Why We Buy Quack Medicines When We're Ill?

Is your inbox filled with nonsense miracle cures? Fact is, people do trick themselves into believing even the most obvious hoaxes.

- Ellen Whyte

When Tina* felt drained and ill for some weeks, she went for a thorough check-up. To her horror, one of her blood tests came back positive for leukaemia. While Tina was numb, her husband George* went straight into action. Within hours, he had Googled half a dozen ‘treatments’ – none of which were offered by local hospitals.

When Tina checked out George’s findings, she noted that several were well-known scams and others were clearly labelled Fake News or produced by famous satire magazines. Undeterred, George insisted on going forward with them.

George is normally as sane and sensible as you and me, so what was going on here?

ISSUE 1

In Crisis We Yearn For Action

In times of crisis, we go into flight-or-fight mode. It’s a great thing when faced with physical danger, like being confronted by a tiger because it means we can run away or bash it on the nose.

At other times, this instinctive reaction isn’t as useful. In George’s case, you can’t hit a disease on the nose or run away from it.

But there’s an emotional reaction here, too. When we are busy, we feel we’re making a difference; that we’re helping. Running around and doing things help us manage the fear, outrage, and panic that comes with bad news. It can also help manage denial.

 INSIGHT George was panic stricken when he heard Tina might have leukaemia. George used action to help him avoid facing a difficult truth: Tina might die. It also made him feel as though he was helping Tina.