I can do open heart surgery. Come on. I've seen it three times.

I'm Angela Duckworth. I'm Stephen Dubner. And you're listening to No Stupid Questions.

Today on the show, can you actually fake it till you make it?

So I'm a nine-year-old kid. Yeah, I can drive.

Also, why do placebos make us feel better?

Oh, I know you fell down and you're bleeding profusely, but I have a teaspoon of sugar for you.

Angela, I read about a psychological trick of sorts, and I'm wondering if it has any validity. Are you willing to

hear me out in past judgment? Of course I am. Go ahead. So the purpose of this trick is to get

yourself out of a depressive or bad mood, and this comes from Quora. I'll read the entry. It was

written by a mental health counselor named Aaron Doodle. I hope I'm

pronouncing it right, D-U-T-I-L. And he says this came from a client of his. So I'm quoting

Aaron Doodle talking about his client. When he woke up in the morning, if he felt the symptoms of

depression, he would pretend that he was an actor in a movie. After he would shower, he would

stare into his bathroom mirror and shout out

loud to himself, action. He would then act as if he was a non-depressed movie character.

Many times, people will allow the symptoms to keep them from functioning in their daily lives,

making the symptoms even worse. A vicious cycle soon occurs. Sometimes, if you

act as if long enough, you become that role for good or bad. So, Angela, I'm curious,

is this a real thing in your discipline, psychology, as if thinking? And if so, is it reliably

successful? Well, the short answer is, yes, it's a thing.

It often works to pretend that you're in a certain mood or you're acting in a certain social role.

There's one study about pretending to be an extrovert, being assert talkative the first to raise your hand in that

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