Skip to content
Quillette

Medicine

The Placebo Effect’s Evil Twin

The Nocebo Effect occurs when we experience pain, depression, or illness based on nothing more than negative expectations.

Michael H. Bernstein
8 min read
Engraving of a mesmerist directing animal magnetism at a convulsing woman, tinted in pink and purple.
A practitioner of mesmerism using animal magnetism on a woman who responds with convulsions. Edited version of a wood engraving by Franz Anton Mesmer, 1734-1815.

Keep reading

See all latest