Everyone talks about the placebo effect like it’s a bad thing. “Gotta make sure it’s not just the placebo effect.” Scientists seem annoyed with it, which annoys me. I think we need much more research on harnessing the placebo effect. More placebo effect, please.
Think about what the placebo effect is: you get better, because you believe you are going to get better. The “medicine” doesn’t really do anything. You do it. You heal yourself. The brain is amazing. How does it work? How can we access it? Can we double it? Triple it? These are the experiments I want to run.
Children are great at harnessing the placebo effect because the dust of doubt and skepticism hasn’t yet clouded over their vision. When mama kisses the boo boos they actually feel better. When she sprays the monster spray in their room it makes the monsters go away. Magic.
I bought myself and a few of my friends quartz rollers a couple of months ago. The cool crystal feels great on your skin, and it’s like a mini massage in the morning. Highly recommend. Allegedly, it refreshes the look of your skin, too, though I don’t see any difference from day to day as I stare at my 44-year-old reflection in the mirror. One morning Marina was watching me with the roller.
“What’s that mama?” she said
“Oh, it’s a pink crystal roller. It feels nice and you roll it on your face and they say it makes you even more beautiful.” I said.
“Can I try?” She asked.
I rolled it around her tiny face, which delighted her to no end. Then, she looked back at her six-year-old reflection in the mirror, and gasped. After a dramatic pause, she exclaimed, “Mama! It worked!”
Magic.
#WritersWrite and I write almost every day. I sometimes share my thoughts publicly in this series called “500 Words or Less” This practice allows me to explore a variety of different topics in a restrained/contained way and learn what resonates with people. I wrote it, not AI. If you share, please give proper credit. © Traci Smith, 2023. Amazon links are affiliate links. All Rights Reserved.