7 Ways Alternative Medicine Tricks You Into Thinking It Works
3. It Uses The Placebo Effect To Its Advantage
Feeling better and actually being healthier are two different things, a person can still have an illness while reporting they feel okay – they're still sick, they just aren't showing or feeling any symptoms of their illness. This phenomenon is known as the placebo effect and for many people, feeling better is perceived as being healthier, therefore - no longer sick.
Alternative medicine is an industry built on exploiting the placebo effect especially with illnesses that resolve on their own. Practices such as Acupuncture and Chiropractic have been shown to be no more effective than the placebo effect at treating muscle/skeletal-related conditions, while treatments such as Homeopathy and Reiki flat-out can't work for eliminating diseases. Homeopathy violates the laws of Chemistry and Physics, and Reiki – well, if not touching someone was the cure for cancer, than not giving a handjob gives the best orgasms on the planet. (Note to self: Stop waving at my co-workers.)
The placebo effect is an interesting phenomenon, one that isn't fully understood, however, it does have a vital role in the creation and study of pharmaceutical treatments. New drugs are tested against placebos (which are often in the form of sugar pills or a saline solution) to assess how well the drug works up against something that is known to have no physiological effect on the body. The perceived "healthier feeling" of the placebo effect has also been found to be experienced by people who expect a treatment to work – regardless of whether that treatment can work.
Alternative medicine is like a kid who does no study for a test, cheats off their neighbour and successfully tricks the teacher into thinking they're super smart, the magic ghost water that is Homeopathy isn't going to cure a stomach-ache – it's not even going to cure your thirst but when a customer expects it's going to work, experiences the placebo effect and perceives themselves as being healthier long enough for the stomach-ache to resolve on its own – game, set, match. All of the credit and all the money for doing nothing.
Which brings me to my next point..