Placebo

85% of the contents of over-the-counter cough syrup are placebo ingredients.

Placebo - an inert, or fake, medicine without active ingredients (like a sugar pill) from the Latin placebo, meaning I shall please.

When potential medicines and treatments are being researched, placebos provide the ability to have a control group. Some participants take real medicine, and others take a placebo. They compared performance in the medicated group to the non-medicated group. By not letting the participants know which group they are in, researchers can learn how effective medicines, or other treatments, are.

Researchers discovered they needed a third group, those taking nothing at all. Several studies told their control group they were taking placebos—directly labeled placebos. They still had positive health effects. Sometimes the benefits were the same as actually taking medicine, like a delicious orange cough syrup.

Researchers began studying placebos. One test doubled the placebos partway through a test and saw doubled improvement in the results. Even sham surgery, or surgery that does nothing but open someone up and put them back together, had effects that reduced pain and increased healing in patients. These sham surgeries had similar results even when the patient knew their surgery was a sham.

More plainly, even when we are told the treatment we are getting isn’t a real treatment, often, it still works. Sometimes I see defeat before starting, then give up before trying. I might need to want a better outcome to take the right steps toward it. Maybe generate a placebo or a routine to get started.

Where do I quit too soon? Will I knowingly take a placebo to get started in the right direction? Can I be strong enough for just one more step?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.