April A-Z Topic: New-Age Healing
Sure, some of it seems to have merit, and there's heaps of evidence to suggest that herbs and what not assists in natural healing, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line at blaming our illnesses on deeply routed psychological problems.
Because, you know, all those sufferers of the black plague in the middle ages, they were just ignoring their deep seated fear of serfdom.
A friend of mine who came down with food poisoning once was told by a faith healer that it was, and I quote, "reflective of (her) inability to accept the external influences in (her) life and (her) subconscious need to expel them".
Huh, and here I thought it was because some idiot left the seafood marinara mix out of the fridge for too long.
I even once went to a psychic who told
me my hay fever and asthma was caused by a past life experience!
Apparently at the tender age of six somewhere in 14th century
England I managed to pull a bale of hay down on myself and
suffocate. Of course, considering how small a six year old is and
the weight of a bale of hay, it's much more likely I was immediately
squashed, but I didn't tell her that.
It just seems so unsympathetic, so
uncaring, and completely irresponsible to blame people's bad health
on things they've done. It's a kick in the teeth, and the last thing
you need is a kick in the teeth when you're already feeling a bit
woozy. People like that aren't helping sick people, they're just
putting the blame back on them. You're feeling ill? Well, it must
be your own damned fault.
Honestly, I think all of those idiots
who say things like that should have the following tattoo written on
their foreheads in big bold letters.
"If pain persists, please seek medical attention!"
"If pain persists, please seek medical attention!"
And yey you went to a psychic!
ReplyDeleteStill you are right on.
I do enjoy a good psychic reading ... just not when they're blaming my maladies on my past life "issues".
DeleteI'm a believer in alternative medicine for adults, but kids should have the best medicine possible no matter what their parent's religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteSooooooo these magnets aren't going to cure arthritis? What about my magnet crown used to cure my dementia? How is it, that no matter how many times and ways faith heelers are discredited, the pseudo-profession continues to thrive?
ReplyDeleteSorry, all that's going to happen is your hair is going to stand on end.
DeleteYour post reminds me shatteringly of 2 alternative medicine practitioners one of which told me with an air of certainty that my beloved wouldn't have died 10 years ago if hadn't been negative in his life. The other told my (hopeful) beloved that he could cure his cancer that had already gone secondary.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm...... :(
It's scary what some of them will say, isn't it. Even scarier that some poor desperate people believe them.
DeleteIt's a real "blame the victim" head trip to lay on people. It's the New Age equivalent of saying you're ill because it's the punishment of God on you, miserable sinner.
ReplyDeletePretty much, and there's versions of them in just about every discipline.
DeleteSame thing as those wack jobs that pray instead of seeing a dr. If god was gonna heal you that way, he probably wouldn't have made you sick in the first place. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Valerie Nunez and the Flying Platypi
That's true. If that was the way it really worked, seems like a pretty convoluted system to me.
DeleteI'm with you on this one.
ReplyDeleteYep, go see a doctor.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteI so agree with you but I do wish doctors would put more pillows in their examination rooms...maybe light a little incense, some harp music...the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I wouldn't be opposed to that. Hell, if they include complimentary neck massages I'd be much more willing to go to the doctors.
DeleteSpot on! I've had quacks coming out of the woodwork the last 7 years telling me what I did to cause the Parkinson's and Essential Tremour...one actually walked up to me and told me a curse had been laid on me and he could 'cure' it for only $200! I held out my hand, smiled, and told him his offer of $200 was really quite generous.
ReplyDeleteA former friend told me that the extreme body movements were caused by repressed anger over my life choices. I was forced to agree: I'd allowed too many idiots into my life, bad choice!
Amazingly enough, a couple of doctor-prescribed medications have sorted things out nicely.
A curse! Wow, and he could take it away for $200? I like your response to him :D
DeleteI think that there are plants/herbs etc that have some really good healing qualities but you also have to be very careful because there are some wacky nuts out there who don't know either what to do with these herbs or don't know what to do at all...
