Placebo Effect

How placebos work is still not quite understood. It is a remarkable phenomenon wherein a fake treatment with an inactive substance leads to real improvement in an individual’s health. Studies have found that it works even when the participants are told that they are taking a placebo. It has also been observed that the placebo effect of ADHD drugs is quite large. You feel more focused just because you tell yourself that’s supposed to be the effect. In the U.S. (unlike other countries), the placebo effect is so strong that new painkillers have trouble beating it in clinical trials. Then there is the “Nocebo Effect.” It is the opposite of the placebo effect, wherein a harmless substance can cause patients to feel worse due to their negative expectations about it.