This Book May Cause Side Effects
Why Our Minds Are Making Us Sick
Published on 7. May 2026
432 pages
978-1-80546-145-6 (ISBN)
Description
'A wild and sometimes shocking ride ... Doctors, take note' Telegraph
'Ambitious and fascinating' Book of the Day, Guardian
'Absolutely fascinating' Dr Julie Smith
'Entrancing' David Robson
A groundbreaking investigation into the nocebo effect - the placebo's evil twin - urging us to rethink the mind-body connection.
Illness is not simply a matter of biology. Our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, can make us feel pain or become unwell. If you experienced side effects from your Covid vaccine, the chances are that these were caused by your belief that you would experience them. When a nurse tells you 'this is going to hurt', it generally does - but perhaps it shouldn't.
In this revelatory study, neuroscientist Helen Pilcher explores the hidden impact of the 'nocebo effect' - the placebo's evil twin. Medical studies have proven the nocebo effect to cause pain, nausea, paralysis, seizures, and even blindness. The nocebo effect impacts how we grow sick and grow old, explains why people who don't have food allergies have dietary intolerances, and why, during the pandemic, so many teenagers caught tics through social media.
From Havana Syndrome to hex deaths, chronic pain and mystery illnesses, this book explains what happens when illness, psychology and society meet - and shows us what we can do to become less ill and more well.
'Ambitious and fascinating' Book of the Day, Guardian
'Absolutely fascinating' Dr Julie Smith
'Entrancing' David Robson
A groundbreaking investigation into the nocebo effect - the placebo's evil twin - urging us to rethink the mind-body connection.
Illness is not simply a matter of biology. Our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, can make us feel pain or become unwell. If you experienced side effects from your Covid vaccine, the chances are that these were caused by your belief that you would experience them. When a nurse tells you 'this is going to hurt', it generally does - but perhaps it shouldn't.
In this revelatory study, neuroscientist Helen Pilcher explores the hidden impact of the 'nocebo effect' - the placebo's evil twin. Medical studies have proven the nocebo effect to cause pain, nausea, paralysis, seizures, and even blindness. The nocebo effect impacts how we grow sick and grow old, explains why people who don't have food allergies have dietary intolerances, and why, during the pandemic, so many teenagers caught tics through social media.
From Havana Syndrome to hex deaths, chronic pain and mystery illnesses, this book explains what happens when illness, psychology and society meet - and shows us what we can do to become less ill and more well.
Reviews / Votes
'This Book May Cause Side Effects deals with the central philosophical quandaries of humankind: how we conceptualise mind and matter, and to what extent we can shape our own destinies ... this ambitious and fascinating book will add to our understanding of these mercurial and controversial questions' -- Farrah Jarral * Guardian * 'A wild and sometimes shocking ride ... Doctors, take note' -- Simon Ings * Telegraph * 'So compelling ... Surely correct that better knowledge of the nocebo effect would be good for everyone's health' * The Times * 'A fascinating foray into the mysterious relationship between body and mind' * Publishers Weekly * 'Absolutely fascinating and never more relevant than today. Helen has a talent for making confusing subjects clear in your mind. I will be recommending this one far and wide' -- Dr Julie Smith, author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? 'Few medical phenomena are as fascinating as the nocebo effect, and few science writers are as engaging as Helen Pilcher. This entrancing book will change the way you think about your mind and your body' -- David Robson, author of The Expectation Effect and The Laws of Connection 'Absolutely fizzing with fascination. Helen Pilcher knows just the stories to make ideas stick and she tells them so fluently. What makes her storytelling so captivating is that it shows us just how susceptible to stories we are - to the point of possible death. This book will widen your range of understanding of who you are and how your complexity offers a whole new world of risks that are both real and not real. It may cause side effects, but it will be really good for your health too' -- Robin Ince, former co-host of The Infinite Monkey Cage 'This subversive and devastating takedown of the mind-body binary will change the way you think about health, medicine, and that body part known as the mind. Revelatory' -- Sonia Shah, author of Pandemic 'Helen Pilcher brilliantly unpacks the powerful - and often overlooked - ways our expectations shape our physiology ... A compelling call to reexamine how we communicate about illness, how we frame risk, and how we harness the mind's extraordinary power for good rather than harm. It should be required reading for clinicians and patients alike' -- Dr Robynne Chutkan, author of Gutbliss and host of The Gutbliss PodcastMore details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
File size
0,73 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-80546-145-6 (9781805461456)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2026
Atlantic Books
€27.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Helen Pilcher is a science writer and former scientist with a PhD in cell biology. She contributes regularly to BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus, and has penned many popular science books. Life Changing was named a Science Book of the Year by The Times and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing.
Content
Introduction: Introduction 1: Cursed 2: The Good Twin 3: This Chapter May Cause Side Effects 4: The Great Beer Box Swindle 5: Shrinking Penises and Bad Backs 6: The Woman Who Could Walk Backwards but Not Forwards 7: The Thing 8: The Impossible Overdose 9: Getting On with Getting On 10: The Blood of 2,000 Argentinian Horses 11: Labelled 12: The Doctor Who Was Allergic to Patients 13: Banish the Curse
