People Share Their Best "Placebo Effect" Stories
It may be fake, but it doesn't mean it won't work.
Our mind is a funny thing. We can easily convince ourselves of something with so much conviction that it turns into a semblance of reality. The power of belief can work miracles, but unfortunately, also create a whole bunch of trouble. There are entire industries that revolve around our willingness to believe. Discovering the truth can be a bitter pill to swallow. Trust me, we've all been there.
Redditor u/codeabranchpredictor asks the question...'What is your placebo effect story?'
It Worked Like A Dream
My daughter was suffering from insomnia and asked if I had anything that might help. I told her about Melatonin - and went to my CAR to get her one (huh?). I came back in and gave her a Tic-Tac.
She yelled at me the next day, because she fell asleep immediately after taking it and couldn't wake up the next day - felt drowsy all day.
I laughed my a** off.
Next time maybe half a tic tac
An Extra-Strength Exaggeration
Not just one story, but every time I give someone pain medication (I'm a paramedic) I tell them that it is extremely strong and will work SUPER well, so to just be aware. Even though I usually give smaller doses of the medication.
I've found that the people I say this to prior to giving the medication seem to think it's works better.
I've had this happen to me as a patient and I like being given "permission to relax." I know that sounds weird but when you are legitimately worried that you are going to die (which is why you didn't Lyft it) you are hyper-vigilant. When I hear this I hear "I got you. You can relax now and I believe your pain" in which case the lower doses probably DO actually work better!
"This stuff is normally reserved for surgeries but you can have some"
"This is a skittle"
Doctor's Orders
I started getting headaches when I was 5 yrs. old. Family doctor told mom not to be silly, children don't get headaches. After a few years, he finally said he would give me something for them. He pulled a big jar out of the cupboard and poured a bunch of little red pills into an envelope and said take one anytime my head started to hurt. I was an advanced reader, especial mysteries. In the lobby, checking out, I asked my mom if they were sugar pills. They were. 40 years go by, I'm talking with my uncle. He says he sure wished he could find out what those little red pills were, that he got from the same doctor. They were the best medicine he had ever had for his arthritis. I never told him.
Touched By...You Know Who
I spent a full year and a half with odd neurological sensations (buzzing, tingling, numbness, stabbing pain all over my body) . One particular pain was a pain in my finger that felt like I had a splinter in my finger when brushed or touched lightly. Dr's/ neurologists were unsure of what was going on with me but they were certain it was nothing "serious"... they hinted that the pain in my finger could be something called allodynia. Not a fun time and very scary.
Well, I had an old childhood friend visit me and stay with me for a week. I caught him up on everything that had been going on with my health. We knew each other since elementary school. He was always the coolest guy in school. In the best bands. Best baseball player. Best skater. All the girls loved him. But he was also a super hypochondriac and anxiety got to him majorly in his 20's. Any who.
He knew me really really well. Best friends all through our teens... telling him about my finger he says "Dude. My skin hurts too when I'm super stressed out. Right here (he rubs the hair on his head) You're stressed. This is a stressful thing to go through... and your nerves are shot and hypersensitive. Mine comes and goes. You'll be fine." And he puts his hand on my shoulder. "Serious sully man. I promise. I know you. You'll be fine." And it was the thing that I'd been wanting for so long. Someone who knew me well, telling me I would be ok.
After a year and a half of telling every sort of dr, therapist, healers etc etc etc... I swear to god... within that hour... the pain went away. I had had that pain for a solid year. Touch my finger. Boom. Sharp shocking splinter feeling. We were at dinner.... I touched my finger. Nothing. Thought it was a fluke. Nothing the next day. Or the day after that. And nothing for over 2 years now.
The odds of my body magically healing during the hour after my friend talking to me in such a transformative way... I'd say are pretty low. I think it was the most important placebo I've ever gotten.
puts his hand on my shoulder
Nah, it's not a placebo... your friend is Jesus. It's the only explanation.
