect.
“I told my friend that my water tasted weird because I put a healthy green mixture in it. When she took a sip, she said that it did taste weird, but I didn’t put anything in my water.”
This is ever-changing and can affect people in various different ways. Our minds can be easily tricked into thinking whatever we want it to, so remember to always be aware that you are in control of you!
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