Do placebos help with depression?
These are surely trying times. With the COVID 19 pandemic at its peak, we have no clue when things will get back to normal. In the modern world, depression and anxiety are two of the most common issues worldwide. Being helpless, hopeless and stressing mentally over all that's going wrong in your life, recalling past traumas and the general state of just not being happy. It's all overwhelming.
Depression has no face but it has many deadly implications on our lives. Despite it being common, depression still has no real cure. Mental health has become the talk of the hour. Everyone wants to know what to do to cure depression. Do placebos help with depression? Does your diet affect your mental state? Do you have to undergo a trauma to be clinically depressed or it could happen to anyone? There are so many questions and confusions regarding this topic. Lets clear a few in this article.
Placebos and Depression
Placebo is a treatment in the shape of a pill or injection, that contains no active medicine. It is commonly used as control in drug testing and research studies as it enables scientists to compare the effect of the real drug with the effect caused by expectation associated with treatment.
It has been noted that people who receive the placebo often show dramatic improvements in their symptoms. To further understand the role of placebos in depression treatment, team of Dr. Jon-Kar Zubieta from University of Utah led an experiment.
35 patients of major depression were observed. In the first phase, participants were divided into two groups. One group randomly received placebo pills that were described as antidepressant (active placebo) and the other was given placebo pills described to be without antidepressant effects (inactive placebo) . Both the groups took the pills for a week after which they switched. The participants completed a questionnaire after every week. It evaluated their depression symptoms. They also went through PET brain scan in order to measure the activity of opioid receptors. These receptors are involved in the emotional wellbeing of a person.
In the second phase, all participants were treated with antidepressants for 10 weeks and their depression symptoms were noted.
The results showed that the patients who received active placebo showed a remarkable decrease in depression symptoms while the ones who took the inactive placebo didn't. The reduction in depression symptoms was connected to the increase in opioid receptor activity in the brain which was determined using the scanner.
The study also suggested that some people are more responsive to placebo and for the treatment of depression, it is essential to understand some people can be triggered easily by a placebo while others may not. In the future, one role of the physician may be to evaluate how best to to increase the natural hope and expectation of health that all people have within them. Once that is activated, the brain can instruct the body to heal and activate the correct neurotransmitters responsible for mental well being.
Harnessing the power of placebos
The physician can play a vital role in harnessing the power of placebos. Here are five ways a doctor can deal with a patient to generate the true power of placebos.
Use positive messages with the patient and boost their expectations. Inform the patient what to expect. Patients tend to heal more when their expectations are high or they are hopeful.
Provide empathy to the patients. Listen and respond in such a manner that it sends out positive and calming vibes.
While delivering treatment, be gentle and caring. Keep your tone calm and create eye contact with the patient. Tell them you genuinely want them to feel better.
Be confident when delivering treatment. Explain the patient how things work using credible scientific support.
Incorporate anxiety reducing methods in treatment such as a warm smile, a touch or a caring expression.