In this episode, we had the pleasure to chat with Erik Vance, the author of Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain's Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal
Curious about his new book? Find out more here: Suggestible You Website
Who is Erik?(Taken from www.erikvance.com)
Erik Vance is a native Bay Area writer replanted in Mexico as a non-native species. Before becoming a writer he was, at turns, a biologist, a rock climbing guide, an environmental consultant, and an environmental educator.
His work focuses on the human element of science – the people who do it, those who benefit from it, and those who do not. He has written for The New York Times, Nature, Scientific American, Harper’s, National Geographic, and a number of other local and national outlets.
His first book, Suggestible You, about how the mind and body continually twist and shape our realities was inspired by his feature in Discover and is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Show Notes for this Episode- The story of why Erik currently lives in Mexico City and his favorite foods to eat since moving to the DF
- The definition of "placebo" and "placebo effect"
- Can patients with Parkinson's disease be influenced by the placebo effect?
- Why are pills different colors? (Hint: It's not because they need to be different colors)
- Language and it's impact on pain
- Erik's personal experience with physical therapy
- Pain and it's potential to be influenced by placebo effects
- Can we test the impact of placebo effects in physical therapy?
- The role of empathy and our environment in treating patients