[smart (OP)]

I'm now 6 months free of antipsychotics!! 

I feel better than ever, and didn't had any side-effects from withdrawing from Abilify.

I'm wondering, could a placebo replace an antipsychotic for people with schizophrenia ?

[wolfekeeper]

Congratulations.

However if a placebo was as good as an antipsychotic then something went really, really wrong in the licensing and testing process.

[petelamana]

Good for you!!!

The mind is an incredibly powerful thing.  Placebos are very much like hypnotism in that if one BELIEVES strongly enough, then great things can happen.  However, I have to agree with wolfekeeper.  To rely solely upon the placebo effectiveness of any medical treatment is inherently dangerous and irresponsible. 

[evan_au]

Could a placebo effectively replace an antipsychotic?

Medical researchers are starting to discover biochemical markers of psychological conditions like schizophrenia.
- Which means that these conditions are not entirely in the minds of the psychiatrist.
- Unfortunately, sampling brain cells is a rather invasive procedure, so today it can't be detected with a simple blood test.

It is true that a placebo may slightly change patient mood or attitudes, but it is unlikely to significantly improve malfunctioning brain cells or synapses.
See: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/autism-shares-brain-signature-with-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-disorder/

There have been suggestions that various psychological conditions may be linked to maternal infections at different stages of the pregnancy.
- An infection (or a heightened immune response to infection) during a critical brain forming period of the fetus could potentially cross the placental barrier, and affect brain development of the fetus (but more subtly than the major impacts of Rubella and Zika).
- This might show itself as psychological problems later in life. And a child taking a placebo will not undo damage done before the child was born.

See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3135697/
...but I see that most papers on this topic were around 2010-2012, so it may have fallen out of favor...

[smart (OP)]

My point is: Nobody really understand how antipsychotics works... So I started thinking antipsychotics are given primarly for their placebo-like effect.

See: http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/19/3/162

[Colin2B]

So I started thinking antipsychotics are given primarly for their placebo-like effect.

In drug testing a drug is compared to placebo or another drug to check that it performs better.

I’m no fan of taking medication, so as long as there are no return of symptoms or side effects, congratulations on comming off.

[smart (OP)]

I’m no fan of taking medication, so as long as there are no return of symptoms or side effects, congratulations on comming off.

Thanks @Colin2B
I appreciate

[RD]

I'm now 6 months free of antipsychotics!!       I feel better than ever,

If you still believe in chemtrails, and other impossible conspiracy theories ...

Then you still have a degree of paranoia.

  I feel better than ever,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosognosia#Psychiatry

[smart (OP)]

I'm now 6 months free of antipsychotics!!       I feel better than ever,

If you still believe in chemtrails, and other impossible conspiracy theories ...

Then you still have a degree of paranoia.

  I feel better than ever,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosognosia#Psychiatry

LOL

To prove that a belief is politically-oriented is to declare war to the basic human right of free thinking...

[RD]

To prove that a belief is politically-oriented is to declare war to the basic human right of free thinking...

Your posts here show monothematic thinking rather than "free thinking" : they repeatedly include impossible conspiracy-theories, e.g. ...
Chemtrails , vaccination as weapon, suppression of cancer cure.  HAARP & 911 conspiracy-theories too.

[smart (OP)]

Your posts here show monothematic thinking rather than "free thinking" : they repeatedly include impossible conspiracy-theories

There's no such thing as monothematic thinking: You're reading way too much Wikipedia stuff i guess.

[RD]

There's no such thing as monothematic thinking

Your posts have the same theme : they are deliberately & covertly trying to harm large numbers of people.
( only the hypothetical mechanism changes : via  air / water / food / vaccination / medication / electromagnetic-waves).

[smart (OP)]

Your posts have the same theme : they are deliberately & covertly trying to harm large numbers of people.

LOL

Just try to prove that and i'll show you that free thinking is unalienable.