Free Essay Example on The Placebo Effect: A Psychological Phenomenon

Introduction

The placebo effect describes a body response under which individuals experience a relief after intake of unreal treatment (Tavel, 2014). Therefore, placebos are pills or substances that seem to have medical effects, but in reality, they do not have. However, the use of placebos makes people experience actual changes, even though they are unreal treatments. The reason behind this real treatment is based on the patients' expectations that the substances will work to their advantage.

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The more people anticipate the treatment will be effective, the more they could exhibit a placebo effect. The brain convinces the body that fake medication is the actual thing. In most cases, people are not aware that they are receiving placebo treatment. Instead, they tend to believe they are receiving the real treatment for a condition they might be going through. The placebos are designed to imitate actual real medications, whether syrup, injection, or pills, yet these substances have no actual impact on the illnesses they are meant to treat. This paper provides a detailed discussion on the use of placebos in nursing practice, placebos effect on pain management, factors contributing and issue relating to the placebo effect.

Placebos and Placebos Effect in Nursing Practice and Pain Management

Placebos are mainly used in clinical research and studies to measure the effectiveness of medications. An example is where individuals in one group are given the tested treatment while others in a different group are given placebos, which they are made to believe is the real drug. By using this approach, researchers are able to test the drug effectiveness by comparing the reaction in both groups. In a situation that both drugs have the same effect, the actual drug is considered not to be effective. However, if the actual drug produces a positive impact, then it is considered to be effective.

Although placebos have no impact on body conditions, they may have some actual effects on how persons feel. The power of the placebo effects, however, is dependent on several psychological factors. The first factor is the nature of the condition. Secondly is peoples’ strong belief that the treatment will be effective (Tavel, 2014). The placebo effect is also dependent on people's expectations after taking drugs. If they anticipate having side effects like drowsiness, nausea, and headache, there is a great potential that such reactions will occur. The fourth factor is the physicians’ positive messages on the effectiveness of these drugs. Finally are the genes that may affect how individuals react to placebo treatments.

Better Response to Placebos

Some individuals are naturally inclined to have a better response to placebos. Individuals with high dopamine versions in their brains are more likely to experience the placebo effect compared to their counterparts with low dopamine chemicals. Also, individuals with high dopamine versions have high pleasure-seeking and pain perception levels (Miller & Miller, 2015). Researchers are focused on identifying the new treatment's effectiveness compared to the existing ones when trying new therapies or medications. Through the research, the researchers identify the possible adverse effects of the new medication, patients who could use it, and its potential benefits compared to the threats. By paralleling the impacts of the new medication to placebos, scientists determine whether the effects result from the treatments or other variables.

Placebo effects are usually produced because people have no idea that they are consuming placebos. Intentional intake of placebos is also likely to produce almost similar results as the actual drugs. Such results are based on the fact that people believe that taking medicine produces a healing effect. Even if people are sure that a drug may not be the actual medicine, taking the drug may arouse the mind to perceive the body is cured, hence the placebo effect (Colloca, 2019). People can, therefore, give themselves a placebo effect through self-help approaches other than using fake drugs. Practices such as meditation, exercising yoga, and social time produce a placebo effect, which helps overcome some health conditions.

Though the placebo effect is connected to people’s expectations, it is not entirely fake as it results in some actual psychological and physical changes. An example of these changes includes the high levels of endorphins production in the body, which is one of the pain relievers. Some of the common disorders affected by placebos include depression, anxiety, pain, sleep disorders, fatigue, blood pressure, and heart rate. About 30 to 60 percent of people after taking placebos will feel a reduction of pain (Tavel, 2014). Therefore, the placebo effect makes the human brain to expect outcomes and the expectation results to those outcomes.

Psychological Factors Contributing To Placebo Effect

Hormone response is one of the main factors where the placebos trigger the release of endorphins. Due to similar structures as opiate painkillers and morphine, the endorphins serve as painkillers in the brain. Areas containing many endorphins are activated by the placebos hence producing the placebo effect. The Nocebo effect is also another element contributing to the placebo effect (Miller & Miller, 2015). It is mainly characterized by negative effects or more symptoms due to placebo intake. An example of a nocebo effect is when an individual may report more dizziness, nausea, or headaches after taking placebos.

Expectation and classical conditioning are also other factors that result in a placebo effect. This mainly happens when people associate some substances with certain responses. Based on classical conditioning, individuals with high motivation and expectations that a particular treatment will work tend to experience the placebo effect (Colloca, 2019). Also, a physician's zeal affects how a sick person responds. In a situation that a physician is very optimistic about a particular treatment, a patient is more likely to benefit from its use.

Issues Relating To the Placebo Effect

Though placebos affect how people feel, they do not have a substantial clinical impact on the underlying disorders. Therefore, the placebo effect has only a limited impact on patient-reported results, especially on pain and nausea perceptions. Also, one major issue with the placebo effect is that it is hard to differentiate from real treatment (Miller & Miller, 2015). Therefore, identifying procedures to differentiate between the treatment and placebo effect can be crucial in improving treatment and reducing drug testing costs. It is, therefore, crucial to note that placebos do not cure any underlying conditions. However, when used properly, placebos could be of great help to patients in completing their therapeutic plan.

Conclusion

The placebo effect is not a deception. The mind has influential power on the body, a factor that helps the body to overcome some underlying conditions. Therefore, the placebo effect is produced when the mind, through positive thinking, triggers the body into believing that some replica treatment can produce actual therapeutic outcomes. The placebo effect develops a robust connection between the body and the brain and how they interact collectively. In some situations, placebos can bring about powerful influence to imitate the impacts of real medications. Therefore, the placebos are important in conducting medical research as they help researchers and doctors realize and understand the psychological and physiological impacts of new treatments.

References

Miller, L. R., & Miller, F. G. (2015). Understanding placebo effects: Implications for nursing practice. Nursing Outlook, 63(5), 601-606.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2015.03.002

Colloca, L. (2019). The placebo effect in pain therapies. Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 59, 191-211.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010818-021542

Tavel, M. E. (2014). The placebo effect: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The American journal of medicine, 127(6), 484-488.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.02.002