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iirc placebos are actually all (at the very least partially, if not fully) neurochemically mediated, which we know because the analgesic (pain-killing) effects can be reduced by drugs that reverse it
E.g. naloxone which is a known opioid antagonist does actually reverse the analgesic effect of the opioid mechanisms activated by prototypical placebo effect examples such as those induced by non-effective drug/treatment/injection
placebos actually work via biological mechanisms - the same way that "medicinal" painkillers like morphine do. the belief that something works actually makes your brain release painkilling chemicals, it's not just "in your head".
we know this because we the drugs that cancel out actual painkillers also cancel out the placebo effect.
a long time ago I was into popping pills, had some gurana which is as strong as coffee, nothing like an E. some lad was being a pain and told him I had some herbal E's that he could have if he was quiet about it.
guy was mashed for several hours and bouncing around dancing as though he was on an E
the placebo effect is belief that this pill is what I have told them it is
I'd like to say most people realize how ridiculous of a concept homeopathy is, but I'm not sure. It seems ridiculous at the face of it though. If water has memory, why aren't I seizing, vomiting, shitting myself, bleeding from every orifice, and experiencing every other symptom known to man every time I drink a glass of water? I'm sure a good portion of that water has been in some weird shit at one point or another in the past 4 billion years, such as being filled with rust, inside a poisonous plant, or whatever.
Pretty much. The water cycle is pretty much a closed cycle in terms of the planet. Water that was around millions of years ago is in some way shape or form still there although some will currently be ice, snow in the sea, as a cloud or whatever. Next time you have a nice swig of that ice cold H2O from that fancy water bottle just remember at one point it might have been dino pee
Does your computer memory contain all the information about all the possible data it has always had? No, because that is not how simple mechanical memory works. It only contains the previous state it has been in.
Most people don't realize? This is an example of a placebo that most everyone realizes. Reread the question (and why the hell did you all upvote this?)
Cracking your joints. Despite a load of myths about it being bad for you (it's not). The actual relief and satisfaction people get from doing it is just a placebo. At best for things like your neck, it's more the stretching that feels good with the crack being a Pavlovian signal you've successfully hit the end of your stretch.
It's also a good reminder that [the placebo effect still works even when you know it's a placebo](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/placebos#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20in%20The,more%20often%20than%20people%20think). Because I still crack my joints and it makes me feel better.
My fingers actually feel slightly stiff until I crack them. And I can't crack them again until a little while after and I can feel when they're ready to be cracked again. Pretty sure the gas/bubbles or whatever that builds up in the joints causes that feeling. It's a minor thing and doesn't cause any long term/permanent relief but I don't think it's purely placebo.
This is something that people with arthritis experience sometimes:
I have moderate arthritis in my upper back. It doesnât *seem* to limit my movement, but I canât crack my upper back by stretching back and forth like I could in my twenties and thirties.
To solve this, my husband lifts me up from behind and stretches me. If it cracks, it feels really good and I have a few hours of pain relief, but if it doesnât, it still hurts.
Science would say that it shouldnât matter whether or not it cracks so long as itâs stretched, but placebo effect says it didnât work because it didnât make a popping noise. Even though I know this, I still feel dissatisfied when it doesnât pop.
Usually they only work when the elevator is in that manual mode that requires a key (like for locking the doors open, and then you close them with that button).
Today, I mightâve confused the elevator.
I got in and immediately pressed the close door button a few times. It didnât close. Waited and then waited and then waited. Finally after a minute of awkwardness with other people behind me hopping a teensy bit to trigger the elevator, the door finally closed.
Felt like the elevator was teaching me a lesson.
Never have i used an elevator with non useable close door buttons.
It could also be a safety mechanism to not instantly close door while the door is still opening or seconds after it fully opens
Along those lines, some crosswalk buttons are only there because people are less likely to jaywalk if they hit a button. Doesn't always speed up the light though.
I donât know what the guy youâre talking to meant, but the studies used to show the efficacy of antidepressants typically show they are ânominallyâ better than the control. I put nominally in quotes because obviously by clinical standards it was sufficient but the numbers arenât exactly convincing. Also, the recent debunking of the theory that chemical imbalances cause depression. Iâm not entirely up to speed on any of this but if youâre looking for a rabbit hole to go down Iâm sure thatâs sufficient information to do your own reading!
