You Can Make Your Medicine or Medical Treatment Work Better

You Can Make Your Medicine or Medical Treatment Work Better

A New Look at the Placebo Effect

How are you? Did the new medicine help? These are some typical questions from your doctor. Think about it. Your doctor depends on you to tell them whether a treatment or medicine is working or not. 

If you say a treatment is working, your doctor says great and considers you to be healing. If you say it is not working, your doctor will probably prescribe something else.

Your response to your doctor depends on the amount of time, money, or effort you put into your treatment.  

The more you participate in your own health care, the more effective a medicine or treatment will be. 

This natural phenomenon is called the "Effort Justification" or "Justification of Effort Effect".

If you are working hard on your therapy, you probably want to say it is working. If you have spent a lot of money on a prescription, you probably will say it is working. If you have stuck with a therapy for a long time, you probably will say it is still working. 

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

 

This thinking can sometimes get you into trouble when you ignore the facts of your health recovery. On the other hand, this thinking can benefit you. Keep a balance of what you want to think and what is reality. 

To make your treatment most effective, you might consider the following.

 

1. Give the treatment a reasonable time to work. Give it a deadline. If there is no or little benefit, tell your doctor.

2. Own your health. Own your health conditions and deal with them. You are the boss of your own health care. Work with and manage your health care team. Your health care team is working for you.

3. Be an active participant. Know what each pill does. Think about each pill you take, how it is helping you.

4. Put some effort into your treatment. Do your part, whether it is therapy or taking medications on time.

5. Believe that what you and your health team are doing is working. Believe it with all your heart.

6. Be willing to spend some money on your health. Good health is the greatest wealth you can have.

Some people might say negatively that this is the Placebo Effect working. Let them say what they want. It is working for you. Believe in that. Do not let your self or anyone else get you down. You have a right to be as healthy and happy as you can be. 

Takeaways:

• A patient's health outcome can be influenced by the amount of effort, time, or money invested by the patient.
• The Placebo Effect is a good thing and can be enhanced by you and your health care team.
• We are just beginning to understand how the mind can affect the health of the body.

For more information:

• Effort Justification
• Placebo Effect
• Cognitive dissonance and psychotherapy: The role of effort justification in inducing weight loss
• Good Internet Search String - effort justification (response OR effect) (health OR healing OR placebo)

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.