Western Medicine

kyle

Banned
Western medicine is highly overrated. Big pharmaceutical companies push doctors to prescribe medications that may not be the best for the patient. Also, there is a general stigma in North America, in regards to any type of mental illness.

Has anyone tried spiritual healing, Eastern medicine, or even Native healers. Very wise people who, through generations of knowledge passed down to them by elders, can easily see what your problem is, as opposed to some cold, heartless psychologist.

Trust me on this. If any of you live in cities or towns with a large enough Aboriginal population, don't be afraid to try Native healing. Eastern medicine and therapy is vastly superior to Western culture, since there is nowhere near the stigma towards mental health issues, as there is here.

If you want to get better, seek alternative treatments. You can just tell by reading these forums, that Western medicine and psychology does not work. Look at all the suicidal people talking about different meds they have tried, or shrinks they have seen. IT DOES NOT WORK.

Look outside the box. Try alternative therapy for anxiety and depression.
 

NathanielWingatePeaslee

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Staff member
If I have a compound fracture, I'm not going to go looking for powdered rhino horn to solve the problem.

I do have a lot of suspicions about the pharmaceutical companies though. Are you aware of any non-anecdotal evidence of Eastern or 'alternative' medicines working for mental illness problems?
 

gazelle

Well-known member
Has anyone tried spiritual healing, Eastern medicine, or even Native healers.

Yes. I've tried many things.(shrink, reiki, medication, metaphysics classes, thought technology classes, self help books and much more...) So far increasing my spirituality, a healthy lifestyle and an anti-inflammatory diet, (since I have an autoimmune disease), have been the most effective for me. Metaphysics classes also helped me have a better outlook towards life.


Are you aware of any non-anecdotal evidence of Eastern or 'alternative' medicines working for mental illness problems?
The Science of Miracles and the Power of Prayer
 

Flanscho

Well-known member
Well, I'm an Atheist. As such, I don't think that anything like spirits or magic or similiar stuff exist. As such, I'd never try spiritual healing or anything similar. I'm also an opponent to homeopathy. The placebo effect might help people, but so would giving the people a good spanking. It's a rip off.

Of course I agree, that there is knowledge to cure or ease symptoms of certain ailments that has been lost, or is rarely used since it's currently only in possession of certain small tribes or whatever. But I also think that there is a huge market that is about nothing but ripping off people who don't trust western medicine.

I don't say all western medicine is great. I do say that I trust it more than any other kind available. Ignoring western medicine for good leads to tragedies like parents not bringing their sick child to the hospital but instead praying for it. And then it dies. Why? Because the parents are ****ed up in the head. That's why. Just last year that happened again in the USA. The child died for no reason but the parents belief that western medicine is always in all cases bad.

My parents are old alread. Western medicine cured the eyesight of both my parents and also the hearing of my father. Western medicine fixed my thyroid gland. I don't say it's perfect at all. I also only take meds when I'm convinced it's necessary. But I trust western medicine more than any other kind.

I don't mind other people mistrusting it. Some mistrust is good. People paying money for homeopathy or spiritual healing or something... That's a double edged blade in my opinion. On the one hand, if the placebo effect helps those people: great. Often it does not though. And if it does, they still reward people who do nothing but try to rip off others.
 
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Hoppy

Well-known member
If you are convinced something will help you it probably will.

That is why expensive placebos are more effective than cheap placebos.

I wonder why the Chinese train their doctors in western techniques if theirs are so effective?
 

jaim38

Well-known member
For social anxiety and depression, I have tried meditation and yoga both of which were helpful.

There's definitely a big difference between western and eastern medicine. If someone said they hear voices, a western psychologist will probably diagnose him/her with schizophrenia and perhaps hospitalize this person. On the other hand, a shaman/healer will probably say this person is hearing the voices of spirits or demons, maybe diagnose this person with possession. After all, some shamans and healers claim to see and hear things beyond the physical world. So, who is right and who is wrong? It's not for me to judge.
 

kyle

Banned
If you are convinced something will help you it probably will.

That is why expensive placebos are more effective than cheap placebos.

I wonder why the Chinese train their doctors in western techniques if theirs are so effective?

China has changed dramatically, since their economy took off around 20 years ago. Unfortunately, large pharmaceutical companies have influenced change in East Asia. While Western Medicine works for physical ailments, like broken bones, cancer, heart conditions, etc. They same thing cannot be said for mental health issues.

All you need to do is read this forum. Look at all the people making topics like "I want to kill myself." It's very depressing, yet when you suggest Western Medicine may not be right for these people, they are quick to defend their "treatments." That tells you all you need to know about the effectiveness of psycopharmeuticals in North America and the UK.
 

coyote

Well-known member
the main problem with the western approach seems to be that it wants to address each individual symptom separately - like fixing a car or something

if you take a human being, allow him to be sedentary, feed him full of processed food-like substances, plop him on the couch, alone, in a dark room, in front of the television all day, surrounded by dyes, chemicals, and artificial air... is it any wonder his health would decline? whether it be physical or mental?

we have no problem driving 2 hours to find a natural, grain-free, organic, raw dog food to give our pet to keep her healthy, but if WE aren't feeling well, all we can bothered to do is ingest more chemicals

i belive a more holisitic approach is in order - one that treats our mind, body, spirit, and our environment as an interconnected system

that might include western medicine, but it would surely include some other things as well
 

coyote

Well-known member
*personal attacks have been moderated*

please refrain from personal attacks - ideas can be debated without insulting the person who presents them
 

Flanscho

Well-known member
While Western Medicine works for physical ailments, like broken bones, cancer, heart conditions, etc. They same thing cannot be said for mental health issues.

