If you ask for my opinion (professional or otherwise), please wait until I’ve left the room before you totally disregard my advice, do the complete opposite of what I have said and then in the end discover that I was right all along. Apologies if I sounded arrogant just then but I honestly didn’t mean to! It’s just that I’m amazed that so many intelligent looking people fall for the most unbelievable things sometimes.
Before I start, can I just say that the asian population are making their mark in many areas such as food, fashion, expertise in IT and the list goes on. Yet within that population SOME of those people seem to forget logic and stick to their old beliefs and practices. And I’m not talking about religion versus science. That is something that I understand and I know the various reasons why people would struggle to take sides due to conflicts of interest. What I’m referring to is more about the culture and mindset of the people - those old tales and practices that have woven themselves so tightly into their everyday lives that they dare not think or do anything that would mean deviating from the norm of the society. It is the society that they have grown up in and have known all their lives.
I’ve come across a few people who rather than turn to a doctor for medical advice, often call upon new age healers such as wise sages, tantrics and even a few psychics for help. Alternative medicine as it is called, includes other areas such as reiki, aura/chakra healers and to some extent astrologers. I personally believe that some of practices should not be classed an alternative to medicine, as they are not actually based on any physiological or anatomical basis. But at the same time I will admit that practise such as acupuncture can be beneficial in certain cases. Personally I believe that the reason that these new age healers are successful in what they do is because of the communities that they practice in. More precisely it is the mindset of the community to accept such beliefs as they are more open to them. It’s a community that accepts the premise of such practices and something which I believe is essentially a different version of what in medicine is known as psychotherapy. In this situation those techniques traditionally used by a psychiatrist are the same ones applied by these new age healers but it is presented in a way that is more acceptable to the people, than perhaps in a clinical setting.
One very clear example I have of this is when an acquaintance of my mother’s was ill and also had some problems with her mental health. I can’t remember the exact medical complaint she had but she was convinced that it was best that she go and see this new age healer than was in town as opposed to her GP. When asked by mother why not see a proper doctor, the lady replied about how she wary of medicines that the doctors gave out as you never know what they put in them. Thankfully her son did take her to see a GP, however her treatment was not successful partly due to her non-compliance with the medication and partly because she had already convinced herself it would not work. Soon after the same lady visited a healer and he prescribed her some alternative herbal pills and performed a prayer in which her spirit was cleansed. The healer explained that the woman was under the influence of an evil spirit from another life and through the power of prayer he had now banished the evil spirit. In order to prevent the return of the spirit she must embrace life, be more cheerful and take better care of herself. He also advised her to do some sort of routine everyday which involved a prayer and donating something to the poor. The lady thankfully was cured however I can’t help but think that part of recovery was due to her belief being greater in one person over another.
So what does that show? Personally I believe it was a more a case of mind over matter – the woman had obviously convinced herself that the healer was the better equipped to deal with her problems than the GP. The healer’s meds had a similar mechanism of action to the GP’s meds, however I wouldn’t recommend taking medications if you don’t know the composition or where they were made. The words spoken by the healer in essence had the same purpose as the GP’s or perhaps a psychiatrist, as they were trying to promote a more cheerful sense of well being for the patient. However the GP had not shrouded his advice in a manner that was more pleasing to the patient and stuck to medical facts whilst the healer had played on the woman’s beliefs in mystical beings, evil spirits and so forth.
So where does that leave us? Should we let these healers continue their business based on technically shaky beliefs? Or should the medical world be a bit more forceful in these matters by dissipating such ideologies? Maybe we should work alongside these healers and have some sort of regulatory system set up? Or perhaps it’s time for medics to start offering the exorcism of spirits, cleansing auras and healing their patient’s chakras as well as the traditional, mainstream and more accepted practice of medicine. What is your take on the matter, where do you stand?
Before I start, can I just say that the asian population are making their mark in many areas such as food, fashion, expertise in IT and the list goes on. Yet within that population SOME of those people seem to forget logic and stick to their old beliefs and practices. And I’m not talking about religion versus science. That is something that I understand and I know the various reasons why people would struggle to take sides due to conflicts of interest. What I’m referring to is more about the culture and mindset of the people - those old tales and practices that have woven themselves so tightly into their everyday lives that they dare not think or do anything that would mean deviating from the norm of the society. It is the society that they have grown up in and have known all their lives.
I’ve come across a few people who rather than turn to a doctor for medical advice, often call upon new age healers such as wise sages, tantrics and even a few psychics for help. Alternative medicine as it is called, includes other areas such as reiki, aura/chakra healers and to some extent astrologers. I personally believe that some of practices should not be classed an alternative to medicine, as they are not actually based on any physiological or anatomical basis. But at the same time I will admit that practise such as acupuncture can be beneficial in certain cases. Personally I believe that the reason that these new age healers are successful in what they do is because of the communities that they practice in. More precisely it is the mindset of the community to accept such beliefs as they are more open to them. It’s a community that accepts the premise of such practices and something which I believe is essentially a different version of what in medicine is known as psychotherapy. In this situation those techniques traditionally used by a psychiatrist are the same ones applied by these new age healers but it is presented in a way that is more acceptable to the people, than perhaps in a clinical setting.
One very clear example I have of this is when an acquaintance of my mother’s was ill and also had some problems with her mental health. I can’t remember the exact medical complaint she had but she was convinced that it was best that she go and see this new age healer than was in town as opposed to her GP. When asked by mother why not see a proper doctor, the lady replied about how she wary of medicines that the doctors gave out as you never know what they put in them. Thankfully her son did take her to see a GP, however her treatment was not successful partly due to her non-compliance with the medication and partly because she had already convinced herself it would not work. Soon after the same lady visited a healer and he prescribed her some alternative herbal pills and performed a prayer in which her spirit was cleansed. The healer explained that the woman was under the influence of an evil spirit from another life and through the power of prayer he had now banished the evil spirit. In order to prevent the return of the spirit she must embrace life, be more cheerful and take better care of herself. He also advised her to do some sort of routine everyday which involved a prayer and donating something to the poor. The lady thankfully was cured however I can’t help but think that part of recovery was due to her belief being greater in one person over another.
So what does that show? Personally I believe it was a more a case of mind over matter – the woman had obviously convinced herself that the healer was the better equipped to deal with her problems than the GP. The healer’s meds had a similar mechanism of action to the GP’s meds, however I wouldn’t recommend taking medications if you don’t know the composition or where they were made. The words spoken by the healer in essence had the same purpose as the GP’s or perhaps a psychiatrist, as they were trying to promote a more cheerful sense of well being for the patient. However the GP had not shrouded his advice in a manner that was more pleasing to the patient and stuck to medical facts whilst the healer had played on the woman’s beliefs in mystical beings, evil spirits and so forth.
So where does that leave us? Should we let these healers continue their business based on technically shaky beliefs? Or should the medical world be a bit more forceful in these matters by dissipating such ideologies? Maybe we should work alongside these healers and have some sort of regulatory system set up? Or perhaps it’s time for medics to start offering the exorcism of spirits, cleansing auras and healing their patient’s chakras as well as the traditional, mainstream and more accepted practice of medicine. What is your take on the matter, where do you stand?
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