Placebos are most commonly used in medical trials, to compare if people have reactions to the actual drug being tested.
However, more often than not, many people who take a placebo still feel as if they have received some sort of therapeutic outcome after digesting or being injected with the placebo.
This is commonly known. as "the placebo effect".
But the placebo effect goes well beyond medicine.
Our minds are funny, and not always reliable creatures, as sometimes when they are simply told something will have a certain effect on us, they make the rest of our body believe it.
Even if literally nothing has actually changed.
Redditor El_CM was curious to hear everyday examples of the placebo effect which almost always go unnoticed, leading them to ask:
'What is just a placebo effect but most people don't realize?"
Simple Cures For Boo-Boos...
"I worked at a kids birthday party place for a couple years in high school."
"So many kids would cry because they fell over, bumped their arm, etc."
"Never anything bad. I’d say something like 'can you shake your foot around? Does it feel better?'"
"'How about jumping in a circle?'”
“'Alright we are going to blow on your hand so it feels better'” and then ask if they are ready to play again."
"Works like a charm."
"Also bandages for little boo boos."
"They think they are healed and get right back to being happy little kiddos :)"- amiemartian
Things Aren't As Bad As You Think...
"Your perception of bad luck."
"The human brain is predisposed to remember bad experiences more vividly than the good ones."
"Thus, for an example, you may say your luck is always awful at tolls, when in reality you only get stuck in traffic 20%-50% of the time."- mopeiobebeast
Season 3 Fml GIF by The SimpsonsGiphyGoing Through The Motions...
"When I worked/trained tech support, our agents would always get pushback from customers when we asked them to power cycle their phone, which nine times out of ten would fix their issue."
"So, I had them tell the customer to read them some numbers off the back of the battery, when they were still removable!"
"That we absolutely did not need."
"Then we told them we refreshed a few systems, and they put their battery back in and it's all fixed!"
"Alternatively, when batteries couldn't be removed, we'd tell them that if the phone was powered on while we did the update, it could ruin their SIM card."
"So they'd make sure to power off their phone."
"I'd do nothing."
"They'd turn it back on and it worked great!"
"But if I had TOLD them to power cycle their phones?"
"No way."- Demetre4757
Some People Believe Anything They're Told...
"So I’m sure this has happened to other people, but this question just reminded me of my principal."
"During meetings and such he uses the school auditorium, and most of the time I, senior now at the school, have to run the sound and lights."
"He’s extremely annoying about it, and ALWAYS asks for his mic to be turned up when in reality, he’s already extremely loud and will bust the speakers."
"I just pretend to turn it up and ask him if it’s good, and he speaks and says 'that’s perfect, thank you!'"
I swear he thinks I’m doing an amazing job and would bring me a coke or something for dealing with the meetings half of the day."
"Greatest placebo to use against others that I’ve done."- whalethings
Is This Thing On Mic Check GIF by OriginalsGiphyJust Being Part Of The Action...
"When you give your young sibling an unconnected controller after he/she kept bugging to join the game."- sal00
Time Is Relative...
"Do commissioned creative stuff, if I deliver the same or next day, people don’t think I spent enough time on it."
"If I wait three days to deliver, people are happy because they assume I worked on their project nonstop even though I was done a day or two prior."-Reddit
"Round Like A Circle And A Spiral..."
"Loading spinners on web pages."
"I once had a user complain to me a web app was too slow, and it was pretty fast."
"So I tested him by making the animation spinner spin much faster."
"He went to my boss to praise me how much faster the web app was."
"Spin.js is what I was using."- hibikikun
spinner GIF by Tobias RotheGiphyFixed!
"I install semi truck bumpers."
"90% of the time a customer will say it looks off by 1/8 of an inch."
"I’ll make a noise with the impact gun on a bolt and say 'how’s that?'.
“'Yeah it looks great!'”
"Nothing moved whatsoever."
"Some guys are extremely critical I guess."- SpartanE78
When our mind is fed information we want to hear, we are inclined to believe it's true.
Even if our mind is actually the one deceiving us.
Meaning that yes, all those years we spend blowing on the inside of our Super NES cartridges to stop them from freezing actually did nothing whatsoever...
Redditor UK_Jay wanted to hear from everybody who left the church in the rearview, so they asked:
"Ex-Christians, what made you leave church?"
I don't mind the Church, but once I was done with Catholic school, it was see ya. Bye.
Truth
truth preach GIFGiphy"The fact that everyone wants to be a disciple of Jesus but don't do what Jesus told his disciple to do."
"Luke 6:46 'Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?'"
wasd876
Pivotal Moments
"My high school religion teacher encouraged us to question our own faith. He told us that it was okay if we wound up walking away from our faith. But if we continued to believe despite his class, our faith would be that much stronger."
"One of the questions was, 'Do you believe because you actually believe, or is it because you were told to by your parents?' I finally decided that I was only Christian because of what my mom told me growing up."
"I wish every single Christian could have that religion teacher for a semester. That single semester was pivotal in my spiritual development."
kana503
I Quit
"Had many friends and acquaintances that worked for the church and quit. Found out their reasons for quitting. The higher up staff did and forced my friends to do a bunch of corrupt crap. And if they didn’t, they 'Weren’t committed to the church enough, didn’t love God enough, weren’t willing to make sacrifices, will never make it in ministry.'"
