Your Brain Builds Your Reality | The Placebo & Nocebo Effect Part 2 | BBN Ep. 39

**What if the medicine isn't the only thing affecting how well the medicine works?** Episode 39 has Kyle and Nick back in the Podcast Bunker to finish the rabbit hole we couldn't possibly squeeze into last week's two-hour episode: **The Placebo & Nocebo Effect Part 2.** But first, we crack open the **Global Trash Can Report.** We start 35,000 feet in the air with a Flydubai flight where an alleged altercation between crew members somehow ends with the aircraft safely back on the ground. Then Ukraine apparently creates the wartime version of DoorDash, using drones to deliver thousands of pounds of food and medical supplies into contested areas. Science brings us an amoeba capable of thriving around **145°F**, once again reminding us that life finds a way. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people have been following a shark hanging around Busan, South Korea, apparently deciding open ocean life isn't for him anymore. North and South Korea are exchanging increasingly bizarre drone payloads, and then we close the lid with a discussion about a reported failed execution and the broader ethical and practical questions surrounding capital punishment protocols. After a Dubby Energy break, we're picking up exactly where Episode 38 ended. **Can your doctor become part of the treatment?** Think about two doctors. One says: *Eh, try these. They might work.* The other confidently explains your condition, treatment, what to expect, and what to do if anything changes. Same medication but would you experience the treatment differently? We explore how confidence, reassurance, bedside manner, expectations, packaging, and even the way medication is administered can influence our perception of treatment. Then things get really strange: **Open-label placebos.** Can you KNOW you're receiving a placebo, and still experience an effect? Kyle runs Nick through a thought experiment with predictably chaotic results and we eventually arrive at the idea underlying this entire two part series: **Your brain constructs your experience from the information it receives.** After a Deemed Fit break, we take it even further. **Color. Taste. Smell.** Our brains spend decades building associations between sensory cues and expected outcomes. Blue can feel calming. Red can signal energy or urgency. The appearance of medication can influence expectations before you've even swallowed it. Then there's smell. Grandma's cookies can instantly transport you back to childhood. A hospital, dentist's office, or doctor's office can trigger an emotional response before anyone even touches you. And an entire generation probably just needs one taste of artificial cherry medicine or that thick pink bubblegum-flavored prescription to become eight years old again. We explore taste, smell, caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages, social cues, branding, packaging, and the expectations created by words like: **Premium. Organic. Deluxe. Name Brand.** How much does the label change the experience? How much does brand loyalty influence what we expect? And how much of what we experience is our brain predicting what *should* happen based on everything it has learned before? Placebo and nocebo aren't magic, and they're not substitutes for legitimate medical treatment. But after four hours down this rabbit hole, one thing becomes difficult to ignore: **Your brain plays an enormous role in constructing the reality you experience.** That's officially a wrap on our two-part Placebo/Nocebo deep dive. Stay curious. Stay skeptical. **Don't outsource your thinking.** Listen: https://bit.ly/BBNpod Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebbnpod Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebbnpod X: https://x.com/thebbnpod YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebbnpod [thebbnpod@gmail.com](mailto:thebbnpod@gmail.com) **Dubby Energy** 10% OFF: **BBN** https://www.dubby.gg **Deemed Fit Apparel** 15% OFF: **KYLESLOMINSKI** https://deemedfit.co Like, follow, subscribe, leave us a review, and share BBN with someone who loves questioning everything. Every share helps our independent show grow.