Disclaimer: I base the theories and techniques offered in this article on anecdotal experience. Although I am not a doctor, I have found that placebo scenarios act as a counterweight to my precarious state of mind. I grew up in a family where mistakes outweigh achievements. And the misdeeds of the trial were very damaging. Thus, from an early age I had to shore up my self-esteem by inventing stories in which I was successful. Little did I know that I was using the placebo effect to deflect negativity and treat my depression.
Another warning: do not operate vehicles or heavy machinery while using this technique as it closes off our reality and the outside world. It is best applied in a safe environment without physical or mental dangers and unwanted distractions.
Additional Warning: If you are under a physician’s care or taking pain relievers or psychotic medications, please inform your physician before beginning this program as treatment conflicts may arise.
What is the placebo effect? It is a phenomenon whereby sufferers get better with treatments that have no discernible reason for working. While rare and misunderstood, it can be almost as effective as drugs that have been on the market for years. Studies also show that symptoms often improve when fake drugs are given.
Some call it a trick instead of the real thing. But recent research studies show a connection between brain chemistry and placebo use. Another study, an fMRI, detected small changes in blood flow caused by placebo use. Like pharmaceuticals, placebos activate neurochemicals like endorphins and dopamine and create a numbness or unawareness of pain.
So I guess if people get better by taking a placebo pill, why wouldn’t they get better by self-administering a positive, deviating scenario? Studies validate this theory and show that patient conditions improve even when they knew they were taking a placebo. I repeat it again; they knew they were getting fake drugs and still got better.
What is the reason for this? Maybe it’s the survival mechanism in all of us that looks for ways to stay happy and alive. We have this hope and desire to believe that our choices will lead us to a better life. Believing is the crucial part of these diagnoses, because without that faith you condemn the treatment.
So what makes the placebo effect work? Perhaps our emotions and intentions don’t start in the conscious mind, but are triggered in the subconscious mind. These may be innate, learned, or imposed choices from childhood to the present. Whatever is programmed into our brains, both good and bad premises, is more or less what gets us through life. However, they can be rescheduled. There is a strange little quirk in the human subconscious mind, it cannot tell the difference between something imagined and something remembered. They both have similar effects on our brain chemistry. Therefore, by imagining positive and rehabilitative scenarios, you can begin a healing process.
What types of scenarios work best? For me, the stories far from my life and everyday problems are the most competent. If you get too close to your personal life, you will keep regurgitating old problems instead of deflecting them. Likewise, you want to create stories that replace your suffering with positive, uplifting thoughts and emotions. This is a rehabilitation process, replacing the bad with the good, and not looking for quick answers. A better analogy is allowing the body to heal so you can go back to fighting your demons.
Scenarios that focus on achievement and receiving recognition can be beneficial to the psyche. They don’t just displace negative feelings; They initiate paths towards positive activities. Cheerful settings can also help reduce stress. This is because positive emotions, such as feeling grateful or elated, reduce the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
Troubleshooting scenarios work well even when the results are not productive. Think of them as brain exercises. When you think positive thoughts, negative thoughts and feelings have little chance to creep in. Also, problem solving requires a much more concentrated approach making movement more effective. However, such scenarios must be disconnected and distant from their current conflicts.
Become the hero of your story, the savior, the innovator, the savior, the loyal companion, the enabler, or the good soldier. Whatever takes you away from your problems, the misery, the pain, that is the placebo scenario you want to imagine and create. Feel-good scenarios are like meditation in that they allow the body and mind to rest while generating positive hormones that promote healing.
In structuring his stories, he finds that when everything runs smoothly, without conflict or trouble, the results are unsatisfying. To succeed, you need obstacles that test your strength and courage; people, things or ideas that get in your way. The higher the difficulty, the more satisfying your winning resolution will be. So, insert villains, natural disasters, and overwhelming problems that challenge your abilities so that when you overcome them, it’s a worthwhile achievement.
When using this placebo regiment, one must be careful about telling others. This is because their scenarios and dreams are not made for public scrutiny. First. your state of mind, whether depressed or optimistic, your attempts to improve it may meet with disbelief and opposition, especially when trying to dissect your scenarios and dreams. Only you will know if they are working or not.
If you pass on your placebo efforts to others, they are no longer yours should you wish to revisit, extend, or wallow in their glory. When they go public, they lose their punch and become conversational banter rather than useful therapy.
Another caveat to keep in mind is when scenarios become commitments to be met, obligations beyond your capabilities. This reality can lead to thoughts of failure and depression. It is best to keep these two worlds separate.
Addiction to placebo scenarios could be a problem where the rush to overcome dangers and be successful creates fantastic highs. Such obsessions, especially when it comes to harmonizing your work and social life, must be dealt with by conscience. It is as if the treatment has taken over and it has become an overdose problem. In such situations, one must weigh a healthy reality against rejuvenating scenarios and balance them to achieve the best possible life.
There is a secondary benefit in the placebo scenarios. I remember a study that said that employees who daydream at work are more innovative than other employees. In the business world, innovations are the most effective way to increase productivity and profits. By daydreaming, think outside the box and discover solutions that linear thinkers miss.
While I caution against sharing scenarios, the following stories have been worn out from overuse and will give you an idea of how my imagination works. The use of similar scenarios can lead to a healthy psyche.
He designed a worthless car engine that won the Indy 500. This was a problem-solving scenario that required a lot of structural visualization and sequential conceptualization. It took more than a year to solve and visualize the design.
As a member of the Air Force crew, he was shot down in World War II in Germany and encountered French resistance. He helped uncover traitorous resistance members working with the Nazis, as well as the discovery of a mole operating out of London’s Ally Command Center. He learned French and some German and stayed undercover during the war.
He helped design a cinema projection system that requires no special glasses and uses ultra-high-frequency light waves projected onto a glass-embedded screen to produce vivid three-dimensional images. The embedded crystals were formed from compounds extracted from large meteorites that fell in Russia in 2013. Scientists found that these crystals exhibit unique properties that reflect different perspectives depending on the frequency of ultrahigh light waves that hit them. Computer programs take data from standard 3D digital cameras and convert it into data that works with this new system. Observers at test screenings said it’s like looking out a big open window, which is why the images are so realistic.
Studies have shown that positive thoughts supplanting negative ones increase the subject’s perspective. However, having happy thoughts is not enough to take us to another world. Made-up scenarios can and do have the additional characteristic of being under the control of the subject and, when intense, exclude the real world. They also give the subject the option to seek rehabilitation or fester in his misery. By choosing correctly, the patient becomes a doctor and heals himself.
Placebo scenario therapy takes time. Whatever got you into this mess took time, and getting your health back takes time, too. Don’t look for instant success; because like physical wounds, they take time to heal.
The placebo effect of reading this article means believing that there is something here that could help you feel better. It also means an awareness that you are looking for answers and solutions; that’s a step in the right direction. Welcome to the world of the placebo scenario.