Why Barbie wasn’t lying when she said ‘You can be anything’

by Sophie Andrews

‘You can be anything’ seems an unrealistic and simply unachievable idea, but upon researching the ‘Placebo Effect’, it appears that those overwhelmingly pink Barbie adverts weren’t that far from the truth.

The ‘Placebo Effect’ is defined by google dictionary as: ‘a beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment.’, and has been scientifically proven to be effective in treating a variety of real physical symptoms. Although most commonly used in medications, the placebo effect affects everyday life without you even noticing and you’ll soon discover how scarily powerful it really is.

Although this effect takes place in the brain, neuropsychologically, scientists are still very much unsure of exactly what occurs, however hormones and chemicals such as dopamine and endorphins have been shown to increase in production - both of which are known for their mental health benefits.

Have you ever taken a personality quiz? Even if you don’t believe your results to be accurate or true in any way, because you have been told your personality is categorised into a certain type, the placebo effect causes your brain to subconsciously start to adapt to these given traits. One of the biggest placebo’s in the world is horoscopes and following this, astrological star signs. Even having been proven that the positioning of the Earth and stars when you were born have no effect on your personality or appearance whatsoever, anyone who reads a horoscope can be affected with its affirmations, even non-believers of the concept. People who read a positive horoscope will subconsciously and naturally perform better in their tasks for the day, such as in school or work, than those who didn’t, however, the effect is not exclusively positive, in such cases, you can end up having a worse day than if you didn’t read the horoscope at all, so proceed with caution.

Placebo is fundamentally based in belief, hence the phrase ‘If you can believe it, you can achieve it’ is actually effective and Barbie wasn’t lying when she said ‘You can be anything’. If you truly believe you already have something, or have a vivid vision of exactly who you want to be, or perhaps what you want to accomplish, in good time, if you sustain this mindset, the placebo effect will really benefit you. Your brain, without your consciousness even tapping in, will drive to accomplish these. This more specific belief, and most commonly used for non-medical purposes is known better as ‘manifestation’, but is ultimately rooted in the placebo effect.

Are you the glass half full or glass half empty type? Or maybe you're a physicist, and the glass is half full with both water and gas particles. With more focus on the initial two options, do you believe yourself to be more an optimist or a pessimist? A recent study in 2019 indicated that optimists are proven to live 11% - 15% longer and have a significantly lower risk of premature death or developing chronic diseases - due to their lasting belief in living a long and happy life and that everything will somehow work out for them. That’s not to say that being a pessimist will inevitably lead to an early death, however, the odds are ever in your favour with a more optimistic mindset. Again, this leads back to the placebo effect, however a mindset is unquestionably more powerful and sustainable than one sentence picked out of a horoscope. Adapting a mindset results in you being in control of your future subconscious reactions rather than someone you don’t even know tampering with your potential life path.

Now you have an awareness of the placebo effect, remember you have the tools to utilise it to your advantage, taking it a step further, you could follow accounts online that provide positive affirmations or even create your own, to be more personal and unique towards your wants and ambitions.