Comments: Another Thought on Placebo
"I don't have schizophrenia!" I defiantly stated to my doctor one day. "I don't!"
"Yes you do," He responded.
"Well," I smartly replied. "If I do have schizophrenia, I have fake schizophrenia, not real schizophrenia!"
"Look," he pateintly said, "it doesn't matter what you call it...as long as you take real medication, not fake medication."
"Fine," I aquiesced, "but real medication doesn't do anything for me."
"Yes it does," he tried to explain, "real medication makes you feel better."
"Whatever," I relented, "real medication does make me feel better...but only because of the plecbo effect!"
"I don't care what the damn effect is!" he let out, "As long as you take damn medication!"
We both laughed.
I loved our sessions together.
Posted by Gwen Davis at October 23, 2005 07:57 PM
Yeah, placebo is no way to treat mental illness. That's why I think it is unethical to use it in clinical trials.
Posted by Dawdy at October 24, 2005 12:17 AM