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People Who Think Alternative Medicine Helps Them. Let Them Believe Of Show Them The Data?

By admin Posted in: alternative medicine

I’ll try to keep this question shorter. My sister is recovering from heroine addiction (Quite seccessifully) and thinks acupuncture helps her on the days she feels particularly sick. I have tracked the frequency and duration of these bouts of illness for medical reasons. Acupuncture has had no clear effect.
She chewed me out when I told her Calms Forte had no active ingredient, so the illusion of help is important to her. Should I tell her acupuncture is not really helping or let her keep thinking she is doing something good for herself?

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  1. PopeJewi Says

    the psychosomatic effect is quite real and well documented. If she strongly thinks something is helping her, it probably is. Even if the actual medicine or treatment has no tangible effect, the simple act of believing it does will make a difference (this is why they do double blind studies, to eliminate this effect from proper scientific tests)

  2. Sarah Says

    Well firstly all my tablets that I take are white.
    Secondly animals aren’t aware of why they are given medication or given alternative treatment and so the plecebo effect would go strait out of the window for them. So why do they sometimes ease up from pain, get better etc from alternative therapies?
    It’s just there hasn’t been enough scientific studies and evidence to prove it on this level but the effect speak for themselves. And sometimes they don’t work but is that not with all medication, treatment, fitness etc what works for one may not for another but something out their will.

  3. Nom Nom Queen Says

    Weather there’s a real physical help or a mental one…it’s still helping. I used to get acupuncture for back pain and breathing problems and to me it was like a miracle but even if there’s no physical evidence of it helping her in her mind it is…and that can even be more powerful than anything physical. You could tell her but also encourage her to continue if she truly believes it’s helping

  4. SmartAZ Says

    Did you ever notice that sleeping pills are always blue or in a blue package? Or that heart medications are always red or brown? Or that pain killers are always white? Or skin medications are always yellow? It’s because the manufacturers have found that their product doesn’t work if the pills are the wrong color!http://www.cracked.com/article_19646_5-c…
    The question is “Does _____ really make people feel better, or do people only THINK they feel better, and how exactly would you measure the difference?” Pill manufacturers have measured that difference and decided in favor of the woo woo ingredient. What do you have?

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