David R. Hamilton PhD. – I’ve been asked a few questions recently about the nocebo effect – the opposite of the placebo effect – so I thought I’d do some up-to-date research and share some of what I’ve found.

It’s often called the ‘evil twin’ of the placebo effect. I actually find the use of ‘twin’ quite fortuitous because there is a sort of ‘family’ resemblance between the two. You might say that the placebo is the optimistic sibling, while the nocebo is the pessimistic one.

The word placebo comes from the Latin: I shall please, as in “Placebo Domino – I shall please the Lord.” Nocebo, on the other hand comes from the Latin for I shall harm. Continue reading →