If the placebo effect works by tricking the brain, why does it need to be tricked if it’s apparently able to solve the issue on its own?
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The placebo effect is generally a short term means of using mind over matter, in the literal sense. When you are out of morphine, a shot of saline, told it is morphine, might help to tell someone that their pain is subsiding.
Its faith based healing, really. The faith is that the placebo is a real drug with known effects, so the patient believes their pain will diminish, and it does, probably because they can stop focusing on it. They can take their minds off of it. Thats the placebo..
The mind and faith CAN heal, but with placebos, a person would have to have a lot of faith in the efficacy of whatever drug it was said to be, and most patients dont know that much about pharmeceuticals for that to happen long term..
Its also considered bad medicine to tell patients they are cured or are being cured, if that is just a hope..the doctor would have to exude a huge amount of confidence to pull this off, and would also need to be excellent at convincing the patient of the same..
This is why placebos are generally only used in studies and in triage during a drug shortage.. I think its probably not easy to be a placebo administrator, on any level.
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