Horizon and the Placebo Effect

Last month Horizon screened an incredible documentary about the placebo effect.  In the programme they outlined how taking a non-active agent can trigger responses within the body that turn on the body’s own ability to self-heal. I’ve written about this before as it is such a clear example of the power of our minds to effect real physiological changes within our bodies.

And incredibly, they found that even patients who knew the pills were placebos had positive results.  Taking the pill may have acted as a psychological signal to the body that it was time to begin healing, allowing it to start on its own pathway to natural health.

There was also a segment about how hypnotherapy could act as a method by which someone could turn on their own placebo effect, simply through the use of the spoken word. And again, this lead to real, quantifiable physiological effects, whereby the body used its own internal pharmacy and triggered the release of helpful chemicals and processes that allowed it to begin to heal.

So the placebo effect is not no effect, it actually points to how much power we have innately within us to trigger our own healing. And that is something to celebrate. In fact a lot of drugs that are approved for licence perform only just above the level of the placebo effect, so it is a real power to be reckoned with.

There is more information on the programme content here.

.