Placebos

God I'm tired. And bored. And now I'm ill too. No running for 3 days. No fun of any kind. It's all been outlawed. I ache all over, including mentally. Yes that's right I'm having a moan - it's my sodding blog.

Anyway, placebos. Did you know that placebos really are medically proven? That they can even reverse the effect of an active drug? That they can be 50% as powerful as morphine in terms of pain relief?

To a very large extent this depends on the context in which the drug is given, and your confidence arising from that context. In other words, a nice clean hospital with a nice understanding Doctor who shares your taste in music and fine wine and the placebo effect will be strong.

And talking of context and drugs, tolerance. It's to do with the body producing a compensatory and preparatory effect in the opposite direction of the drug. How weird is that? In other words, heroin addicts taking their regular dose in a strange location are at far greater risk of overdosing than in their regular squat with sole piss-stained sofa. That piss-stained sofa helps the body prepare for its regular hit of smack! Useful.

The description of heroin incidentally was 'initial euphoria followed by profound sense of well-being'.

Oh God whatever. I want a placebo now. I want a hospital. I want my Mum. Failing that, just pass that fucking heroin.