Negative placebo effect.

[Deep Sea Isopod]

I understand how placebo works, but does it also work in reverse? Like a hypochondriac who thinks he's got a series illness could contract that ailment?

[Audley Strange]

No but a person who thinks they are ill can manifest "symptoms" which could possibly be physically detrimental, like for example the anxiety that they are ill causes them to have a dry throat which causes a reflexive cough which becomes chronic leading to repeated tissue damage which could become potentially cancerous.

[Deep Sea Isopod]

No but a person who thinks they are ill can manifest "symptoms" which could possibly be physically detrimental, like for example the anxiety that they are ill causes them to have a dry throat which causes a reflexive cough which becomes chronic leading to repeated tissue damage which could become potentially cancerous.

Great, thanks.

[Thinking Aloud]

I think one can worry one's-self into reacting against a perceived but non-existent health problem, which really does cause the body to begin to counter-attack, which then feeds back on itself as things start to get confused. I think that's the basis of voodoo and other curses.

[Pappa]

The new scientist ran a decent article on it a few years ago. They included stuff about people developing side-effects from drugs if they had negative opinions about pharmaceutical companies and the like.

Also this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo

[Deep Sea Isopod]

Interesting...

[amused]

Derail, sorta....

A guy at work defended homeopathy by citing the placebo effect. I asked him, how does that work for homeopathy for pets?

[Svartalf]

Nocebo effect is a medical reality... patients in drug trials are much more likely to exhibit unpleasant side effects if they've been warned about them.

[Svartalf]

Derail, sorta....

A guy at work defended homeopathy by citing the placebo effect. I asked him, how does that work for homeopathy for pets?

Pets get better because Master is obviously taking good care of them.

[amused]

If I were a pet and my owner was into homeopathy, I'd die of a horrible disease just out of spite.

[mistermack]

I would think that if a placebo works for someone, then withdrawing the placebo should give the negative placebo effect.

I think with sex, it's definitely possible to give yourself erection problems, by being convinced it's going to happen. A sort of self-fulfilling anxiety. I had a spell of that years ago, but only if I had a new girlfriend, who I hadn't yet "done it" with. Once the thought of it being a problem was gone, the problem was gone.

[Tyrannical]

My wife used to have a medical dictionary, aka a hypochondriacs bible. Once she once said she might have Ebola I chucked it out.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I understand how placebo works, but does it also work in reverse? Like a hypochondriac who thinks he's got a series illness could contract that ailment?

That's the heart of dark voodoun.

[Svartalf]

Petro vodou does worse than that, they'll actively drug and poison you or whatever... they got puffer fish extract and concombre zombi and a lot of other funny stuff and can make irl zombies, remember?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Petro vodou does worse than that, they'll actively drug and poison you or whatever... they got puffer fish extract and concombre zombi and a lot of other funny stuff and can make irl zombies, remember?

But the bulk of the ju-ju was in suggestion.