Placebos work—even when you know they’re dummy pills

The power of the mind has been underlined again in another study that uses placebos, or dummy pills, to get people better.  But the new study goes a step further—everyone knew they were taking a placebo.

Even though they knew they were taking a sugar pill with no active ingredient, the volunteers reported “a significant” decrease in their stress, anxiety and depression after just two weeks.

Researchers from Michigan State University worked with a group of people who were suffering from longterm stress after the Covid-19 pandemic.  They didn’t treat half the group, and the rest were mailed a supply of placebo pills, and it was clearly stated they were placebos.  They also watched Zoom webinars on how to take the pills.

Interestingly, some previous placebo studies have wondered if the positive effects were down to the relationship between the patient and doctor, but in the current study, none of the participants had any face-to-face meetings, and instead communicated remotely, via Zoom webinars.

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