[Jezzy]

Originally Posted by Catweazel

No its the placebo effect that works mildly with endorphins in the brain. A placebo will not help if you have lost a limb, have aggressive cancer or toothache. It is good for hypochondriacs however.

Well there's no pill / therapy that will cure either limb loss or aggressive cancer, so those examples are irrelevant. You need to have faith it will work, how could anyone believe any pill could cure their limb loss? There obviously has to be the potential for a cure. Nobody with an aggressive cancer would have very much faith that a drug could cure them, although maybe one could offer some relief.

It's good for more than hypochondriacs, I can dig out some very good articles if you like? You obviously know how it works, both the patients on the real drug and the patients on the false drug, both having faith the drug will cure them, have similar success rates in their cure.

The Chinese firmly believe that mind and body are inextricably linked in the causes and relief of disease; I would tend to agree.

I've also seen people drunk on non-alcoholic beer, believing it's the real McCoy. THAT's funny.