Why Sugar Pills Cure Some Ills: “Many people see placebo as just about that doctor-patient relationship, that laying on of hands, that trust… that placebo is some kind of poor man’s psychotherapy. It’s just the interaction, and any interaction is good.”

People who take placebos don’t always get better, and in some cases, they actually feel worse. In recent years, researchers have begun exploring the so-called “nocebo” effect: People who take placebos sometimes develop the side effects of the drugs they think they’re taking. (“Nocebo” is Latin for “I will harm”; “placebo” means “I will please.”)