Maybe placebo effect is falling – when people viewed it as an astounding miracle therapy, it got astounding miracle results, but now that it’s lost its luster n

Maybe placebo effect is falling – when people viewed it as an astounding miracle therapy, it got astounding miracle results, but now that it’s lost its luster nobody takes it seriously anymore. I don't think "placebo effect" is an adequate term when the benefit from a therapy derives from the work patients put in. It's more like dieting than like a drug. Faith in the program helps people invest the required work and persevere through difficulties and setbacks. The impulse to give up, to take a break, to skip the work today, this impulse preys on doubt. In this dynamic, the differences in inherent effectiveness between one method and another can be dwarfed by the power of one treatment having superior marketing and inspiring people to work harder, persist through greater discomfort, and eventually have a greater likelihood of achieving results — which will of course be credited to the theoretical ideas underpinning the therapy instead of the marketing.