ReplyDeleteTrue. There's no doubt that herbs work, it's just the validity of those using them and their insistence that they completely replace traditional medicine that I question.
DeleteI think there is room for complimentary therapies, but when you put it like this I can see why people shun it. I do believe that emotions can cause dis-ease that lead to disease,bursts of anger have been proven to release extra platelets into arteries which then cause blockages that can lead to heart attacks... but we live in a physical world with physical problems...and a stubbed toe can just be because the sofa is in the wrong spot. Stress is a major component of illness, and certain therapies like reflexology are non invasive and very relaxing, there are studies that show the benefits of reflexology on cancer patients and pain management. I'm a nurse and a natural therapist, I have a deep respect for allopathic and natural medicine. I think it is limiting to believe only one system works, when both have caused, sometimes more damage and many benefits. Taking responsibility for your health is a long way away from taking the blame. I like your take on the subject, (it's really quite funny and well written) but I'll continue to explore both methods and avoid taking pills if possible...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, there's no doubt that stress causes illness, but to stretch that so that you're blaming people for illnesses like cancer is just ridiculous in my opinion.
DeleteThree are definitely charlatans that judge instead of support, and bad medicine that kills instead of cures.
DeleteI have to agree with Stephen Hayes. There is a place for complimentary medicine, minus the 'it's all your fault' part. But when it comes to children, a qualified practitioner is a must..
ReplyDeleteBtw, I was told that my breathing problems, were as a direct result of being drowned as a witch in Medieval times...so what the heck is my fear of drowning caused by?? :)
LOL! I imagine your fear of drowning was caused by a subconscious refusal to accept the fact that your body is 80% water ;P
DeleteAn actual doctor once told me that my breathing difficulties were all in my head. Like I was imagining the fact that I couldn't draw a proper breath. I tend not to go to the doctors now unless it's absolutely necessary. And yes, I still have the breathing difficulties from time to time, but I just wait until they go away. After all, they're only in my head.
ReplyDeleteI hate doctors like that. There's such a thing as bedside manner, if you're not born with it you should try to develop some if you're going to be a doctor.
DeleteI wonder what I have done in my past life to end up with an IBD, I was probably a gluttonous pig...oh wait I still am!
ReplyDeleteGreat quote form one of my favourite comedians: "I'm sorry, 'herbal medicine', "Oh, herbal medicine's been around for thousands of years!" Indeed it has, and then we tested it all, and the stuff that worked became 'medicine'. And the rest of it is just a nice bowl of soup and some potpourri, so knock yourselves out." Dara O'Briain
LOL! I love Dar O'Briain!
DeleteLove it, well said. xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks :D
DeleteKellie,
ReplyDeleteFunny we both wrote about medical issues today when the letter N wouldn't immediately bring this topic to mind! Despite the fact my doctors had no compassion or bedside manner, I'd rather trust traditional medicine than new age 'healers'. Totally agree on this one!
I guess there are practitioners on both sides with less than sterling bedside manners.
DeleteI've found the natural stuff works for minor things or stuff you wouldn't expect. I love the natural stuff for my hair and for remedying minor aches and pains. Other than that I want a doctor and some meds.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm sick, I want drugs. Nice, scientific, chemically drugs.
DeleteWell said. There are herbs out there that are helpful, and if you look, many modern medicines are based on those herbs. There are doctors that are too prescription happy but the idea that your allergies and asthma is based on a past life is pretty ludicrous. I'm with you on this.
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally believe that some alternative therapies work. I just question the methods of some of the practitioners.
DeleteLOL So funny! Like you said, there are some merits to things like herbs and of course eating better helps and such - but no way when I get strep throat is it based on my "deep-seated difficulty expressing true voice" or some such nonsense. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteI agree. This would make a worthy Public Service Announcement. Sometimes, supplements can help (or can't hurt), I think, but people take it way too far. I've heard of people who use alternative medicines to treat cancer even.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
It's scary when you hear about people doing that. I can't say I've ever heard of someone's cancer being cured by using alternative therapies alone.