Courage In A Bottle
When I was about 7 years old I used to really be afraid of the dark. I wouldn't want to walk into my room without some sort of light on. One day I had a drink that had the work "bravery" on the bottle. 7 year old me thought that drinking this would help! As soon as I drank it i walked into my room without any lights on and as soon as I was starting to feel a bit scared I remembered the drink and realized everything was fine. That was actually the last time I was afraid of the dark.
level 1lvix_v
Toke A Moment
So I was in Amsterdam few months ago, just to visit the city btw, not because of weed. We went to a shop where they were selling cakes and hot chocolate and things like that. I bought a cup of coffee and 10 minutes after drinking the coffee I said to myself "wait, did you just drink weed coffee?", because the taste was a bit different/weird. And I literally started feeling high and I was paranoid. After 15 minutes I said to myself "nope, it wasn't weed coffee" a few times and then all the feelings just disappeared.
Wait, is weed coffee a thing?? How would they even do that? Weed creamer? I gotta know... for science, of course.
This Sounds Familiar...
Once thought I learned Mandarin in two days thanks to some smart pills. I believe it's called the placebee effect.pizza_witch
Did you try and make a cat and a spider communicate with each other?
You know what they say. The good of the scorpion is not the good for the frog.
Mind Over These Matters
I've had chronic health problems since childhood that doctors were long incapable of definitively diagnosing. One physician I had spent years experimenting on me with various medications, most of which did nothing or just made me sicker in even the tiniest dosages. SSRIs, vitamins, hormones, steroids, on and on. During one visit he was sitting as his desk reviewing my file and started in saying; "Y'know,the power of the human mind in amazing..."
He then proceeded to give a short explanation of the Placebo Effect and its amazing results, ending with the suggestion that perhaps I should give it a try, to which I responded; "That sounds great, doctor, but for the Placebo Effect to work, aren't I supposed to NOT know that I'm taking a placebo?" He fell silent for a bit, then moved on to other topics.
Your knowledge doesn't actually matter, if you are commit to something (the act of taking a medicine) is enough. Your brain will do the rest. The more invasive the procedure, the better the placebo will work.
Tic-Tacs Truly Are A Cure-All, Aren't They?
I had a severe panic disorder when I was like 6 and my therapist told me that Tic-Tacs would stop them. In reality, they made me not nauseous anymore which calmed me down. I guzzled that for 20 years and now I have permanent esophagus damage.
But I still bought into it for all that time...
How the heck did tic-tacs damage your esophagus?
Apparently peppermint oil irritates your skin (especially your mucus membranes) if left on for too long.
Ba-dum, You're Fine!
If my kid falls and I tell him he's fine, he's fine, and may even laugh. If I don't say anything, he'll get scared he's not fine and cry.
When my little brother was a toddler, we'd shout "Ba-dum!" after he fell down, even if it looked like it probably hurt. It always made him laugh, then he'd shout "Ba-dum!" right back at us and continue like the fall never happened. It prevented a whole lot of tears and screaming.
Sounds About Right....
As an novice audio engineer I just recently had an artist in our studio tell me that a section of the song wasn't bright enough. Just for shits and giggles I decided to open a plug-in that was bypassed and turn one of the dials up, then close my eyes and pretend to listen for that "sweet spot."
Dude goes "RIGHT THERE YEEEAAAAHHHHH THATS PERFECT."
Literally nothing I did affected anything about the track.
A Little Magic Goes A Long Way
I have ghost spray that I spray my kids rooms with if they get scared of the dark. It's just water with a little lavender oil. Helps them sleep. 👻
I'm a preschool teacher. I keep a bottle of "magic potion lotion" (aveno natural, decorated to hide the label) on my shelf for all those little boo-boos or for when my kiddos are a bit sad. I rub it between my hands, maybe blow on it a couple times or say something kind of funny/magical sounding before putting it on them. Works nearly every time. One boy from another class even brought his mom to me so she could get him some!
Figures...
When I was little I suffered from a long series of nightmares, typical kid stuff with witches and monsters and such. In response to this my mother brought a small Qilin figure, and told me it was a dream guardian that would protect me when I slept and keep away nightmares.