A lot of mental issues are the symptoms or results of physical ailments. Like chemical imbalances in the brain.
 

Phoenixx

Well-known member
the main problem with the western approach seems to be that it wants to address each individual symptom separately - like fixing a car or something

if you take a human being, allow him to be sedentary, feed him full of processed food-like substances, plop him on the couch, alone, in a dark room, in front of the television all day, surrounded by dyes, chemicals, and artificial air... is it any wonder his health would decline? whether it be physical or mental?

we have no problem driving 2 hours to find a natural, grain-free, organic, raw dog food to give our pet to keep her healthy, but if WE aren't feeling well, all we can bothered to do is ingest more chemicals

i belive a more holisitic approach is in order - one that treats our mind, body, spirit, and our environment as an interconnected system

that might include western medicine, but it would surely include some other things as well
^ I wholeheartedly agree, coyote. :perfect: Much of Western medicine and health seems to look at the body in separate areas (mental, digestive, respiratory, etc.) rather than looking at the body as one whole entire system working together. While it's understandable to have focus on each system separately, I think it's often forgotten that they don't work entirely separately as they work all together. If there is an issue in one area, there is a highly likely possibility there are issues in other areas. Mental health is actually often linked to other issues in the body, specifically digestive.

I'm not a huge fan of Western medicine -- that being prescription and synthetic drugs -- but I wouldn't knock it entirely. The evolution of Western medicine is pretty awesome, and there are some exceptions in which drugs are necessary (for example, seizure medication). BUT of course not all of it is fantastic or even good for us for that matter. I think a lot of our issues can be tackled simply with much better nutrition and ways of living. For almost the last 6 months now I've been seeing a nutritionist for my health issues. I first saw her for purely my digestive issues, but we even got to talking about my mental health and other physical issues and she found a link between everything. Since putting me on a strict diet and giving me special whole food supplements (in case anyone's curious to what I'm talking about, here's the company for the supplements I am taking), I can happily say that my mental health is improving a lot along with my physical and digestive health. Mind you I still have a long ways to go (I'm expected to be doing this process for at least the next 2 years because my body was so bad), but things have been looking up quite a bit in these past few months. I know there are still psychological factors which have affected my mental being and I don't think I'll be cured mentally 100%, but depending on where I'm at 2 years from now I'm thinking I might follow up everything with a little bit of counseling or therapy to top it off.
 

NathanielWingatePeaslee

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Staff member
*personal attacks have been moderated*

please refrain from personal attacks - ideas can be debated without insulting the person who presents them

Pfft. That's just the sort of someone from Wisconsin would say. You people and your attack moderations--we know what you're really doing. :rolleyes:
 

Nanita

Well-known member
Western medicine is highly overrated. Big pharmaceutical companies push doctors to prescribe medications that may not be the best for the patient. Also, there is a general stigma in North America, in regards to any type of mental illness.

Has anyone tried spiritual healing, Eastern medicine, or even Native healers. Very wise people who, through generations of knowledge passed down to them by elders, can easily see what your problem is, as opposed to some cold, heartless psychologist.

Trust me on this. If any of you live in cities or towns with a large enough Aboriginal population, don't be afraid to try Native healing. Eastern medicine and therapy is vastly superior to Western culture, since there is nowhere near the stigma towards mental health issues, as there is here.

If you want to get better, seek alternative treatments. You can just tell by reading these forums, that Western medicine and psychology does not work. Look at all the suicidal people talking about different meds they have tried, or shrinks they have seen. IT DOES NOT WORK.

Look outside the box. Try alternative therapy for anxiety and depression.

Yes. I agree.

The way I see it, western medicine and western lifestyle is the opposite of natural health.
 

Lowlight

Well-known member
I read an interesting book that seemed to try and link the western understanding of the brain with the eastern practices of meditation. It was called, “The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness”. It talked about an experiment in which the brains of Tibetan monks were studied before and during meditation, and how they compared to the brains of everyday people. The experiment showed evidence of an increase in EEG activity of the mediating monks that was off the scale. I’m no scientist and the book explained it much better than I just have.

There is even a whole organization dedicated to this concept. It’s called the Mind and Life Institute.
 

kyle

Banned
*personal attacks have been moderated*

please refrain from personal attacks - ideas can be debated without insulting the person who presents them


After cooling off, I feel bad and would just like to apologize to all people of German heritage for what I said. I know responding to racism/hate with more hate just adds to the fire. For that I am sorry.

You have to understand that I believe in God, and many good people from family to friends I have are Christian, so I took offense to what an individual said. I should have just ignored it.

As for my problem with alcohol in the past, and being ridiculed for it, so what? It takes a brave person to admit they ahve a problem, and seek help, and try to become a better person for it. If someone wants to judge me on that, then I feel sorry for them.

In summary, I will not engage in a flaming war on this forum. For anyone who I offended, I sincerely apologize...
 
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