Doctors using placebos instead of drugs – and they work just as well
If you’ve ever been given a drug, and especially one to treat depression, there’s a good chance your doctor gave you a placebo, or sugar pill – and you felt better afterwards.
Around 20 per cent of doctors and psychiatrists have admitted prescribing a placebo because they believe it has been genuinely helpful and has had therapeutic value, a new survey has discovered.
The use of placebos is even higher among psychiatrists. Around 35 per cent admit prescribing them instead of a powerful antidepressant drug.
(Source: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 2011; 56).