Placebo, Nocebo and Healing

Underestimated Power of Our Body.

Everyone has heard about placebo, and a few have heard about nocebo effect. There’s a misconception that the placebo effect means “fake” or “doesn’t work.” But if someone’s symptoms improve whether through pharmaceutical means, alternative techniques, or energy modalities - isn’t it still healing?

Let’s look deeper into these phenomena, their connection with healing, and what science says about them. Even though placebo and nocebo are opposite in function, they both point to the incredible power we have over our well-being. After decades of studies and clinical research, dismissing them becomes harder and harder. We all have our inner healer; we just need to learn how to activate it. This healing power lies in the untapped potential of the human biofield and mind-body connection.

What Is the Placebo Effect?

Traditionally, the placebo effect is defined as when someone experiences real improvement in health after receiving a treatment that has no active therapeutic ingredient, like a sugar pill or a sham surgery. In many studies, the effectiveness of placebo treatment was surprisingly high, sometimes even outperforming real treatment.

These clinical trials of placebo have revealed something extraordinary: the mind and body are far more connected than we once thought, and they have astonishing effects on each other. Placebo activates our own body’s built-in pharmacy. This doesn’t mean sugar pills will replace medical care, but understanding that we have more power in positive outcomes than we initially believed. What it means is that every healing journey should include space for mindset, determination, and intention.

The Science Behind the Placebo

Modern neuroscience helps us better understand how the placebo effect works. Brain imaging actually show that placebo activates the same neural pathways as actual medications. It’s conformed that when someone believes a treatment will help, their brain behaves as if they had actually received medication.

Our beliefs can change our physiology. For example:

• Pain relief from a placebo involves the release of endorphins and natural opioids.

• Placebo trigger neurochemical cascades that improve immune response, regulate heart rate, and inflammation.

Studies showed that there isn’t just one placebo effect – there are many. A placebo can affect us:

• Physically (wound healing, pain, or illnesses)

• Mentally and emotionally (stress levels, decision making, motivation)

• Autonomically (affecting involuntary functions)

Our thoughts and expectations directly affect the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems—this is a trifecta of self-healing. When we talk about self-healing isn’t about denying professional medical care - it’s about activating or empowering your inner resources to complement it.

Biofield and the Placebo Effect

The science of biofield explores how our energetic field effects and regulate our health and biological processes inside us. Placebo- and nocebo- affects influence these subtle energy fields. When we believe we are healing, we may shift our biofield into more coherent and balance state – the state in which our mind and body feel safe enough to begin healing. Intention, emotion, and belief influence the biofield's energetic and informational layers leading biological changes. These changes can be measured through Heart Rate Variability (HRV) or EEG scans.

Today, the placebo has evolved from being seen as a “fluke” to becoming a serious subject of study by neuroscientists.

What’s the Nocebo Effect?

Nocebo is the “evil twin” of placebo. If a placebo improves our well-being, nocebo has the opposite effect. Usually, it is the power of negative suggestion that produces very real negative outcomes.

For example:

Before receiving a shot in a doctor's office, the nurse tells you, “This is going to hurt.” Chances are, you’re more likely to feel pain. If she tells you, “You might feel a quick prick, but it goes away fast.” You would have a different experience and would likely report that it wasn’t so bad.

Nocebo can also impact us psychologically, decreasing motivation and undermining our capabilities.

In my years of practicing Reiki at hospice care, I saw firsthand the power of nocebo.

If a doctor tells a patient that he has certain number of months to live and the patient fully believes it, their body often complies. Day early or day later from the predeterminate day, their body will start shutting down. It is why I always tell patients: trust the diagnosis but reject the prognosis.

Placebo or nocebo, we can control the narrative, and it affects our body on the cellular level.

Final Thoughts

The placebo effect isn’t an accident - it’s a reminder of your body’s innate intelligence. Healers and doctors who create a safe and trust-filled space can enhance the therapeutic outcome. They make a space where the patient's body feels safe enough to begin healing. That is our healing journey; we are not passive recipients but co-creators, and healing is not something done to us but something we participate in actively - with belief, intention, and awareness. It is proof that we have the ability to influence your biofield and cells. Our minds and bodies have untapped potential to improve or worsen healing outcomes.

So, the next time someone says, “It’s just the placebo effect,” smile and remember: that means it’s working.

If you are a Reiki practitioner or enthusiast of energy medicine, you will appreciate my book, Reiki: Energy of Love. A Practical Guide and Tips. In this book, I provide exercises, scripts, and valuable tips to help new practitioners succeed while introducing readers to the captivating field of energy medicine. Available now on all Amazon marketplaces. ISBN: 9798339239178

With love,

Roman                                                                                                                                   

May 2025