This is an incredibly interesting article - one of the more effective ways of healing the body is to engage the brain to heal it for you. Placebo Effects, in many cases, are as powerful as the effects of the drug. Previously, the Pharma industry took this as in indication their drug's weren't effective. The central thesis of this article isn't that the drugs are ineffective, it's that the Placebo effect is a real, and sometimes _very_ effective mechanism for healing people.
From the article:
"one way that placebo aids recovery is by hacking the mind's ability to predict the future. We are constantly parsing the reactions of those around us—such as the tone a doctor uses to deliver a diagnosis—to generate more-accurate estimations of our fate. One of the most powerful placebogenic triggers is watching someone else experience the benefits of an alleged drug. Researchers call these social aspects of medicine the therapeutic ritual."
From the article:
"one way that placebo aids recovery is by hacking the mind's ability to predict the future. We are constantly parsing the reactions of those around us—such as the tone a doctor uses to deliver a diagnosis—to generate more-accurate estimations of our fate. One of the most powerful placebogenic triggers is watching someone else experience the benefits of an alleged drug. Researchers call these social aspects of medicine the therapeutic ritual."