I still have it and have only had about 4 nightmares in the last 20+ years. Most of which I treated with annoyance more then fear.
This Job Makes Me Sick
I always break out in hives after job interviews. I also get a lot of anxiety, I feel nauseous and I can't sleep. Sometimes for weeks afterwards. I realized after a few days of this recently that if I just repeat in my head "you got the job already, they offered it to you, you did it!" I can literally watch my skin turn back to a normal color and feel the hives calm down.
Mine is explosive diarrhea, I'm not sure which is worse. Every damn interview I feel like I'm going to shit my pants. Which would admittedly be a pretty epic way to end a bad interview.
Those who grew up between the '80s and early 2000s have a long memory of items and experiences that either went out of style or disappeared completely.
From early PC games to Blockbuster to favorite snacks, there's a lot to miss from childhood.
But the odd thing is how quietly some of these things went away, and how few people seemed to notice.
Feeling nostalgic, Redditor lukiiiiii asked:
"What quietly went away without anyone noticing?"
Top-Notch Abbreviations
"ROFL (Rolling on the Floor Laughing) dropped off of the face of the planet, and now we just go straight from LOL (Laughing Out Loud) to LMAO (Laughing My A** Off)."
"I've been using it way more lately because of this. ROFL; can't let the classics die."
- habofi2125
Save Those Box Tops!
"Actual toys in cereal boxes and Cracker Jack boxes."
- GuttMilton
The Early Facebook Years
"Facebook 'Poke' wars."
- Hot_buttered_toast
How the Times Have Changed
"People calling them 'camera phones.'"
- NecroJoe
Advancing Technology
"When you turn off the TV, how the image would shrink to a dot before slowly fading away."
- ConcreteCubeFarm
TV Connection
"When you turn off the TV and then you run your finger on the screen and hear the crackle and feel the static on the glass."
- iwannaberockstar
Positive Environmental Change
"Acid Rain."
"It was a huge environmental issue in the late 70s through the early 90s. Rain was acidic and damaged fertile areas among other things."
"In the US, there was much research done, and eventually industrial regulations were put into place. Companies were allowed to decide what approach they chose to take as long as the results showed the appropriate amount of reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions."
"Unfortunately, positive news doesn't sell, so news outlets did not do justice to reporting this success. As we went into the 2000s, hardly anyone remembered what was done."
- GurglingWaffle
Can We Say, 'Nom Nom Nom'?
"McDonald's all-day breakfast menu."
- EmeraldAlicorn
Old Pastimes
"The pandemic killed a lot more than just people. I really miss McDonald's all-day breakfast."
"And being able to go to Walmart at 2 AM."
- LyrMeThatBifrost
The Days of Landlines and Cords
"I live in a rural area and have to pay for landline service to have internet. Since I have to pay for something so stupid, I figured I'd have to get something stupid."
"...So I got the hamburger phone from the movie 'Juno.'"
"Not gonna lie, the landline has come in clutch a few times, and holding a hamburger to your ear is amusing every time. 10/10 would recommend."
- Meat_Skeleton
Late-night Grocery Runs
"I think people have noticed now but at the time, nobody noticed it was happening: the closing of 24-hour stores. I live in a major city and we don’t have a single 24-hour grocery store ever since the pandemic."
- anxiousfamily
"In a World Where..."
"Movie trailers with that deep voice guy [Don LaFontaine] doing the voiceovers."
- jonathonkarate
SoBe Drinks
"SoBe. I think the last time I had one was at Quizno's."
"[cue 'X-Files' Music]"
- kooshipuff
Gizzard the Taco Bell Dog
"Taco Bell used to have a chihuahua as their mascot. Little dude just disappeared one day, and anyone born after 2000 probably doesn't even know what I am talking about."
- To_Fight_the_Night
Google+
"Google+ was the only social media our school forgot to block on our laptops, so I used it a lot. RIP."
- AgentBieber
Some of these really brought back some deeply-engrained memories for the '80s to '00s kids, and it's true that many of them blipped out of existence quietly.
