Polarized Medicine
A journal not about art? Oh my! First paragraph is a short background on why I'm writing about this and what sort of insight I have in the subject. This is mostly to express my own personal frustrations.
I live close to a town that has a culture of extremely healthy, wealthy outdoorsy type people, which also happens to be a college town. Think of it as a miniature North California. In the area surrounding this town, in fact this whole part of Colorado, alternative medicine is very popular. Acupuncturists, nutritionists, naturopathic physicians abounds! I grew up in the outskirts of area and all this time my family has been using both alternative medicines and traditional medicines. In recent years, myself and several of my family members have faced medical problems that NEEDED both sides of medicine, and the results have been 100% positive. I have also watched people I love dearly follow only the alternative medicinal path and they really really pay for it with their health. And I've seen people usually opposed to alternative medicines try some things out and be GLEEFULLY SHOCKED with the incredibly good results and the huge improvement in their health!
I'm writing this journal because sadly, I see a lot of polarization in the medical world. Many people are becoming disillusioned with how traditional medicine operates. A lot of the time there is a power play going on between doctor and patient, where the doc holds all the knowledge and the patient must blindly trust the doc when no explanations are offered. Not to mention doctors are often so busy that they don't bother connecting with their patients. Patients feel brushed aside, kept in the dark, and somehow "lower" than their doctor. So many of them abandon the world of traditional medicine and turn to alternatives.
I see nothing wrong with exploring your options, but alternative medicine has it's own pitfalls. Many methods are totally unproven, and there are a LOT of people out there just trying to make a quick buck off someone else, and are total frauds or have no medical knowledge/experience. After all, the reason traditional medicine works is because of centuries of trial and error and trying to find what medicines, instruments and techniques REALLY make a difference!
So what we get are "camps" of people on either side of some invisible medical line. We have those who think ALL alternative medicines are complete bullshit, and we have people who think ALL traditional medicine is bullshit. And I see people get snobby and look down their noses at the other side, thinking "oh how ignorant that they only follow _____ medicine, clearly my choices are better!"
The only person who gets hurt from this view point is you!
I'm really tired of watching people get sick and stay sick because they won't try out the other side. I'm really tired of debating with people about which side is "better". If you are sick, I urge you to seek help on both sides of the line. Go to a traditional doctor and get formally diagnosed and find out what your options are. Go to a naturopathic physician and see how you can increase your chances of success by getting your body in balance, and getting proper nutrition. Go to a reputable acupuncturist and try it ONCE it's worth it! Seek treatments that are likely to work (not odd unproven medicines from unlicensed people), and stay in contact with all the people helping you on your journey to wellness.
Also keep a keen eye out for frauds and quacks on BOTH SIDES of the line! Do your research on the treatment center or specific doc you are seeing, find out if they've been in hot water before or if there are any red flags. Also do your own research on your treatments, speak with others who have undergone those treatments. It's the one body you have in this particular life, so mentally INVEST in making sure you get the right treatments.
Really, medicine is not something you gamble with. If you are fortunate enough to have access to medicine don't let something as unimportant as this get in the way of you finding something that WORKS.
I live close to a town that has a culture of extremely healthy, wealthy outdoorsy type people, which also happens to be a college town. Think of it as a miniature North California. In the area surrounding this town, in fact this whole part of Colorado, alternative medicine is very popular. Acupuncturists, nutritionists, naturopathic physicians abounds! I grew up in the outskirts of area and all this time my family has been using both alternative medicines and traditional medicines. In recent years, myself and several of my family members have faced medical problems that NEEDED both sides of medicine, and the results have been 100% positive. I have also watched people I love dearly follow only the alternative medicinal path and they really really pay for it with their health. And I've seen people usually opposed to alternative medicines try some things out and be GLEEFULLY SHOCKED with the incredibly good results and the huge improvement in their health!
I'm writing this journal because sadly, I see a lot of polarization in the medical world. Many people are becoming disillusioned with how traditional medicine operates. A lot of the time there is a power play going on between doctor and patient, where the doc holds all the knowledge and the patient must blindly trust the doc when no explanations are offered. Not to mention doctors are often so busy that they don't bother connecting with their patients. Patients feel brushed aside, kept in the dark, and somehow "lower" than their doctor. So many of them abandon the world of traditional medicine and turn to alternatives.
I see nothing wrong with exploring your options, but alternative medicine has it's own pitfalls. Many methods are totally unproven, and there are a LOT of people out there just trying to make a quick buck off someone else, and are total frauds or have no medical knowledge/experience. After all, the reason traditional medicine works is because of centuries of trial and error and trying to find what medicines, instruments and techniques REALLY make a difference!
So what we get are "camps" of people on either side of some invisible medical line. We have those who think ALL alternative medicines are complete bullshit, and we have people who think ALL traditional medicine is bullshit. And I see people get snobby and look down their noses at the other side, thinking "oh how ignorant that they only follow _____ medicine, clearly my choices are better!"
The only person who gets hurt from this view point is you!
I'm really tired of watching people get sick and stay sick because they won't try out the other side. I'm really tired of debating with people about which side is "better". If you are sick, I urge you to seek help on both sides of the line. Go to a traditional doctor and get formally diagnosed and find out what your options are. Go to a naturopathic physician and see how you can increase your chances of success by getting your body in balance, and getting proper nutrition. Go to a reputable acupuncturist and try it ONCE it's worth it! Seek treatments that are likely to work (not odd unproven medicines from unlicensed people), and stay in contact with all the people helping you on your journey to wellness.
Also keep a keen eye out for frauds and quacks on BOTH SIDES of the line! Do your research on the treatment center or specific doc you are seeing, find out if they've been in hot water before or if there are any red flags. Also do your own research on your treatments, speak with others who have undergone those treatments. It's the one body you have in this particular life, so mentally INVEST in making sure you get the right treatments.
Really, medicine is not something you gamble with. If you are fortunate enough to have access to medicine don't let something as unimportant as this get in the way of you finding something that WORKS.