"It broke my heart. I thought this was a place of love, and people who preached love. Haven’t trusted religion since. This church is a mega church in my area and keeps popping up more locations all over town. Makes me sick to my stomach every time I drive by."
aquarinmarin
Out of Focus
"The total hypocrisy of those I grew up around. Claim to be about love, spend most of their time hating people not like them. Claim to be about evangelism, literally only hang out with and talk to each other."
"Claim to be about giving, spend all of their energy focused on making more money for themselves."
"Not to mention they have conditioned themselves to avoid critical thinking at all costs. Must accept blind 'truths' at face value, OR ELSE."
devilish-nerdclap
For my sister...
Phaedra Parks Bye Felicia GIFGiphy"When my younger sister with Down’s syndrome was told she wasn’t eligible for communion despite taking all of the classes because she 'didn’t understand.'"
TheLastSpiceGirl
Family first. Help someone understand.
Damage
heavy metal 90s GIFGiphy"They damaged my mind. I always thought I would go to hell for things I like such as horror films, heavy metal and tabletop RPGs."
EuroCultAV
"the Lord spoke to me"
"Lack of answers, judgement, and hypocrisy mostly. I also read the Bible over and over and I just wasn't getting what other people were apparently getting out of it. Also everytime I prayed, nothing happened. Every now and then someone would be like 'the Lord spoke to me.' I always waited for something like that. It just never did."
"That lack of answers thing really bugged me the most though. I really wanted what I read in the Bible to be true but I just couldn't find anything to support most of it's claims. I was really sad for awhile. And scared that the devil tricked me. After awhile tho, I didn't believe in him either."
SpiritedDistance6242
Left Behind
"They left me. My first partner and I grew up in the church together. We were seen as the golden couple in our youth group. Good, proper Christian couple. Said our prayers, worked with the less fortunate, youth work, worship, I even led sermons. Eventually we moved away to start a new life together. We then broke up. I then find that I'm being kicked out of groups on WhatsApp and Facebook, people are unfriending me on social media, all from the church."
"I found out she'd gone home first and started talking to people. I don't know what she told them, but none of the people I saw as my second family, this fellowship I'd felt so welcome in even came to me to talk. I was left alone. I reached out to multiple people to say I needed prayer because I was struggling. I got nothing. I felt abandoned by God and abandoned by his people. So I walked away from that life."
c0_sm0
Disbelief
"I was a preteen locking myself in a dark closet because that's where I felt the closest to God - in the darkness. Like he was something that couldn't be seen - only felt. And I looked up into the nothingness of my closet ceiling after the millionth episode of physical and emotional abuse from my dad."
"I asked him to save me. God, not my dad. I was crying, screaming. Please. Please save me. I was just a kid. Surely I didn't deserve this. No one answered. And it occurred to me that anyone who could stop this and wouldn't, couldn't exist. So I stopped believing."
elaerna
Thieves
Explaining Season 3 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"Preachers having massive homes while the people that go to the church struggle. It’s hypocrisy from the top down."
prussianflyingcircus
Peace Out
"I gave it up for Lent and never went back."
ScaricoOleoso
"I did the same thing with New Year's resolutions. As far as I know, I'm the only one who has ever kept a New Year's resolution."
MaxCWebster
These certainly were some interesting stories where people encountered a crisis of faith.
Do you have any similar stories? Let us know in the comments below.
Curious to hear strangers recalling a deciding moment, Redditor JokeRadiant3881 asked:
"How did you feel the first time you saw your partner naked?"
These were triumphant reactions.
For Lack Of A Better Word
"I literally said 'woah' out loud."– ALIEN_Human_HYBRIDRomantic Thrill Ride
"Like a kid at Disney world. Hadn’t been on any rides yet but was excited to be there nonetheless."
– -Praetoria-
Headrush
"don't remember, no blood flow to my brain at that point."
– DoctorNotAnEngineer
Revved Up
"Horny."
– Shaggy_Poop
Complete Looney Tunes
"Remember that cartoon dog where his jaw hits the floor, tongue rolls out, and his eyes bulge out to the sound of an old timey car horn? Basically that."
– squaredistrict2213
Confidence levels were challenged but these Redditors were pleased with the results.
We Are Not Equals
"Felt sorry for what I had to offer in return."
– CurlyBill03
MILF Love
"Same! I’ve had four kids and had a lot of extra skin and sag. Man did NOT care. He seemed just as stunned as I was."
– TooTallMcCall
Embracing It All
"I felt the same way for a bit, with my hubby after baby. But every time I'm naked, even though I don't like where my body is at, he looks like he hit JACKPOT. So I feel better, knowing he thinks I'm hot, sexy, beautiful, even more so then before because I'm the mother of our child."
– DiamondEyedBarbie
Physical endowments were admired.
Life In Real-D
"She had deceptively big boobs."
– HappyDodge2
Object Appeared Larger Than Expected
"I felt like WOWZA im one lucky girl."
– Professional_Hour702
Breakfast Show
"Well, I’m 54 and got out of a marriage where my ex never felt comfortable being naked around me. My new fiancé has no problem getting naked and gives me a little show each morning she gets dressed. And she’s got an amazing body at 55!"
– macgiv
I'm very self-conscious when it comes to my body, but nothing says sexy like seeing the physical response from another man giving me a huge thumbs up, so to speak, after seeing me in my birthday suit.
Verbal affirmation isn't all that it's hyped up to be.
But body language? Now that is everything.
