Comments on: How the powerful placebo effect works
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- Drug research is not as sophisticated as we want to think. It seems that a drug is discovered that has some effect on us, not because they designed it to be that way, but because, when taken, it creates an effect, and the drug company decides how to market that. It doesn't mean they understand why the drug will control depression, or an other psychological disorder, it only means they market a drug that seems to be in the direction of having some effect related to ......
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- I have been a retail and hospital pharmacist for almost 30 years and Irving Kirsch is absolutely correct! I can't even begin to describe the many, many times that my collegues and I have seen the placebo effect at work in customers/patients. Drug companies will deny this fact because the truth would cut into their profits. Psychiatrists will deny this fact because their profession and income would be devestated. The beneficial effects do actually come about but ONLY because of the attention that they receive from another person. Loving attention will cure many mental illnesses more than any pill could ever do. (NOTE: I am NOT saying that pills can't cure PHYSICAL illnesses because medicine is very valuable in this area.)
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- The good doctor is not taking into account that there are 2 kinds of depression. There is chemical depression that is more chronic and there is situational depression, when things in your life are getting you down. The situational depression responds to therapy very quickly but the chemical depression NEEDS medications to treat them. As when women are going through menapause. Therapy just does not work and I wouldn't think a placebo would not work either. There are also hypocondriacs that might respond to placebos quite well. I would love to think that sugar pills could treat many of the ills of the world but Parkinsons Disease treated with sugar pills, come on. Ask Michael J Fox if sugar pills could fix him, he will be extatic!
Karen, RN - Reply to this comment
- Based on your story, it seems like most medical professionals and the FDA agree that anti-depressants mostly work for the severely depressed. Given this information, I hope that doctors think twice before prescribing these medications to people, especially since many of them have side effects such as severe weight gain that can only add to peoples' problems. Also one of my friends who stopped taking an anti-depressant said she had very dark thoughts as she tried to wean herself off of it.
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- Meditation is a great way to heal the body and especially to cure illness of the mind. Once one becomes self aware, the possibilities with what we can do using positive thought are surprising. This, of course is the big secret to keep people trapped.
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