But if this teaches us anything, it doesn't mean that "out of sight, out of mind" also has to mean "out of heart."
And let's have a moment of silence for the vocal stylings of Don LaFontaine and Gizzard the talking Taco Bell dog.
We all know that the human body is very complex.
But even with all the recorded and available science, there are certain things about our bodies that continue to elude us, and medical experts can still get stumped about how the human form reacts unpredictably.
Curious to discover some of the mystifying yet unsettling truths about our anatomy, Redditor Hot_Banana_Ice-cream asked:
"What is a creepy fact about the human body?"
Now, observe this.
Visceral Reaction
"If you wear glasses which vertically inverts your vision long enough, your brain will correct it, and you'll see things normal. But when your take those glasses off, everything will look upside-down again until brain recalibrates again."
– shadow29warrior
Brain Assessment
"Our brain filters out a lot of what we see along with just straight making sh*t up based on extrapolation."
– AdmiralClover
The Experiment
"My favorite is the blind spot at the center of each eye, where the optic nerve is."
"A lot of people don't even know it exists, and even if they do, it is bigger than people often think."
"And it's also really easy to demonstrate to people if you know how. It's one of my favorite bar tricks - all you need is a pen and a napkin to draw a cross and a dot."
https://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/experience_jaune06.html
Alternate demo: https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html
"Edit: If it doesn't work, you're doing something wrong - not getting close enough, the image is too small on your phone, you're not closing the correct eye or not keeping your gaze fixed on the cross."
"It isn't because you don't have a blind spot. Unless you're a squid, you have a blind spot. All vertebrates have them."
– M0dusPwnens
The workings of our innards are out of this world.
The intestines are covered by a double "fleece" of peritoneum. See it like a blanket.
When your intestines get damaged for whatever reason, this blanket starts moving out of itself and crawling upwards towards the place which has the injury. It will stay there until the injury is recovered. And then move on again.
Maybe not the most creepy fact, but definitely interesting in my opinion.
Do Do That Doo-Doo
"We don't just have one anal sphincter. When poo comes along it passes another inner sphincter which isn't under voluntary control."
"Sensory cells can detect whether you're about to pass gas or solid. From toddler age on, you can decide to go or not to go. If the time isn't right (e.g. at a friend's house or no toilet nearby), the inner sphincter can push the poo back and store it there for later."
"That's why sometimes if you need to do a number two but don't go, the urge goes away after about 20 minutes later. (But seriously, go if you can. Constipation risk.)"
"Gas can't be pushed back so easily, so we sometimes toot by accident when moving or engaging the core."
– bmb00zld
The Same Lining
"The inside of your cheek and your rectum are lined by the same type of tissue."
– GasTsnk87
You don't always have control of your body.
Taste Of Curiosity
"The front of your tongue is curious, constantly patrolling, and autonomous. It chases the dentist around your mouth and you aren’t even aware of it. So embarrassing and weird/creepy."
– AdeleBerncastel
Licking Partner
"In dental school, I learned this fact when practicing taking impressions on each other. My buddy’s tongue kept licking my finger. I asked him to quit licking me, and he was like 'I can’t help it!' And then we switched places and my tongue wouldn’t leave him alone.And for those of you that don’t think your tongue does this: some of you are right. But the majority of you just think your tongue is behaving, but it is all over the place without you even knowing."
– recoveringcultmember
Dancing With The Dead
"Bodies will move as they’re coming out of rigor. I’ve been bumped by a few (I’m a coroner). Bodies can also make sounds as the remaining air/ gas leaves… 2am in the morgue and I thought I was in COD zombies."
– Jar-JarShotFirst69
Wonder of wonders.
The Only Way Out
"When you get laser tattoo removal the ink doesn’t disappear, you pee it out."
"Your body’s immune system breaks down the pigments of ink and it flows in your blood stream, gets processed through your kidneys, then you pee out the ink."
– Fine_wonderland
Our soul-containing vessel is a mysterious wonder unique to us.
