Taking A Placebo Can Reduce Anxiety Before An Exam — Even When You Know The Pills Are Inert

By Matthew Warren The placebo effect is a curious phenomenon. A wealth of literature has shown that inert treatments can not only produce medical benefits like pain relief, but also have cognitive effects like boosting creativity and learning. And while many of those studies involve misleading people into thinking that they are receiving an effective intervention, a new study in Scientific Reports shows that this deception is not always necessary. Researchers have found that taking a placebo can reduce people’s anxiety before a test — even when they know they are taking an inactive pill.  As many as 2 in 5 people experience test anxiety, which can involve physical symptoms like high heart rate and sweating, negative thinking, and even impaired performance or avoidance of the test in the first place. Some sufferers take medications or have psychotherapy — but Michael Schaefer from Medical School Berlin and colleagues wondered whether just taking a placebo could help. The team recruited 58 university students who were approaching their end of term exams. Half of the participants were given no treatment, while the other half were asked to take two placebo pills per day for two weeks. Importantly, there was no deception involved: the researchers told participants in the placebo condition that their pills were inactive. Before starting the course of treatment, and again at the end, the participants completed questionnaires that measured their level of test anxiety, phys...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Emotion Mental health The self Source Type: blogs