This is called the nocebo effect, and it is well-studied. Example: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle.... When you think of an interesting idea like this, please don't assume you've discovered something new that the entire public health field is unaware of. A drug or treatment that had worse nocebo effects than medical benefits would not be approved.
Psychiatrists cannot/will not tell patients what primary effects we can expect from a given medication: "it works differently for everyone" "brain chemistry is unique" "it'll keep you out of the hospital" etc.
The truth is that most psychotropic medications tend to induce altered states of consciousness, and yes, they can be different for different people, but these altered states are not published, touted, explained, or offered to patients or consumers of the medications. Only the adverse side effects are discussed (and if only we had a nickel for every time a prescriber told us "this has no/fewer side effects!")
Therefore, we have not been informed of any primary effect for these drugs, and thus they can have no placebo effect. We do not "know" how we are "supposed to feel" while taking them. Since many have had psychiatric symptoms since childhood, we don't know any other mood or state of mind. How can we know if these effects have receded? Brain scan? Checklist?
So we can't have a placebo effect. If we are well-informed of the side effects, we may notice some. We complain about side effects and the psychiatrist does a switcheroo and produces a second, third, fifth, tenth medication cocktail. "Just some adjustment until the benefits outweigh the risks." And they do this slowly, judiciously, one at a time, unless you land in the hospital.
Psychotropic prescription drugs that are not Scheduled are weaksauce. And they're the only ones that can be prescribed to the poor and the needy and the homeless. Unless they're in the hospital. Therefore, you crank them up one at a time until the side effects are only mildly annoying, then you keep adding more drugs as the patient complains about symptoms. Without knowing any placebo effect.
Perhaps this is one reason why psychedelic drugs are highly touted by some now. There has been much study done by recreational users of drugs. They all know how LSD will make you feel! They know how you can get on mescaline before/while you puke! So perhaps that's the answer: that formerly recreational drugs can come find a home with placebo, and primary, effects intact.
> When you think of an interesting idea like this, please don't assume you've discovered something new that the entire public health field is unaware of.
I don’t agree that the nocebo effect can be tested in a clinical trial which only has willing participants.
If there was a person who’d rather take a bullet than the vaccine, don’t you think the nocebo affect would be stronger? My feeling is anyone who requests an exemption due to their beliefs should be given it because you can’t measure the resoluteness of their beliefs, religious or not.