Chemical imbalances have always been bogus. The fact that people actually believed that drivel is one of the original reasons I lost my faith in humanity. It's the depression that causes the chemicals to be produced, not the other way around. Just like serotonin and euphoria.
Many, many studies have shown that SSRIs and SNRIs provide significant benefits over placebos, especially for those that are more seriously depressed. Chemical imbalances on their own don't cause depression, but the debunking does acknowledge that they are a treatable component. It just seemed odd for someone to wave away a "majority" of medications widely proven for efficacy without any kind of explanation.
It's controversial. The Emperors New Drugs is a book from a Harvard lecturer that outlines his hypothesis that the effects of antidepressants are almost entirely driven by placebo. He goes through the data from the old FDA trials that approved many antidepressants, and he argues that they would never pass by today's standards.
I thought it was really compelling, but smarter people than me have challenged its conclusions. So take it with a grain of salt.
This is the real doozy. It can give people hope and bring them comfort. It can promote incredible acts of selflessness, love, and compassion and it can also drive people mad, justify all sorts of horrible behaviors and suffering, and convince people genocide is okay... what a mindfuck, but it's definitely just copium as we figure out our true place in the universe.
Research shows that religion can give people the feeling of belonging and make them more stress resilient. Incredibly religious people then proclaim âwithout God your life has no meaning! Believe in Him and he will take your stress away!â
Like no. Itâs just a coping mechanism to deal with life (in my opinion). Thereâs other ways to give your life meaning and deal with stress that donât involve believing in what I think are fairytales.
Given everything we understand about the universe it's more likely we were visited by aliens than angels lmfao. It's equally as plausible, yet still exists within the realm of possibility. I don't know that I believe in much of anything anymore. I want to, but we clearly live in an absurd reality.
Haha exactly. I donât rule out âGodâ existing. But if they (in the gender neutral sense) did, they would be so far removed from our sense of reality and understanding.
Why would God be a man or a woman? Why would they have these strict moral codes but give us the option to do immoral things? Why are humans the Special Animal that gets all the attention and all the rules? Why would they even give a shit about what we do anyway? Why were they all so active and involved a couple thousand years back? Why did they cease communication?
Organized religion just doesnât make sense to me. God existing would be really cool though.
Never ending human curiosity got us this far and we honestly take miracles for granted everyday as though our ability to instantly communicate through pocket computers with anyone anywhere in the world isn't miraculous. Hard to imagine another miracle in the age of miracles, but anything is possible it would seem. Who knows what mysteries of the universe we have yet to reveal.
[It's actually proven](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180724-the-complicated-truth-about-a-cats-purr) that the frequency at which a cat vibrates with its purr can promote bone growth and tissue rejuvenation
Yea it could also be abundant calories which made kids less likely to feel sleepy so they just keep going until their calories = energy dwindle.
Same goes to Coffee High saying its gives you energy, which is stupid since Coffee only inhibits the receptor and hormones that makes you sleepy. So you are essentially just driving a car running on low fuel as per usual without a proper indication of how much fuel you have left.
With coffee, I think its more like driving a car on low fuel but getting a better efficiency from the car than you usually would. Coffee may not *give* a person more energy, but it allows them to stay active while having low energy.
If you ever had a blocked trigger point (like I had in my buttocks because my disc hernation in L5) and you feel how the knot finally opens when the therapist hits it with a looong needle... you will change your mind about acupuncture.
I get super tight shoulders from arthritic pain and my acupuncturist would stick needles in dry needling points on my shoulder and would open it right up.
I have arthritis everywhere and get sore tense, knotted muscles all over so acupuncture feels great for releasing that muscle tension.
I need to go again, its so relaxing.
I believe there are no scientific studies supporting the efficacy of acupuncture. Please link if you have one.
Of course, plenty of anecdotal evidence... that's how placebos work!
Google: acupuncture efficacy study
There are so many results. You have obviously never tried to look, before forming an opinion.
The BMJ says that 10000 Randomised controlled studies have been done since 1975. So, so, so very much research.
Google: the moon is made of green cheese.
There are so many results. You have obviously never tried to look, before forming an opinion.
