4 ms·

Theory: there isn't anything really all that wrong with most people; it's all in their minds, so the placebo works. Watch the evening news on a network and co

Theory: there isn't anything really all that wrong with most people; it's all in their minds, so the placebo works. Watch the evening news on a network and count the number of advertisements you see for prescription drugs. I did this a couple of weeks ago watching the CBS Evening news, a half-hour program, and about 65 percent of the commercials were for pills of some sort: migraine pills, anti-depression pills, pills for seniors, etc. The prescription drug industry in the US has got a slimy underbelly; it goes out of its way to convince people that there's something "wrong" with them, and then falls all over itself attempting to pat itself on the back for "curing" them.

ars 17y ago
"Theory: there isn't anything really all that wrong with most people; it's all in their minds, so the placebo works." Nope. Placebos can really and truly cure things. And not just things that are in the mind. For example the immune system is under brain control, and placebos can affect it. Allergies can be cured by placebo, ref: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=27460 http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=27... Lots of things that you would not expect can be cured by placebo. Read some drug trials (or those inserts in drug packages) and notice how in pretty much all cases the placebo group improved relative to the starting point. As I said in a different comment in this thread: most people refuse to believe placebos can work, and say things like what you did "it's all in their head", "there was nothing actually wrong with them". But they really do work.
- indiejade 17y ago
  For example the immune system is under brain control, and placebos can affect it. Then it would be the act of taking the placebo that cures, not the actual placebo itself. My theory was simply that by taking something with the expectation of a cure, many people can already be on their way to wellness because, as you mentioned, a lot of healing begins within the brain.
- adrianbg 17y ago
  Especially in the case of pain this makes total sense to me. Pain is just a signal that something is wrong with you. If you believe in some deep way that the problem has been fixed, then there's no reason for your body to keep making you feel pain.
JimmyL 17y ago
Pharma advertising is something that always strikes me when I watch US TV feeds. Here in Canada, pharma advertising is very heavily regulated by the Federal government. It can come in essentially two forms. One is the "for sale" form, in which case the ad is limited to the drug name, the amount, and the price - no description of what it's for, or any other information. The other is the "informational" form, in which case the ad can talk about a symptom, like "acid reflux is dangerous - here are some signs", but it can't mention the name of the drug or pharmaceutical company producing it, and it has to talk about alternative non-drug remedies. The net result is that there are very few pharmaceutical ads on TV here, since they have so little value in what they're allowed to say.
- ryanpetrich 17y ago
  I'm rather amused by the women beaming with confidence as they proclaim "I'm on Alesse"... took me awhile to figure out it was birth control
  - astine 17y ago
    I'm always put off by folks (on television) telling me about their E.D. meds. I don't know why anyone would tell the whole world about that.
    - anamax 17y ago
      > I'm always put off by folks (on television) telling me about their E.D. meds. Are you talking about commercials or something else? If commercials, how do you propose that folks who have those problems become aware that it's okay to get help? Or do you think that they should just give up on sex? Remember - you asserted the reasonable proposition that it's reasonably normal to be embarrassed about such problems.
- derefr 17y ago
  About the Canadian drug ads, I wonder—can a company buy two ad spots, one for the problem information (w/o drug) and one for the drug (w/o information), and then run them one after the other? Might help people make the connection; I've never been able to understand the drug-name-and-that's-it spots.
run4yourlives 17y ago
If your theory were correct, there should be a correlation between placebo effectiveness and exposure to the "perils" of modern western thinking. There isn't.
nopassrecover 17y ago
I noticed this when I was in SF recently. In Australia we have next to no pill commercials (just the ocassional government awareness of a new vaccine or vitamin ads).
anamax 17y ago
Ghod knows that folks who have problems always talk to doctors about said problems.... > it goes out of its way to convince people that there's something "wrong" with them I don't see that. I see "hey, if you can't make it through a round of golf without needing to urinate, you've got a problem and you should go to the doctor and get our drug".

ars 17y ago

"Theory: there isn't anything really all that wrong with most people; it's all in their minds, so the placebo works." Nope. Placebos can really and truly cure things. And not just things that are in the mind. For example the immune system is under brain control, and placebos can affect it. Allergies can be cured by placebo, ref: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=27460 http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=27... Lots of things that you would not expect can be cured by placebo. Read some drug trials (or those inserts in drug packages) and notice how in pretty much all cases the placebo group improved relative to the starting point. As I said in a different comment in this thread: most people refuse to believe placebos can work, and say things like what you did "it's all in their head", "there was nothing actually wrong with them". But they really do work.

indiejade 17y ago
For example the immune system is under brain control, and placebos can affect it. Then it would be the act of taking the placebo that cures, not the actual placebo itself. My theory was simply that by taking something with the expectation of a cure, many people can already be on their way to wellness because, as you mentioned, a lot of healing begins within the brain.
adrianbg 17y ago
Especially in the case of pain this makes total sense to me. Pain is just a signal that something is wrong with you. If you believe in some deep way that the problem has been fixed, then there's no reason for your body to keep making you feel pain.

JimmyL 17y ago

Pharma advertising is something that always strikes me when I watch US TV feeds. Here in Canada, pharma advertising is very heavily regulated by the Federal government. It can come in essentially two forms. One is the "for sale" form, in which case the ad is limited to the drug name, the amount, and the price - no description of what it's for, or any other information. The other is the "informational" form, in which case the ad can talk about a symptom, like "acid reflux is dangerous - here are some signs", but it can't mention the name of the drug or pharmaceutical company producing it, and it has to talk about alternative non-drug remedies. The net result is that there are very few pharmaceutical ads on TV here, since they have so little value in what they're allowed to say.

ryanpetrich 17y ago
I'm rather amused by the women beaming with confidence as they proclaim "I'm on Alesse"... took me awhile to figure out it was birth control
- astine 17y ago
  I'm always put off by folks (on television) telling me about their E.D. meds. I don't know why anyone would tell the whole world about that.
  - anamax 17y ago
    > I'm always put off by folks (on television) telling me about their E.D. meds. Are you talking about commercials or something else? If commercials, how do you propose that folks who have those problems become aware that it's okay to get help? Or do you think that they should just give up on sex? Remember - you asserted the reasonable proposition that it's reasonably normal to be embarrassed about such problems.
derefr 17y ago
About the Canadian drug ads, I wonder—can a company buy two ad spots, one for the problem information (w/o drug) and one for the drug (w/o information), and then run them one after the other? Might help people make the connection; I've never been able to understand the drug-name-and-that's-it spots.

run4yourlives 17y ago

If your theory were correct, there should be a correlation between placebo effectiveness and exposure to the "perils" of modern western thinking. There isn't.

nopassrecover 17y ago

I noticed this when I was in SF recently. In Australia we have next to no pill commercials (just the ocassional government awareness of a new vaccine or vitamin ads).

anamax 17y ago

Ghod knows that folks who have problems always talk to doctors about said problems.... > it goes out of its way to convince people that there's something "wrong" with them I don't see that. I see "hey, if you can't make it through a round of golf without needing to urinate, you've got a problem and you should go to the doctor and get our drug".