Open-label placebos are important because they overcome the “placebo paradox”. Milos Vucicevic/Shutterstock Overcoming the placebo paradox

This blue pill will help to reduce your negative feelings of guilt. The main outcome reported in the study was that the deceptive placebo and the open-label placebo combined were more effective at reducing guilt than no treatment. This was the “control” group.Īfter getting the treatment, the guilty feelings were measured using the same questionnaires to see whether the deceptive placebo or open-label placebo was more effective than no treatment. The third group did not receive any treatment at all. They were told that placebos benefit many people through mind-body self-healing mechanisms. Specifically, they were told that the pill contained phytopharmacon, a substance designed to reduce the feeling of guilt by making whoever took it feel calmer.Īnother group received an “open-label placebo” – the same blue pill, but this group was told it was a placebo. One group received a “deceptive placebo”: a blue pill they were told was a real drug. The participants were then divided into three groups. The exercise involved writing a story about a time they had treated someone they loved unfairly. Next, the participants did an exercise intended to make them feel more guilty. This questionnaire asks people whether they feel remorse or bad about something they’ve done. Their guilt was measured at the beginning using questionnaires including the state shame and guilt scale (SSGS). In the study, 112 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 took part. To help solve the problem of too much guilt, a recent study published in Nature found that placebos can reduce feelings of guilt, even when the person taking them knows they’re receiving placebos.

Overcoming pathological guilt