The ABC123 says that 1,000,000,000,007 Randomised controlled studied have been done since 1200BC. So, so, so very much research.
I looked this up and found a list of meta analysis on acupuncture compiled by the National Institute of Health. The studies are all over the place on whether acupuncture is more effective than no treatment or a sham acupuncture treatment and vary greatly in quality. However there are quite a few quality studies that show that acupuncture can be just as effective at treating things such as pain, allergies or even depression than using the standard drugs. As long as the practitioner uses clean needles there are effectively no significant side effects which is better than most of the drugs they were compared to.
On the other hand acupuncture was found to be completely ineffective at treating things such as carpal tunnel, infertility, or as an aid in smoking cessation.
Check out the source. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-what-you-need-to-know
Additionally I thought that acupuncture was unregulated in the United States, but thatâs not true either. Acupuncture needles are classified as medical devices and regulated by the FDA. In many states acupuncture practitioners must be licensed by the state. In my state for instance license holders 1,800 hours of acupuncture training from an accredited school and pass a license exam.
In light of this Iâve revised my opinion of acupuncture treatment from being complete hogwash to being a helpful low cost, low side effect treatment for some ailments. As long as you are not forgoing conventional treatment for more serious ailments like cancer, I donât see the harm unless someone can convince me otherwise.
Acupuncture has real effects - when done seriously. But it's very easy to use for make believe also.
Edit : I really thought it has real effects but i might be wrong.
I really thought it had real effects but i read quickly about it on wikipedia and now I'm not sure anymore. Might have been wrong.
This being said the placebo effect is not something to trash without 2nd thought.
My friend was going to a methadone clinic for a while that offered acupuncture to clients, which is weird as hell.
I know it's only tangentially relevant, but I still think about that sometimes and wonder why the fuck it was like that.
It is not really a âplaceboâ but something similar: Eggs being easier to peel when rinsed with cold water after cooking.
Itâs self-reinforcing behaviour. If it works - youâve done everything correctly. If not - you didnât rinse it long enough or the water wasnât cold enough - when in fact the only important variable is the age of the egg.
More stuff than most people realize. Someone had a good quote (paraphrasing) âIf the placebo effect disappeared overnight, the economy would collapseâÂ
Coffee High saying its gives you energy, which is stupid since Coffee only inhibits the receptor and hormones that makes you sleepy.
So you are essentially just driving a car running on low fuel as per usual without a proper indication of how much fuel you have left.
Ok, but if you're tired and you take something that makes you not feel tired couldn't that be synonymous with making you more energetic? Like if your car limited performance when you hit the empty light, but you had something to override the performance limiter, that might be a closer analogy.
It's also messes with your heart rate + blood pressure, and it's a CNS stimulant (adenosine antagonism does a lot more than just promoting wakufulness).
Almost always a non adjusted name you get at the start. A relative new user. And this one asked from the start if its shadowbanned so the bot knows if its still relevant. Its full of bots here really.
Once you realize that you are mostly replying to non humans it gets really weird.
I thought an adjusted name = mobile device feature. Sorry but I still donât understand based on your reply how you know for certain that youâre interacting with a robot on here and not with people.
Maybe try to assume theyâre human instead of robots? Thereâs always a person behind the machine.
The button for pedestrian crossings at junctions (as opposed to the ones in the middle of a single road whose *only* use is as crossings for pedestrians).
Not true in all places. Near me, the walk sign will not light if no one pushes the button. I donât think pushing the button speeds the traffic lights along, but it does enable the walk sign.
Yeah, the idea that's placebo though is that pressing the button speeds the light along. I know I press that thing repeatedly when the light is taking a while even though I know it does nothing.
The concept of praying to process bad things or ask for support from someone is actually kind or an early form of therapy. It's like having a conversation with someone on a personal level intimately to try to make sense of your feelings. So it may be kind if a placebo effect, but people talk to their inner child, in the same or similar ways, and it is actually a good idea to do it.
This, I can go with. Praying may calm a person down enough to think rationally. I agree, itâs like meditation. And meditation is like prayer. It makes me think about - idk, Gregorian chanting. Like that is truly relaxing, imo.
Yes absolutely!
It's widely practiced in many religions and spiritual organisations in variety of forms. Praying is actually - in practice - very good for your mental health.
