When do you take a placebo if you feel sick?
People who know a little bit about placebos and their miraculous benefits ask when do you take placebo when sick. Well, good news for them is placebos can be used to treat many common problems like anxiety, insomnia, aches, or pains. Placebo does not have the power to treat chronic illnesses but it is known to make symptoms better.
The science behind placebos is simple. There's nothing complicated about it. All it uses is your personal expectations about your treatment to make your mind feel good. And when your mind has an expectation of healing while taking placebo treatment, you start healing.
Cold is a viral infection and it's a fact, there are no medications that help cure a common cold. Most of the remedies people think are cures, for example, vitamin C, elderberry syrup, warm fluids, and warm baths are only making you feel better by generating a placebo response. They do not actually fight the cold. When they work, they are generating a real placebo effect. So in most such cases, you do not always have to rush to the pharmacy to get an over the counter pill to treat a cold.
You can get placebo benefits without a placebo pill too. The placebo effect is all about harnessing the power of expectation and a healing mindset. Using simple psychological tricks you can make yourself feel better in a lot of situations when sick.
Hope to feel better
Your cold might be making you feel horrible or your headache might be piercing through your brains. However, you feel when ill, losing hope is losing the battle. Keeping positive and expecting to get better is the key. So when you feel sick, take comfort in the fact that soon, you are going to feel better.
Take care of yourself
Indulge yourself in a sensory experience which reminds you that you are being taken care of. Not all are lucky to have someone around to pamper you or take care of you when sick. This is the right time to make use of your senses and associations, which are two extremely powerful things. If your mother made you soup when you were down with a bad cold, there is a high chance you might still like it and associate it with your healing. These old associations can make you feel taken care of because that's how you felt when it was given to you in the first place. They release feel-good neurons in your brain and automatically make you feel better.
Avoid doing what you hate
If there is a placebo that you don't feel good doing. Stop it right there. Placebo treatments are all about making you feel good and if a certain thing makes you feel nauseous or you don't like the sight of it, it is best to avoid it. You are not going to get any good out of it. In fact, it might prove to do the opposite and make you feel worse.
Eat and d well
If you are taking all these placebos, don't forget to take the time to get rest and eat the right food. Placebo treatments can help make you feel better. Sleep and water and healthy food are the best medicines. Resting rejuvenates your body and mind. Healthy food gives you the right energy. And both these things act as a placebo too when you expect to feel better with a good night's sleep or a good healthy meal
It is a fact belief in sickness makes you feel sick and rotten to the core. So why not make use of positive belief in getting better, healing and curing yourself to actually make you feel good?