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Our Mind as a Healer
By Nina Baruch
The more Conventional Medicine develops -
the more its shortcomings become clearer.
This is where Alternative Medicine steps in
In the late 70’s Louise L. Hay was diagnosed with
cancer. Hay, a popular speaker at the Church of
Religious Science in New York and a passionate
advocate for positive thought patterns was offered
the conventional treatments at the time, which
included surgery and drugs. She turned it down.
Instead she developed a program of her own
containing positive affirmations, visualizations,
nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy. Within
six months she was completely healed. The result
of this program was a book - You Can Heal Your Life
- published in 1984.
When Hay published her book her ideas about a
strong connection between mind and body and the
ability to heal body's functions through thoughts
and psychotherapy were a novelty. The common ideas and beliefs about health and healing were those of conventional medicine, which regarded the human body as kind of machine: When it gets sick - it needs drugs or an operation to fix it. Very few considered a possible connection between mind and body or the possibility of using the mind as a healer.
Since for decades, conventional medicine has saved millions of lives and reduced suffering and mortality throughout the world, few were willing to challenge its supremacy or relate to its shortcomings. Hay was among the first who did, arguing that conventional approach of quick fix for all ailments fails to deal with many common problems such as back pain, headaches, high blood pressure, or digestion problems.
Criticism of conventional medicine grew with the introduction of Eastern philosophy and medicine, especially Chinese and Japanese, which regards the mind and body as one. In the East, each ailment we develop is considered an expression of our nutrition, our physical activity, our life style, and especially - our feelings and thoughts.
Therefore, the right treatment should relate to the person as a whole - how he or she eats, breath, sleeps, lives and think - and change the source of the problem instead of feeding it with drugs.
This approach, characteristic to various healing methods known as Holistic Medicine, Alternative Medicine (CAM) or Complementary Medicine, emphasizes the need to treat everybody, not just the sick, and to teach people how to lead healthy lifestyles that prevent illness.
"Alternative Medicine is every available approach to healing that does not fall within the realm of Conventional Medicine", sums it up Steven Bratman, an American physician and expert on alternative medicine in in his book, The Alternative Medicine Sourcebook.
Typical examples of alternative medicine are homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, shiatsu, reflexology and so on. Still, definitions of alternative medicine may vary with culture and time. Some of those practices incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, and sometimes even religious beliefs. Some are based on pre-modern medical traditions, like acupuncture, but others are newly developed approaches to healing.
Is Holistic Medicine a Fraud?
The introduction of Holistic Medicine at the end of the 70’s was greeted with harsh criticism. While many Holistic therapists criticized conventional medicine, claiming it related to symptoms instead of to the person as a whole - conventional therapists regarded alternative medicine as a fraud, useless and lacking any scientific basis.
In recent years there has been a gradual change in opinion. More and more conventional therapists are willing to accept the idea of an existing connection between mind and body and the possible contribution of some methods of alternative to health and healing. Today, many who practice conventional medicine admit that proper treatment should focus on the person as a whole, his or her nutrition, habits and way of life in order to prevent illness.
However there are still many reservations about the use of altnerative medicine techniques. Although many advocates of alternative medicine hold that these methods are effective in treating many medical conditions claiming that current research proves the effectiveness of specific treatments, there are also many who argue against it.
The primary reservation is that most alternative methods have not yet been tested properly, thus impossible to prove safe and effective. Proponents of alternative medicine often cite studies which have been performed, proving its efficacy. Critics point out that there is insufficient data on how exactly those studies were conducted. They also argue that many forms of alternative medicine were rejected by practitioners of conventional medicine because the efficacy of treatments has not been demonstrated through double-blind randomized controlled trials.
Therefore while conventional practitioners agree that people should be free to choose whatever method of healthcare they want, they also must be informed first as to the safety and efficacy of whatever method they choose. "People who choose alternative medicine may think they are choosing a safe, effective medicine, while they may only be getting quack remedies", they warn.