DeleteUnless they drank too much last night, ate raw eggs or undercooked meat. Look at you, you're half way thru...excellent!
ReplyDeleteLOL! :D
DeleteI agree with this. I'm a big believer in supplementing my "western" medicine with holistic approaches, but I'm still on that antibiotic. I'm completely blown away that someone would blame food poisoning on psychic congestion. Ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIt's hilarious and terrifying, all at the same time.
DeleteI agree too - there is room for both as long as you doin't push to far with the holistic stuff - it doesn't beat a good doctor.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I like my drugs.
DeleteSeems there are quacks in alternative medicine as well as conventional medicine. If hay bales falling on children is the cause of hay fever, there must of been a lot of hay in days gone by...and squished children.
ReplyDeleteLOL! True! It must have been the number one cause of childhood death!
DeleteStopping in from A-Z. Great post! Totally agree with you too!
ReplyDeleteThanks :D
DeleteLaughing so hard at this. If I am ever sick, I want the strongest stuff they can give me. I'll never be one of those who thinks that bathing in a tub full of leaves is going to heal me (yup... I've heard that one before).
ReplyDeleteHave a great day! Stop by my blog, if you'd like! leslyni.blogspot.com
I'm all for the hard drugs too.
DeleteBut what about acupuncture? Stabbing yourself with hundreds of tiny sharp objects has got to be good for your right?
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm sure there's a scientific reason for it ... but I think I'll pass.
DeleteIf you have psychological problems to begin with, you probably aren't in the right state of mind to realize that going for new-age healing isn't going to help.
ReplyDeleteTrue. It's pretty much just taking advantage of people who are already vulnerable.
DeleteThe black plague analogy is awesome! I completely agree with you about getting kicked when you're down. The last thing you want to hear when you are sick is that you did something wrong!
ReplyDeleteIt's just mean, like the medical version of bullying.
DeleteYou definitely made my day!
ReplyDelete:D
DeleteSuch a timely post for me Kellie. I have a good friend who has been seeing Naturalists for years. She has cancer now and has been to a cancer treatment center. She is currently in remission. Her pets are all on natural diets, yet suffer incredible digestive issues.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I read labels and try to shop wisely, spending my $ on good stuff, not cardboard food, but at some point you gotta say- Enough is Enough!
Very true. There's a place for natural remedies, and there's a place for bringing out the big guns. I'd say cancer is a big guns issue.
DeleteI wish you were joking about this. Really, I do.
ReplyDeleteNow if the doctors would listen, or glance at all of the answers on the endless questionaires, we'd be in good shape! Love your post after going for a physical yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI suppose bad bedside manner is universal :D
DeleteI've read in books that some of your health problems now could be held over from past lives and if you regress in hypnotherapy you should be able to go back and deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's possible, I also think a quack won't help, you need a proper psychiatrist to put you under and regress.
LOL! Very true. If you want to deal with emotional or mental issues, then knock yourself out. But regressing to a past life probably isn't going to help much if you have cancer.
DeleteYou're too funny! I have a tendency to think past lives are a bunch of garbage anyway. Though I am curious as to how a six-year-old is supposed to be physically capable of pulling a bale of hay down on top of her.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that too! I must have been an extra strong six year old!
DeleteI agree! I recently heard of a prominent Christian music artist who was diagnosed with the incurable myeloma cancer, given 3-4 years left, and is choosing to try and beat it with holistic methods. It just blows my mind. To each his own, I suppose...
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a gamble I wouldn't be willing to make.
DeleteLOL! Yep, that's definitely a possibility in some of them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge sore subject with me. My mom died from an incurable disease, even though she had every bit of faith that God would heal her. I remember people from her church afteward discussing how if you have enough faith, God will heal you, and I wanted to hurt them. No one had more faith than my mom. But she had an incurable disease. It had nothing to do with her, or sin, or faith. Just makes me so crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt's things like that that make me more angry than anything else.
DeleteYou had me at the title :) It always seemed logical to me that if something actually works, the medical profession will at length gladly embrace it. Some would say I am naive..
ReplyDelete