The Nocebo Effect: When Words Make You Sick
The Nocebo Effect: When Words Make You Sick
The Nocebo Effect: When Words Make You Sick
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Description
Description
An investigation of the nocebo effect--the placebo effect's evil twin.
"The nocebo effect" is a phenomenon best summarized as the occurrence of a harmful event that stems from consciously or subconsciously anticipating it. The most recent and massive demonstration of the nocebo effect was found with the claims of COVID vaccine side effects, where a significant portion of these side effects were not actually caused by the vaccine. Instead, they were the result of our negative expectations, the so-called nocebo effect.
There are myriad other examples throughout history, and recent studies have documented the critical role of the nocebo effect in treatment side effects--such as with statins for high cholesterol, the higher incidence of complaints after negative media reports of certain medicines, and the mysterious illnesses associated with the Havana Syndrome, during which dozens of US government employees fell ill after reportedly being exposed to an unidentified sound wave.
We are just discovering the power behind this effect, as explored in the groundbreaking work of a dozen top level researchers. Most importantly, researchers have investigated strategies that can be adopted by both clinicians and patients to reduce the nocebo effect.
In turns enlightening and informative, The Nocebo Effect is the first book to investigate this fascinating phenomenon, and offers a wide variety of topics and angles, by the foremost researchers in this emerging field.
12.7 billion doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered around the world, with nearly 613 million doses in the United States alone. Unfortunately, the vaccine has not been universally accepted, often as a result of the side-effects of the vaccine that were widely discussed in news outlets and amplified by social media, relaying anecdotes of people feeling sick after getting jabbed. But lost in this discussion of side effects, and ignored by the CDC, vaccine experts and the media, is the inconvenient fact that a significant portion of these side effects were not actually caused by the vaccine. Instead, they were the result of our negative expectations, the so-called nocebo effect. "The nocebo effect" stems from the Latin word nocere, which translates roughly as "to harm" and can be best summarized as the occurrence of a harmful event that stems from consciously or subconsciously anticipating or expecting it. We are just discovering the power behind this phenomenon, as explored in the groundbreaking research of a dozen top level researchers. While there has never before been such a massive demonstration of the nocebo effect as with the COVID vaccine, there are myriad other examples throughout history, and recent studies have documented the critical role of the nocebo effect in treatment side effects--such as with statins for high cholesterol--and the psychological and social processes that produce these effects, such as the higher incidence of complaints after negative media reports of certain medicines, all the way to the illnesses associated with the Havana Syndrome, during which dozens of US government employees fell ill after reportedly being exposed to an unidentified sound wave, and the recent media coverage of bed bug infestations in Paris. Most importantly, researchers have investigated strategies that can be adopted by both clinicians and patients to reduce the nocebo effect.In turns enlightening and informative, The Nocebo Effect is the first book to investigate this fascinating phenomenon, and offers a wide variety of topics and angles, by the foremost researchers in this emerging field.
About the Author
About the Author
Michael H. Bernstein, Ph.D., is an experimental psychologist and an Assistant Professor in The Department of Diagnostic Imaging at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School. His work is focused on harnessing the placebo effect to reduce opioid use among pain patients. He is Director of the Medical Expectations Lab at Brown. Charlotte Blease, Ph.D., is a philosopher and interdisciplinary health researcher at Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Sweden. She is a former Fulbright Scholar and a winner in 2012 of the UK-wide BBC Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers Competition. Dr. Blease has written extensively about the ethics of placebo and nocebo effects. Her research has been profiled by international news outlets including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Sydney Morning Herald. Cosima Locher, Ph.D., is a psychologist and researcher at the Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland. She is dedicated to studying honest (e.g., "open-label") placebos. She is published in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as PAIN, the American Journal of Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, and JAMA Pediatrics. Dr. Locher is a co-founder of The Pain Net, an international network of researchers interested in Chronic Primary Pain, including with a special focus on the placebo effect Walter A. Brown, M.D., is a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He has studied the placebo effect for the past 40 years, and is the author of three books, including The Placebo Effect in Clinical Practice.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"In this pioneering book, leading researchers show how words help shape our conscious experience of the world, which in turn directly affects our bodies and our health. The more we know, the more we can say 'no' to nocebos."--John Bargh, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Yale University, and author of Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do "An excellent and well-written discussion of 'the placebo effect's evil twin' by leading researchers in the field. Reading this book has the potential of decreasing the reader's experience of nocebo effects, and for that reason, I highly recommend that it be read by everyone."--Irving Kirsch, Associate Director of the Program in Placebo Studies at the Harvard Medical School and author of The Emperor's New Drugs "An outstanding compilation of the latest research by eminent researchers in the field. Written in an understandable way, The Nocebo Effect is a helpful manual for readers to stop "nocebo-ing" themselves."--Jeremy Howick, Director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare at the University of Leicester, Director of the Oxford Empathy Program, and author of The Powerful Placebo "A fascinating multidisciplinary volume that offers a comprehensive understanding of an underappreciated force in medicine and psychology, and provides illuminating insights into improving care."--Rob Henderson, founding faculty fellow at UATX and author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class "The nocebo effect has been so far understudied and underestimated compared to the placebo effect. This volume fills that gap by providing an exciting, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary account of a phenomenon that certainly needs more attention."--Fabrizio Benedetti, M.D., Professor of Neurophysiology, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy "This book is needed, comprehensive, evidence-based and, most importantly, opens as many discussions as it provides answers. A must-have and must-read for anyone in clinical practice and research."--Prof. Dr. Jens Gaab, University of Basel, Switzerland
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Mayo Clinic Press
Pub date:
2024-03-19
Length:
256 pages
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