Was Modi relying on Placebo as a cure to COVID-19?

The so-called placebo affects your mind, which can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance. The idea that your brain can convince your body a fake treatment is the real thing.

Crores of people lit lamps in their balconies, outside their houses, in their courtyards as a call by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5th for nine minutes at 9 PM to 9.09 PM. Worldwide lakhs are affected, thousands are dying without any cure insight to this new Virus.

The Country is under lockdown with cases increasing in India by hundreds. At this juncture, this call by Modiji had many rationalists fuming. People tweeted saying we need PPEs, not lamps. But what prompted the PM to go for this? Placebo (Medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient) effect says Chilkur Priest Rangarajan who is a Biomedical Engineer by profession.

The researchers discovered that the placebo was 50% as effective as the real drug to reduce pain after a migraine attack.

Your mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance. The idea that your brain can convince your body a fake treatment is the real thing — the so-called placebo effect — and thus stimulate healing has been around for millennia. Now science has found that under the right circumstances, a placebo can be just as effective as traditional treatments.

“The placebo effect is more than positive thinking — believing a treatment or procedure will work. It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together,” says Professor Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, whose research focuses on the placebo effect.

Placebos won’t lower your cholesterol or shrink a tumor. Instead, placebos work on symptoms modulated by the brain, like the perception of pain. “Placebos may make you feel better, but they will not cure you,” says Kaptchuk.

2014, a study led by Kaptchuk and published in Science Translational Medicine explored this by testing how people reacted to migraine pain medication[1]. One group took a migraine drug labeled with the drug’s name, another took a placebo labeled “placebo,” and a third group took nothing. The researchers discovered that the placebo was 50% as effective as the real drug to reduce pain after a migraine attack.

The researchers speculated that a driving force beyond this reaction was the simple act of taking a pill. People associate the ritual of taking medicine as a positive healing effect. Even if they know it’s not medicine, the action itself can stimulate the brain into thinking the body is being healed.

How can you give yourself a placebo besides taking a fake pill?

Practicing self-help methods is one way. Engaging in the ritual of healthy living — eating right, exercising, yoga, quality social time, meditating — probably provides some of the key ingredients of a placebo effect.

Lighting the lamps collectively along with these activities that are positive interventions in their own right, the level of attention you give can enhance their benefits.

“The attention and emotional support you give yourself is often not something you can easily measure, but it can help you feel more comfortable in the world, and that can go a long way when it comes to healing.” Says Rangarajan.

Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

References:

[1] Altered Placebo and Drug Labeling Changes the Outcome of Episodic Migraine Attacks – Jan 8, 2014, Science mag

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C.S. RANGARAJAN

C S Rangarajan belongs to the family of Hereditary Archaka cum Trustees of the famous Sri Chilkur Balaji Venkateswara Swamy Temple of Telangana State. He completed his B.E (Biomedical Engineering) from the Osmania University in June, 1988. He was educated in Agama Sastras as well and passed Archaka Pravesha Exam in 1995. He worked in many Medical Device companies before quitting the Engineering Profession to join in the Service of the Almighty at Chilkur at an age of 35 years. He felt this was a calling of God to help the worshippers at the Temple have a better devotional experience through his service. Most important is the fact that he has been assisting his father Dr M V Soundara Rajan in running the Temples Protection Movement from Chilkur Balaji temple which has set a unique trend against Commercialisation and Politicisation of Temple worship. He assists his father in running the Trilingual Monthly Journal VAK which is the voice of Temples. He has always been striving for revival of ancient temples and has played a key role in sensitizing the devotees on the need to revive the ancient temples in their ancestral villages. He has also taken keen interest in the welfare of the society at large by not only striving for inculcating devotional spirit in the devotees visiting Chilkur temple but also ensuring that the temple plays a role in the upliftment of the weaker sections through such innovative initiatives as motivating devotees to wear handlooms on Saturdays providing support to the weavers’ community. He has also played a major role in the movement to reform the temple system and also highlighting the pitiable state of the Archaka community leading eventually to the amendment of the draconian 30/87 Andra Pradesh Endowments Act . He has been instrumental in development of the Conservation manual for the Endowments Department by REACH Foundation. His LLM Thesis is now being published by the Temples Protection Movement

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