What's Right For Us?
Many complementary medicine experts agree that altnerative medicine should be subjected to scientific testing. Actually, say George D. Lundberg, former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Phil B. Fontanarosa, Senior Editor of JAMA, "There is no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking. Whether a therapeutic practice… involves mind-body techniques or molecular genetics is largely irrelevant…"
Proponents of alternative medicine argue that conventional medicine has no solutions for stress and its impacts on our mental and emotional life as well as our physical health. Conventional medicine, they say, fails in healing ailments that are the result of stress, such as headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, back pain, skin rash, ulcer and so on. Instead, people are encouraged to use drugs, which in the long run have side affects that aggravate their condition.
Conventional medicine, argue proponents of altnerative medicine, also ignores our thoughts and emotions. They believe that if we feed our body and keep ourselves fit we will not get sick. The truth is that deep emotions can cause serious illnesses, no matter how well we eat or exercise, and we have to take care of those just as well.
Conventional medicine, they argue, believes illness is the result of outside factors such as viruses, various chemicals or our genes. Therefore they focus on fighting germs, removing poisonous chemicals and destroying bad genes, when possible. While doing so, often successfully, they ignore the main cause of our illnesses: our emotions, our deep fears, worries, anger, anxiety and hostility.
Emotions such as these, they say, constrict blood vessels and muscles; they can damage our digestive and respiratory systems, weaken our immune system and make us vulnerable to illness - which is no more than our body's way to express distress due to ignored or suppressed emotions.
Alternative medicine, on the other hand, working with the mind and activating its energy and powers of healing, is a very effective tool of recovery, has no side affects and it shows us how to lead a healthier and happier life. Now it's time for us to choose what's right for us.
<back
By Nina Baruch
The more Conventional Medicine develops -
the more its shortcomings become clearer.
This is where Alternative Medicine steps in
In the late 70’s Louise L. Hay was diagnosed with
cancer. Hay, a popular speaker at the Church of
Religious Science in New York and a passionate
advocate for positive thought patterns was offered
the conventional treatments at the time, which
included surgery and drugs. She turned it down.
Instead she developed a program of her own
containing positive affirmations, visualizations,
nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy. Within
six months she was completely healed. The result
of this program was a book - You Can Heal Your Life
- published in 1984.
When Hay published her book her ideas about a
strong connection between mind and body and the
ability to heal body's functions through thoughts
and psychotherapy were a novelty. The common ideas and beliefs about health and healing were those of conventional medicine, which regarded the human body as kind of machine: When it gets sick - it needs drugs or an operation to fix it. Very few considered a possible connection between mind and body or the possibility of using the mind as a healer.
Since for decades, conventional medicine has saved millions of lives and reduced suffering and mortality throughout the world, few were willing to challenge its supremacy or relate to its shortcomings. Hay was among the first who did, arguing that conventional approach of quick fix for all ailments fails to deal with many common problems such as back pain, headaches, high blood pressure, or digestion problems.
Criticism of conventional medicine grew with the introduction of Eastern philosophy and medicine, especially Chinese and Japanese, which regards the mind and body as one. In the East, each ailment we develop is considered an expression of our nutrition, our physical activity, our life style, and especially - our feelings and thoughts.
Therefore, the right treatment should relate to the person as a whole - how he or she eats, breath, sleeps, lives and think - and change the source of the problem instead of feeding it with drugs.
This approach, characteristic to various healing methods known as Holistic Medicine, Alternative Medicine (CAM) or Complementary Medicine, emphasizes the need to treat everybody, not just the sick, and to teach people how to lead healthy lifestyles that prevent illness.
"Alternative Medicine is every available approach to healing that does not fall within the realm of Conventional Medicine", sums it up Steven Bratman, an American physician and expert on alternative medicine in in his book, The Alternative Medicine Sourcebook.
