Studies on drugs are never complete without the inclusion of a placebo. They play a vital role in the identification and evaluation process, which define the thin line between the effectiveness of the drug and relative psychosomatic conditions.

You would never know if you have taken a placebo before the results are produced. Sometimes, the results baffle even the most brilliant minds. These sugar coated imitations can play many tricks with your brain. It can even make you believe that it is indeed the actual drug and that it will heal you! What was that noise? Is that your stomach doing somersaults?

Follow up:

So, does that mean that you could have been consuming boxes of disguised sugar cubes? No. It means that these studies enable medical science to develop better drugs. At times, a placebo can do wonders for your mind, which your physician feels needs it most.

Setting the technicalities aside, lets look at what are the other placebos that we all consume throughout life. These ‘placebos’ may be sugar-coated but not in the literal sense. I am sure you can recall incidents where you realize that you have mistaken a mirage for the real thing.

Misunderstandings that turn relationships toxic, symptoms that played tricks with your mind, fear of the unknown and the odd incident that could have been avoided are just a few placebos that I can remember.

So, how does a placebo work? Have you ever tried applying a pain relief ointment when you have a nagging headache? Did you notice how the ointment stings when it comes into contact with the skin, so much so that the headache seems to almost have paled in intensity?

Well, the headache still exists but the sting from the ointment seems to have dimmed it. Instant pain relief ointments tend to camouflage the real pain by stimulating a distracting sensation that will take your mind away from the real pain.

We all willingly take a placebo every now and then. At times, without realizing it but there are occasions when we do consume them voluntarily.

The Universal Truth Of Life is not a placebo. Life, however, is one massive placebo thrown in for good measure. Only a handful of us ever do get cured. Most of us either dwell in it for as long as the placebo lasts or start looking around for the real thing.

UToL is all about the real thing. Too much sugar was never good for anyone, anyway!