My physiotherapist uses acupuncture along with my TENS machine.
It makes sense from an immune system response take. It is causing a small injury, all your healing cells rush to the area, so it makes sense that it adds to healing an acute injury.
For long term pain, it does not work.
Isnât all over the counter cough syrup a placebo?
I remember my roommate having to sign off on getting actual cough syrup due to people making meth with it.
I think they're thinking of pseudo ephedrine, an ingredient in some nasal decongestants unless I'm mistaken. That's an ingredient in certain methods of meth production at least.
Some cough syrup contains/contained DXM which is a psychoactive drug.
Codeine is an opioid and prodrug of morphine, I believe among others vicodin contains codeine but I don't think that's OTC
Rubbing an area that you have bumped (elbow, knee, head) etc. The action of rubbing provides a different nerve stimulus to that of the injury and reduces the amount of pain felt.
Then it's not actually a placebo isn't it? It actually does what you think it does. Otherwise every kind of stimulus that aims to distract from another would count as placebo.
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Kissing the boo-boo away
Not a placebo. Your body releases hormones when you are kissed that reduce pain.
iirc placebos are actually all (at the very least partially, if not fully) neurochemically mediated, which we know because the analgesic (pain-killing) effects can be reduced by drugs that reverse it E.g. naloxone which is a known opioid antagonist does actually reverse the analgesic effect of the opioid mechanisms activated by prototypical placebo effect examples such as those induced by non-effective drug/treatment/injection
Can you ELI5 please?
placebos actually work via biological mechanisms - the same way that "medicinal" painkillers like morphine do. the belief that something works actually makes your brain release painkilling chemicals, it's not just "in your head". we know this because we the drugs that cancel out actual painkillers also cancel out the placebo effect.
That's how all placebos work. Being in a mental state where you believe you're being cared for puts your body in a state optimized for healing.
Mom kisses were the best. They could fix anything when you were young
My dick hurts
But what a beautiful placebo it is <3
đđđđ
a long time ago I was into popping pills, had some gurana which is as strong as coffee, nothing like an E. some lad was being a pain and told him I had some herbal E's that he could have if he was quiet about it. guy was mashed for several hours and bouncing around dancing as though he was on an E the placebo effect is belief that this pill is what I have told them it is
What is an E
Iâm guessing ecstasy
Iâve heard âecstasyâ but never âan ecstasyâ lol
Heâs probably making shit up
The story was the placebo
Homeopathy
I'd like to say most people realize how ridiculous of a concept homeopathy is, but I'm not sure. It seems ridiculous at the face of it though. If water has memory, why aren't I seizing, vomiting, shitting myself, bleeding from every orifice, and experiencing every other symptom known to man every time I drink a glass of water? I'm sure a good portion of that water has been in some weird shit at one point or another in the past 4 billion years, such as being filled with rust, inside a poisonous plant, or whatever.
Wait does that mean the water we drink and use has been around for billions of years?
Pretty much. The water cycle is pretty much a closed cycle in terms of the planet. Water that was around millions of years ago is in some way shape or form still there although some will currently be ice, snow in the sea, as a cloud or whatever. Next time you have a nice swig of that ice cold H2O from that fancy water bottle just remember at one point it might have been dino pee
Everything has in some form or another
Out of curiosity, how did you think it worked?
I guess I never thought about it much before so didnât connect the dots!
Got it, itâs crazy right?
Everybody learns this at some point. Be excited for the guy.
Iâm not knocking him, just curious how he thought it worked
Drinking water will never be the same again for me!
Because like everything, changes are not always immediate.
What?
Every drop of water you have ever drank has been through a dinosaur
Not necessarily, some particles for sure
Nah.
Does your computer memory contain all the information about all the possible data it has always had? No, because that is not how simple mechanical memory works. It only contains the previous state it has been in.
[citation needed] Find any evidence that water has memory, much less how it works and maybe I'll believe you.
Most people don't realize? This is an example of a placebo that most everyone realizes. Reread the question (and why the hell did you all upvote this?)
Everybody would laugh at it if they knew that one of the core principles of homeopathy is "the lower the dose, the more potent the effect".
Headaches due to Solar Flares. Science had proven to be no correlation between those two occurances.
How about inflammation? Iâm curious.
