Placebo Effect written over a brain

The Placebo Effect...

Placebo Effect written over a brain

   So I do a treatment called Accelerated Resolution Therapy and I swear to you, that if there is a magic wand of therapy, this is it.  Without a doubt.  I have literally watched people’s lives change in front of my eyes, in under an hour.  It’s amazing and it is so fun to do because it is so effective and so, well, magical.  I can’t sell ANYTHING, but I could sell this to almost anyone.  But I’m not here to talk about the treatment.  I’m here to talk about a concern that people sometimes have regarding the treatment (and other treatments).  And that is…”what if you have done such a good job “selling” it and it doesn’t REALLY work but I THINK it works.  What if it’s all in my head?”  That line of questioning is all about the placebo effect.

   Some people become very leery about the placebo effect. They seem to think that it’s not “real”.  Well, at the end of the day, does it really matter if you feel better?  If whatever the issue is that you were trying to resolve or make better IS resolved or IS better, isn’t that enough?  Isn’t that something that should be celebrated?

   The problem may be that things that work and work well may seem too easy.  How can Person A just sit on a sofa for 45 minutes, while Person B does some sort of treatment, and then Person A feels better?  That seems too good to be true, too snake-oil sales-ey.  But it works. 

   Or maybe someone’s negative core believes bubble up and work to convince the person that they don’t deserve to feel better, that they deserve to be suffering.  And maybe these beliefs also convince the person that a treatment, if it is going to work, must take a long time and be very, very, VERY difficult, maybe even impossible.

   Think about it.  Negative core beliefs don’t want to be taken away.  They want to keep doing their job of making someone feel like garbage.  So if there is something that will make the person feel better and it’s quick and effective, it seems like negative core beliefs will do everything they can to make the person NOT engage, NOT participate, NOT be willing to try it. 

   And god forbid it is a strategy or program that does work, doesn’t take tons of time or tons of effort or tons of energy.  Forget it.  The negative core beliefs win almost every time.  They are very strong, very powerful, and very believable.

   But they are liars.  They are thieves of our happiness.  And their entire mission is to keep us miserable.  Our job is to learn to overcome those messages and learn how to have healthy, happy, positive relationships, not only with others, but with ourselves as well.  If we didn’t have these lines of negative thinking, we would have nothing to learn. 

   Negative core beliefs are there for a reason.  To teach us.  And the placebo effect is there to teach us as well, to teach us that our minds can shape our world in nearly any way we want. 

   So allow yourself to believe in ALL things that make you feel better.  Because, well, you feel better!  And that is the goal and that is hopefully enough.  And you, yes YOU deserve this!