We should do whatever it takes to take great care of it because it's the only one we've got.
If we don't, they might turn on us.
People Explain Which Companies They Wish Would Go Out Of Business To Help Improve Society
When the global pandemic hit in march of 2020, countless companies saw themselves going under.
Sadly, some companies, from a wide variety of businesses, simply couldn't adapt to working under the parameters of social distancing, or couldn't adapt in time, resulting in them permanently closing their doors.
Many people were sad to see these companies close, while many others were even sadder that some companies managed to pull through and stay open.
Indeed, long before Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the world, some companies and corporations people felt were actually detrimental to society would be doing the world a favor by going out of business.
Redditor param_T_extends_THOT was curious to find out which companies people fell into this less than prolific category, leading them to ask:
"Which company could go out of business tomorrow and it would be to the betterment of this world?"
Nothing Express About It
"Express Scripts."- BadDadJokes
Wildly Different, Yet Equally Unnecessary
"Privatized prisons."
"Glitter manufacturers."- Sped-Connection
Where To Even Begin?
"The church of Scientology?"- dipshipsaidso
church building GIF by South Park GiphyBeware The Pyramids
"Any MLM bullsh*t."- Work-Alone
Taylor Swift Would Probably Agree
"Ticketmaster."- Tynesand
You Really Want To Trust Them With Your Money?
"HSBC, one of the largest banks in the world, is a criminal enterprise:"
"In 2012, the bank paid $1.9 billion to settle charges brought by U.S. authorities that it had failed to prevent money laundering by Mexican drug cartels."
"In 2013, HSBC was fined $1.92 billion by US and UK regulators for its role in the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a benchmark interest rate."
"In 2014, the bank was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan, and other countries."
"In 2018, the bank was charged by the US Department of Justice for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations."
"Also, Nestle."- alecsputnik
Amen!
"Joel Osteen's ministries."- ststeveg
Joel Osteen Highwire Live GIF by Volcano Live! with Nik WallendaGiphyMaybe All Big Pharma?
'Seems like the general consensus is Nestle, but I’ll be weird and say DuPont."
"They’re the reason every living human on the planet has Forever Chemicals running through their bloodstream."-poppidypoppop
"Blinded By The Light"...
"Everyone one that makes blindingly bright low beam bulbs."- RetinaMelter9000s
One Bad Experience Can Ruin It Forever
"Mark's plumbing."- GreenieMachinie93
Rockos Modern Life 90S GIFGiphy"Oh The Wells Fargo Wagon Is A Comin' Down The Street..."
"Wells Fargo."- Itchy_Focus_4500
Honestly, Can't Agree With This One
"F*cking TurboTax."- camilofl20
Absolutely Frightening
"Wagner Group.'
"Dirty mercenary army with soldiers for hire."
"They have caused chaos where ever they have gone."
"Syria, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Libya, Venezuela, mali, Mozambique and a few other places, they have no desire to see a peaceful world as that would financially cripple them as a organization."
"Look at what they are doing to the Ukrainian people."
"Despicable organization and they have zero moral compass."- Weary_Violinist_3610
Maybe all Credit Reporting?
"Experian, Equifax, and/or Transunion."
"Leeches on America."- compusmack
Smiley Face Thumbs Up GIF by Tier One CreditGiphyCan't Help But Say It, Did She Really Think "goop" Was An Appealing Name?
"Comcast & goop."- celeresaharano·
Be it poor customer service, questionable business practices, or just plain fraud, it's hard not to agree that any or all of these companies would not be missed should they close their doors.
After all, when a health and wellness brand openly tells you that some or all of its products may not actually improve your health or wellness, that just about says it all.
...even if Shakespeare in Love remains a romantic gem...
Even if society as a whole seems to become more tolerant with each passing year, bullying still remains an ever-growing problem.
Particularly at schools.
Some might say bullying has only gotten worse, as social media often means children are no longer safe when they're out of school hallways and in the comfort of their own homes.
What is perhaps most disturbing and perplexing about bullying is there is never a justifiable reason for people to behave so appallingly.
