Nocebo - when the power of negative belief leads to harm

The nocebo effect is related, but different to Placebo. It's where negative expectations or beliefs about a situation or treatment can lead to real and harmful physical or psychological symptoms.

In short, when a person expects something to be harmful—whether it's a situation, medication, environmental factor, or health diagnosis—they experience symptoms or side effects as a result of those beliefs. This happens even if there is no actual cause for the symptoms eg I walk into a room and think I smell mould and start getting symptoms, but testing shows it's not there or in my body.

• The Nocebo effect is powerful because it highlights the mind-body connection—what we think and believe can directly impact our health, even in the absence of physical causes

• For example, if someone is told a medication has certain side effects, they might experience those symptoms, even if they were given a placebo or harmless substance

This phenomenon underscores the importance of mindset just like with the Placebo effect, and how our thoughts, beliefs and expectations shape our physical experience of the world.

Addressing the nocebo effect involves shifting negative BELIEFS and expectations, which can often be done through approaches like Psych-K, or other methods of mindset reprogramming.

By changing the subconscious beliefs that contribute to stress and fear, individuals can break free from the self-fulfilling cycle of nocebo and create a more POSITIVE, health-promoting mindset.