We are the real power of the placebo; the placebo is merely a device, which assists us in using our abilities to heal ourselves when we are unable to read the road map unassisted. (Werbach 1986:97)
Professor Arthur K. Shapiro, of Cornell University, has proposed the following definition of placebo.
A placebo is any therapy, or component of therapy, that is deliberately or knowingly used for its nonspecific, psychologic or psychophysiologic effect, or that is used unknowingly for its presumed or believed specific effect on a patient, symptom, or illness, but which, unknown to patient and therapist, is without specific activity for the condition being treated.
Remarkable research has shown the impact that a person’s attitude has on the strength of their immune system. A case study (over 30 years ago) of a cancer patient who was given a new drug treatment Krebiozen, which was reputed to be a miracle cure for cancer. After a single treatment the person's cancer melted "like snow balls in a hot oven". However after reading articles that proved that Krebiozen was ineffective the person’s condition began to decline. The physician encouraged him not to believe the studies he had read about and encouraged him to try a new and improved version of the drug. Following the administration of this new drug the patients condition improved significantly. The new drug was merely water.
A mind set that favours the “germ theory” model of medicine has been biased against research into placebos. The word has come to have almost a cynical and negative meaning. Patients who respond to them are considered to be deluded. The feedback between mind and body as an actual biological process, and valuable therapeutical dynamic, is often denied.
Having said that, medical literature has documented that placebos have successfully treated many ailments including:
vascular disorders like migraine headaches, hypertension, angina pectoris…
neurologic disorders like Parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis, and senile brain disease
rheumatic disorders like osteoarthritis
allergies like hay fever and asthma
gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome
mental disorders like neuroses and psychoses
skin disorders like warts and acne
endocrine and metabolic disorders like menopausal symptoms, diabetes mellitus, and obesity
sleep disorders like insomnia
The placebo effect appears to consist of at least two components. Suggestion communicated through the medium of language - such as assurances that ‘this pill has helped many people with the same condition as yours.' The other component is ritual - the actual act of visiting the doctor, swallowing the pill, having the surgery, etc. According to a double-blind study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, emotionally disturbed people respond better to suggestion than people who are relatively free of emotional problems. People relatively free of emotional problems respond better to the ritual aspect of the placebo than people who are emotionally disturbed.