Often, children bully other children to make them seem cool or powerful in the eyes of others.
Most of the time, they will also pinpoint a certain thing about their helpless victims as a feeble excuse to justify their bullying.
"What were you bullied for?"
Trying Too Hard
"I was socially awkward."
"I also was greatly motivated to be liked."
"I did a lot of sh*t trying to be liked that in hindsight, made me unliked."- EVEseven
Health Conditions Beyond Their Control
"Eczema which often affected my face."- Puffs01
Name Calling? Seriously?
"I was called a biscuit head, because my head was shaped like a biscuit."- cerakaz
It's Not Like They Chose It.
"My name."- maximus12121
Only Cowards Don't Pick On People Their Own Size
"Being the small kid."- occamhanlon
Picking On People For Keeping To Themselves? Just Cruel.
"For being the quiet kid."- actuallyjohnqmind
No Reason Whatsoever
"To this day, I really don't know."
"Something happened in the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade that made a bunch of people decide that they didn't like me anymore, including my best friend.'
"I only had two friends left until my family moved away in the middle of 7th grade."
"Bullies would follow me home most days and my mom finally had to verbally super-saiyan a few parents down the street to get them to take it down a notch."
"I finally asked one of them what I ever did to them, and they said 'you were born'."
"How do you even respond to that statement."
"I just got a sharp pang after seeing that phrase again."- msprang
Ignoring It Is Enabling It
"I was bullied from age 6 to age 13 every day for my surname (a word for a hunchback in my language) , my looks, my nature, me knowing English, reading, drawing and just existing overall."
"I f*cking hated middle school."
"My mom tried standing up for me, but no one cares in Slavic countries and the teachers didn't give a sh*t even though they saw everything, it's all part of growing up."
"My father ignored my constant tears and the terror I experienced in those years."
"I was attacked, beaten, and targeted whenever i would leave my flat."
"I was stabbed with screwdrivers and dull knives, chased around the neighborhood by kids on bikes while they threw rocks at me."
"I was only invited to birthday parties so that the kids would have someone to terrorize and gang up on."
"I always hated birthdays, but my mom though maybe the children would be kinder to me out of school."
"But that's that."
"Once I began high school I was around all new people, and I decided to play as a tough girl and stood up for myself on the get-go."
"But it turns out art school mostly brought other bullied kids together and I had the 4 best years of my life there with other kind and loving people who just wanted to make friends and have fun."- Cropalitet
Knowing They Wouldn't Fight Back
"Being easy to walk over."
"I had a really hard time asserting myself."
"So being 'too nice'."
"But really, just very insecure."- idolovehummus
Classism
"Being poor."
"And my mom smoked continuously so being poor and smelly."
"Kids are brutal."
"For those that can relate I'm wishing you all the best for where you are now."
"We are a product of where we came from but that doesn't define who we are today."
"For those that can't relate, I'm so glad you had a different childhood and also hope you are doing well."
"And for those that find this is their moment to continue to bully, I hope kindness finds you and helps you with whatever you need to have a brighter day."- Evil-ish
Red Hair Is Beautiful, And Don't Ever Forget It
"Glasses, red hair, and freckles."
"Opie, Howdy Doody, and red-headed step child jokes all the way through school."- espifer
"Having red hair."- DeplorableKurt
In Other Words, Just For Being Yourself
"As a black kid, in a predominantly black area:
"Wearing glasses and having braces."
"Being fat."
"Being nice."
"Being smart."
"Liking Anime."
"Wanting to be a Pilot (influenced by the Anime I liked the most)."
"But guess what?"
"I'm a f*cking Pilot now."- ApacheOc3lot
Perhaps the saddest, or most infuriating, cases of bullying are when people bully others for sharing likes or interests they have themselves.
Case in point, and true story: being bullied constantly through 2nd and 3rd grade for liking Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."
Only to see several of the people who bullied you express their excitement at the release of the 2017 film version of Power Rangers on Facebook.
Some children are just, plain cruel...