Placebos have side effects. I have already blogged about the power of the placebo effect. However it wasn't until today that I read about placebos having negative side effects. If you give a placebo instead of a drug and list out the side effect(s) or emphasize the side effects, people actually physically get these side effects. These side effects are the side effects that people on the "real" medication have. For example if side effect of a pain killer is stomach pains, then some people on placebo experiences these stomach pains. Also the level of side effects is proportional to how much emphasis is placed up on them. If the doctors spend more time talking about the side effects, the side effects are more common. Apparently this is effect is called the nocebo instead of placebo.
This just shows the power of the soul/emotions/mind on the bodies health. We neglect this side of our lives to our peril.
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