Can placebos cure depression?
Depression is a very common mental illness across the world and just like any psychological disorder its standards of treatment vary. Many people inquire about depression and one of the most repeated questions is “can placebo cure depression?”. In order to answer this you need to understand what is the placebo effect and how depression is treated.
The Placebo effect
Doctors understand that sugar pills and medical workers in white lab coats can have an unexpected therapeutic effect on patients and their conditions. A nervous patient can be easily calmed by the soft, encouraging words of the doctor or the mere regular checkup with the doctor can make the patient feel alot better. This is the placebo effect. Research over the years have shown that placebos encourage the brain to activate natural chemicals that enhance brain activity in ways that are quite similar to effects of medications and therapies. In this way, placebos can be used in treating depression and stress disorders. They do provide some form of relief and assure patients that they are being treated for their pain.
Psychotherapy and placebo
Psychotherapy is an effective therapy for depression. It is also known as ‘talk’ therapy. Psychotherapy is not a science but an art. Strategies have been built upon a huge collection of empirical knowledge and research to perform this form of art correctly. Patients sit and talk about their condition and stressors. With the help of the therapist they come up with ways to deal with them. The mind is explored and studied. Patterns are observed and solutions are made.
It has been found through many different data that the primary curative factor in psychotherapy is the therapist-patient relationship. The level of trust, reliance and ease contributes to the success of psychotherapy in anxiety and depression patients. As the patient trusts the therapist he feels more encouraged and taken care of. It helps him believe more in the treatment he is being given and words he is being told. Belief plays its role and conquers the brain.
This seems to prove that the effectiveness of psychotherapy lies in the placebo effect. The talks are the stimulus for the brain to encourage it to collaborate with the body and cause it to feel better or happier. So it can be right to say that placebo can help depression patients feel alot better and also help them in treatments like psychotherapy. It is worth a try to find relief in harmless treatments like a placebo, as the more dependent you become on drugs the harder it gets to survive without them.
As one of the leading writers of enlightenment, Voltaire once said, "The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." This describes the effect of placebo perfectly. The placebo is given to please the patient while nature (the brain) plays its part to cure the condition or in many cases, make the patient feel better.
Voltaire could not have been more right!