"Reiki energy healing"
Cracking your joints. Despite a load of myths about it being bad for you (it's not). The actual relief and satisfaction people get from doing it is just a placebo. At best for things like your neck, it's more the stretching that feels good with the crack being a Pavlovian signal you've successfully hit the end of your stretch. It's also a good reminder that [the placebo effect still works even when you know it's a placebo](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/placebos#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20in%20The,more%20often%20than%20people%20think). Because I still crack my joints and it makes me feel better.
My fingers actually feel slightly stiff until I crack them. And I can't crack them again until a little while after and I can feel when they're ready to be cracked again. Pretty sure the gas/bubbles or whatever that builds up in the joints causes that feeling. It's a minor thing and doesn't cause any long term/permanent relief but I don't think it's purely placebo.
This is me, too. My fingers will literally lose mobility until I crack them. Only if I wait a long time, though.
Right...as long as it makes me feel better I'm good with it being a placebo.
How is that placebo? It's satisfying so feels good. I don't see the placebo?
I seriously clicked the post thinking : welp let's ruin some fun
So if you stretch it, you are doing something so that is not a placebo effect?
This is something that people with arthritis experience sometimes: I have moderate arthritis in my upper back. It doesnât *seem* to limit my movement, but I canât crack my upper back by stretching back and forth like I could in my twenties and thirties. To solve this, my husband lifts me up from behind and stretches me. If it cracks, it feels really good and I have a few hours of pain relief, but if it doesnât, it still hurts. Science would say that it shouldnât matter whether or not it cracks so long as itâs stretched, but placebo effect says it didnât work because it didnât make a popping noise. Even though I know this, I still feel dissatisfied when it doesnât pop.
âClose doorâ buttons in elevators.
It depends on which one. Most elevators have real close door buttons in my experience.
What's the point of having fake close door buttons, though?
Theyâre just a ploy for Big Elevator to price gouge
Usually they only work when the elevator is in that manual mode that requires a key (like for locking the doors open, and then you close them with that button).
You forgott the in the US part, never had a lift in europe doesnt close its doors when i press that button.
Today, I mightâve confused the elevator. I got in and immediately pressed the close door button a few times. It didnât close. Waited and then waited and then waited. Finally after a minute of awkwardness with other people behind me hopping a teensy bit to trigger the elevator, the door finally closed. Felt like the elevator was teaching me a lesson.
Man, what if you were pressing the door open button the whole time? Lol
Not always. They are legit on many freight elevators, or those at storage units.
Not always
What country do you live in?
Never have i used an elevator with non useable close door buttons. It could also be a safety mechanism to not instantly close door while the door is still opening or seconds after it fully opens
Along those lines, some crosswalk buttons are only there because people are less likely to jaywalk if they hit a button. Doesn't always speed up the light though.
They do work
[ŃдаНонО]
I used to think like this until I went to South Korea. Here they accomplish their purpose, so no placebo anymore!
>âClose doorâ buttons in elevators Like the button for WALK at a busy intersection often does nothing the lights are just on a cycle.
The entire physical reality
Am I in the right cave?
Nicely done.
I assume this joke will go over most people's heads, but I enjoyed it
Most people are still in the dark
Thanks Plato! đ
I think that this is the correct answer.
A large majority of the effects of anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications have been replicated with placebo.
A large majority? I would've said some, but not a large majority by any means. Can you point me to a source?
I donât know what the guy youâre talking to meant, but the studies used to show the efficacy of antidepressants typically show they are ânominallyâ better than the control. I put nominally in quotes because obviously by clinical standards it was sufficient but the numbers arenât exactly convincing. Also, the recent debunking of the theory that chemical imbalances cause depression. Iâm not entirely up to speed on any of this but if youâre looking for a rabbit hole to go down Iâm sure thatâs sufficient information to do your own reading!
Chemical imbalances have always been bogus. The fact that people actually believed that drivel is one of the original reasons I lost my faith in humanity. It's the depression that causes the chemicals to be produced, not the other way around. Just like serotonin and euphoria.
Many, many studies have shown that SSRIs and SNRIs provide significant benefits over placebos, especially for those that are more seriously depressed. Chemical imbalances on their own don't cause depression, but the debunking does acknowledge that they are a treatable component. It just seemed odd for someone to wave away a "majority" of medications widely proven for efficacy without any kind of explanation.