Typical examples of alternative medicine are homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, shiatsu, reflexology and so on. Still, definitions of alternative medicine may vary with culture and time. Some of those practices incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, and sometimes even religious beliefs. Some are based on pre-modern medical traditions, like acupuncture, but others are newly developed approaches to healing.
Is Holistic Medicine a Fraud?
The introduction of Holistic Medicine at the end of the 70’s was greeted with harsh criticism. While many Holistic therapists criticized conventional medicine, claiming it related to symptoms instead of to the person as a whole - conventional therapists regarded alternative medicine as a fraud, useless and lacking any scientific basis.
In recent years there has been a gradual change in opinion. More and more conventional therapists are willing to accept the idea of an existing connection between mind and body and the possible contribution of some methods of alternative to health and healing. Today, many who practice conventional medicine admit that proper treatment should focus on the person as a whole, his or her nutrition, habits and way of life in order to prevent illness.
However there are still many reservations about the use of altnerative medicine techniques. Although many advocates of alternative medicine hold that these methods are effective in treating many medical conditions claiming that current research proves the effectiveness of specific treatments, there are also many who argue against it.
The primary reservation is that most alternative methods have not yet been tested properly, thus impossible to prove safe and effective. Proponents of alternative medicine often cite studies which have been performed, proving its efficacy. Critics point out that there is insufficient data on how exactly those studies were conducted. They also argue that many forms of alternative medicine were rejected by practitioners of conventional medicine because the efficacy of treatments has not been demonstrated through double-blind randomized controlled trials.
Therefore while conventional practitioners agree that people should be free to choose whatever method of healthcare they want, they also must be informed first as to the safety and efficacy of whatever method they choose. "People who choose alternative medicine may think they are choosing a safe, effective medicine, while they may only be getting quack remedies", they warn.
What's Right For Us?
Many complementary medicine experts agree that altnerative medicine should be subjected to scientific testing. Actually, say George D. Lundberg, former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Phil B. Fontanarosa, Senior Editor of JAMA, "There is no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking. Whether a therapeutic practice… involves mind-body techniques or molecular genetics is largely irrelevant…"
Proponents of alternative medicine argue that conventional medicine has no solutions for stress and its impacts on our mental and emotional life as well as our physical health. Conventional medicine, they say, fails in healing ailments that are the result of stress, such as headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, back pain, skin rash, ulcer and so on. Instead, people are encouraged to use drugs, which in the long run have side affects that aggravate their condition.
Conventional medicine, argue proponents of altnerative medicine, also ignores our thoughts and emotions. They believe that if we feed our body and keep ourselves fit we will not get sick. The truth is that deep emotions can cause serious illnesses, no matter how well we eat or exercise, and we have to take care of those just as well.
Conventional medicine, they argue, believes illness is the result of outside factors such as viruses, various chemicals or our genes. Therefore they focus on fighting germs, removing poisonous chemicals and destroying bad genes, when possible. While doing so, often successfully, they ignore the main cause of our illnesses: our emotions, our deep fears, worries, anger, anxiety and hostility.
Emotions such as these, they say, constrict blood vessels and muscles; they can damage our digestive and respiratory systems, weaken our immune system and make us vulnerable to illness - which is no more than our body's way to express distress due to ignored or suppressed emotions.
Alternative medicine, on the other hand, working with the mind and activating its energy and powers of healing, is a very effective tool of recovery, has no side affects and it shows us how to lead a healthier and happier life. Now it's time for us to choose what's right for us.
<back
"Make your own recovery the first priority in your life"
Robin Norwood
Robin Norwood is a marriage, family and child therapist specializing in the treatment of chemical dependency and codependency. She is best known for her book Women Who Love Too Much.
Robin Norwood
Robin Norwood is a marriage, family and child therapist specializing in the treatment of chemical dependency and codependency. She is best known for her book Women Who Love Too Much.
"Alternative medicine is activating the mind's powers of healing. It is a very effective tool of recovery, has no side affects and it shows us how to lead a healthier and happier life"