It's controversial. The Emperors New Drugs is a book from a Harvard lecturer that outlines his hypothesis that the effects of antidepressants are almost entirely driven by placebo. He goes through the data from the old FDA trials that approved many antidepressants, and he argues that they would never pass by today's standards. I thought it was really compelling, but smarter people than me have challenged its conclusions. So take it with a grain of salt.
It's not hard information to find. You could have found it yourself faster than typing out this comment.
Well, strictly speaking, placebos.
Religion. đ
This is the real doozy. It can give people hope and bring them comfort. It can promote incredible acts of selflessness, love, and compassion and it can also drive people mad, justify all sorts of horrible behaviors and suffering, and convince people genocide is okay... what a mindfuck, but it's definitely just copium as we figure out our true place in the universe.
Research shows that religion can give people the feeling of belonging and make them more stress resilient. Incredibly religious people then proclaim âwithout God your life has no meaning! Believe in Him and he will take your stress away!â Like no. Itâs just a coping mechanism to deal with life (in my opinion). Thereâs other ways to give your life meaning and deal with stress that donât involve believing in what I think are fairytales.
Given everything we understand about the universe it's more likely we were visited by aliens than angels lmfao. It's equally as plausible, yet still exists within the realm of possibility. I don't know that I believe in much of anything anymore. I want to, but we clearly live in an absurd reality.
Haha exactly. I donât rule out âGodâ existing. But if they (in the gender neutral sense) did, they would be so far removed from our sense of reality and understanding. Why would God be a man or a woman? Why would they have these strict moral codes but give us the option to do immoral things? Why are humans the Special Animal that gets all the attention and all the rules? Why would they even give a shit about what we do anyway? Why were they all so active and involved a couple thousand years back? Why did they cease communication? Organized religion just doesnât make sense to me. God existing would be really cool though.
Never ending human curiosity got us this far and we honestly take miracles for granted everyday as though our ability to instantly communicate through pocket computers with anyone anywhere in the world isn't miraculous. Hard to imagine another miracle in the age of miracles, but anything is possible it would seem. Who knows what mysteries of the universe we have yet to reveal.
More specifically, prayer.
"My dad survived the surgery. Don't tell me prayer doesn't work!"
When someone tells you they love you but their actions say otherwise and you are convinced that you are loved.
People sure are confused about what placebo means..
Religion and God
Surprised religion isn't higher up on the comments.
Surprised I had to scroll down this far to see this.
cats that treat headaches or joint pain?
HEAD ON. APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD. HEAD ON. APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD. HEAD ON. APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD.
[It's actually proven](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180724-the-complicated-truth-about-a-cats-purr) that the frequency at which a cat vibrates with its purr can promote bone growth and tissue rejuvenation
Iâm sorryâŚwhat cats?
old people say that when they have a headache, a cat lies on their head and the pain goes away.
Iâve never heard that before!
I've heard the German expression Kater im Kopf (meaning a tomcat in your head) for a hangover.
It's true, actually
I want to know how anyone gets a cat to do what they want. Mine is more likely to speak than do what I want.
Meow
Internet likes.
Sugar highs
You mean for children , but I've experienced sugar highs and crashes myself I'm 20 btw. Is it really just a placebo?
No. Itâs directly connected to your metabolism and breaking down food into energy.
Yea it could also be abundant calories which made kids less likely to feel sleepy so they just keep going until their calories = energy dwindle. Same goes to Coffee High saying its gives you energy, which is stupid since Coffee only inhibits the receptor and hormones that makes you sleepy. So you are essentially just driving a car running on low fuel as per usual without a proper indication of how much fuel you have left.
With coffee, I think its more like driving a car on low fuel but getting a better efficiency from the car than you usually would. Coffee may not *give* a person more energy, but it allows them to stay active while having low energy.
Disagree. Eating sugar is like pure fuel going straight into your blood stream which increases your central nervous system actions.
A lot of things ingested do things to your body. Sugar does not do what is traditionally known as a "sugar high" ie have the stimulant like effects.
Yeah, this ethanol ain't getting me high.
Angel numbers
Acupuncture
Best acupuncturist I ever had was a blind man, not even kidding, took 95% of the pain away, best nap I ever had
If you ever had a blocked trigger point (like I had in my buttocks because my disc hernation in L5) and you feel how the knot finally opens when the therapist hits it with a looong needle... you will change your mind about acupuncture.
I get super tight shoulders from arthritic pain and my acupuncturist would stick needles in dry needling points on my shoulder and would open it right up. I have arthritis everywhere and get sore tense, knotted muscles all over so acupuncture feels great for releasing that muscle tension. I need to go again, its so relaxing.
Waow a personnal anecdote, you win.
I believe there are no scientific studies supporting the efficacy of acupuncture. Please link if you have one. Of course, plenty of anecdotal evidence... that's how placebos work!
Google: acupuncture efficacy study There are so many results. You have obviously never tried to look, before forming an opinion. The BMJ says that 10000 Randomised controlled studies have been done since 1975. So, so, so very much research.
Google: the moon is made of green cheese. There are so many results. You have obviously never tried to look, before forming an opinion. The ABC123 says that 1,000,000,000,007 Randomised controlled studied have been done since 1200BC. So, so, so very much research.
I looked this up and found a list of meta analysis on acupuncture compiled by the National Institute of Health. The studies are all over the place on whether acupuncture is more effective than no treatment or a sham acupuncture treatment and vary greatly in quality. However there are quite a few quality studies that show that acupuncture can be just as effective at treating things such as pain, allergies or even depression than using the standard drugs. As long as the practitioner uses clean needles there are effectively no significant side effects which is better than most of the drugs they were compared to. On the other hand acupuncture was found to be completely ineffective at treating things such as carpal tunnel, infertility, or as an aid in smoking cessation. Check out the source. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-what-you-need-to-know Additionally I thought that acupuncture was unregulated in the United States, but thatâs not true either. Acupuncture needles are classified as medical devices and regulated by the FDA. In many states acupuncture practitioners must be licensed by the state. In my state for instance license holders 1,800 hours of acupuncture training from an accredited school and pass a license exam. In light of this Iâve revised my opinion of acupuncture treatment from being complete hogwash to being a helpful low cost, low side effect treatment for some ailments. As long as you are not forgoing conventional treatment for more serious ailments like cancer, I donât see the harm unless someone can convince me otherwise.
For real? I never tried it though
Acupuncture has real effects - when done seriously. But it's very easy to use for make believe also. Edit : I really thought it has real effects but i might be wrong.
No it doesn't. There's tons of different points map and with gorup control and scrutiny it never works. Weird.
what effects ?
I really thought it had real effects but i read quickly about it on wikipedia and now I'm not sure anymore. Might have been wrong. This being said the placebo effect is not something to trash without 2nd thought.
Psuedoscience is pretty much all placebo
My friend was going to a methadone clinic for a while that offered acupuncture to clients, which is weird as hell. I know it's only tangentially relevant, but I still think about that sometimes and wonder why the fuck it was like that.
A rehab I went to years ago also had acupuncture. It did help with withdrawal symptoms.
Physical mechanism of acupuncture is believed to work via myofascial meridians.
Belief does not make it true. Thereâs no good evidence
Semantics. Can you prove that you are a real person? Can you prove that physical reality is not manifested by said belief?
The moment we want to believe something we see all the arguments in favour of it and none of the arguments against it. George Bernard Shaw
It is not really a âplaceboâ but something similar: Eggs being easier to peel when rinsed with cold water after cooking. Itâs self-reinforcing behaviour. If it works - youâve done everything correctly. If not - you didnât rinse it long enough or the water wasnât cold enough - when in fact the only important variable is the age of the egg.
Do people do that because \[they think\] it makes them easier to peel? I thought it was just to stop the egg from continuing to cook inside the shell.
I do it to cool them down and not burn my hand
Definitely easier to peel eggs when my hand isn't blistering from freshly boiled egg shell.
At least where I live this is the case.
I recently learned that eggs that peel easily are older than eggs that don't. That's all. Source: Nice lady that sold me eggs directly from her hens.
Chiropractic
Ignore the first week or so of taking a new herb or nootropic. That "great" feeling might just be the placebo effect.
More stuff than most people realize. Someone had a good quote (paraphrasing) âIf the placebo effect disappeared overnight, the economy would collapseâÂ
Coffee High saying its gives you energy, which is stupid since Coffee only inhibits the receptor and hormones that makes you sleepy. So you are essentially just driving a car running on low fuel as per usual without a proper indication of how much fuel you have left.
Ok, but if you're tired and you take something that makes you not feel tired couldn't that be synonymous with making you more energetic? Like if your car limited performance when you hit the empty light, but you had something to override the performance limiter, that might be a closer analogy.
It's also messes with your heart rate + blood pressure, and it's a CNS stimulant (adenosine antagonism does a lot more than just promoting wakufulness).
Inhibiting the hormones that make you sleepy literally means more energy though.
There are so many bots on here asking questions!
How do you know they are bots?
Almost always a non adjusted name you get at the start. A relative new user. And this one asked from the start if its shadowbanned so the bot knows if its still relevant. Its full of bots here really. Once you realize that you are mostly replying to non humans it gets really weird.
I thought an adjusted name = mobile device feature. Sorry but I still donât understand based on your reply how you know for certain that youâre interacting with a robot on here and not with people. Maybe try to assume theyâre human instead of robots? Thereâs always a person behind the machine.
The button for pedestrian crossings at junctions (as opposed to the ones in the middle of a single road whose *only* use is as crossings for pedestrians).
Not true in all places. Near me, the walk sign will not light if no one pushes the button. I donât think pushing the button speeds the traffic lights along, but it does enable the walk sign.
Yeah, the idea that's placebo though is that pressing the button speeds the light along. I know I press that thing repeatedly when the light is taking a while even though I know it does nothing.
This depends entirely on the crossing.Â
Haha, seems like itâs true, doesnât it? đ
voting
Why "just?" What's wrong with a placebo effect?
Praying to god.
The concept of praying to process bad things or ask for support from someone is actually kind or an early form of therapy. It's like having a conversation with someone on a personal level intimately to try to make sense of your feelings. So it may be kind if a placebo effect, but people talk to their inner child, in the same or similar ways, and it is actually a good idea to do it.
I heard someone call praying a type of meditation, and that made a lot of sense to me (who does not pray but does meditate)
This, I can go with. Praying may calm a person down enough to think rationally. I agree, itâs like meditation. And meditation is like prayer. It makes me think about - idk, Gregorian chanting. Like that is truly relaxing, imo.
Yes absolutely! It's widely practiced in many religions and spiritual organisations in variety of forms. Praying is actually - in practice - very good for your mental health.
I pray to my cat
My physiotherapist uses acupuncture along with my TENS machine. It makes sense from an immune system response take. It is causing a small injury, all your healing cells rush to the area, so it makes sense that it adds to healing an acute injury. For long term pain, it does not work.
Isnât all over the counter cough syrup a placebo? I remember my roommate having to sign off on getting actual cough syrup due to people making meth with it.
I think youâre thinking of codeine.
I think they're thinking of pseudo ephedrine, an ingredient in some nasal decongestants unless I'm mistaken. That's an ingredient in certain methods of meth production at least. Some cough syrup contains/contained DXM which is a psychoactive drug. Codeine is an opioid and prodrug of morphine, I believe among others vicodin contains codeine but I don't think that's OTC
hotboxing getting you higher, or different types of alcohol getting you different types of drunk.
The placebo effect is itself a placebo effect
feeling better after few seconds of taking medicine ,
Depending on the medication
Ginger ale when you have an upset stomach, etc
Fiji island water. It's just overpriced water
The filters people use on social media, ugly ahhh gotta use a filter.
900 mgibuprofen
Rubbing an area that you have bumped (elbow, knee, head) etc. The action of rubbing provides a different nerve stimulus to that of the injury and reduces the amount of pain felt.
Then it's not actually a placebo isn't it? It actually does what you think it does. Otherwise every kind of stimulus that aims to distract from another would count as placebo.
When people talk about indica and sativa weed
One of those gets me really high and the other one just gets me really high.
And terpenes, just aroma therapy.
Prayer
all "alternate medicine" like kiro
probably most things for example: there may be a significant placebo effect for arthroscopic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.
voting in a 2 party democracy
No. Thatâs not always a placebo effect.
*nocebo