Alternative solutions? (Alternative Treatment Methods)

Member Name: peel.rebekah

Product:	Alternative Treatment Methods
Date:	26/08/01 (318 review reads)
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Alternative, eh?

Well, this has got me thinking: I'm not a big fan of general medicinal practice, i.e. I don't pop nurofen by the handful, or dose myself with paracetemol at the first ouch of a headache. I tend to refuse antibiotics as well, as they have a rather dire effect on my body - after even a small prescription I am left with a serious bout of thrush and my psoriasis flares up to crusty proportions.

It's not that I disagree with these general practices, I just find that over time my body refuses to cooperate with these medicinal norms, and as well as leaving me with the original symptoms in tact, I then also have to deal with the side effects.

Ah please, misunderstand me not: Here I am pregnant and more than willing to endure my monthly blood tests for toxoplasmosis (it's ok, I live in France and this is normal procedure), to follow my gynecologist's advice and ingest my daily folic acid....but, I'm also swigging my Nux Vomica, a homeopathic 'remedy' for morning sickness, and open to the advice of alternative therapies should they be of benefit, to my baby and/or myself.

I simply feel that in a day and age where most of our ailments and gripes can be comforted by an hour in the doctor's waiting room, five minutes in her office and twenty multicoloured tablets, we might, just might, be losing that vital contact with our own bodies.

Now there are alternative therapies and ALTERNATIVE therapies, right? Let's discuss those that you?ve probably heard about, tried and tested...

Homeopathy is the new religion for the Surrey Ladies masses...and for most of the recent newly aged New Age converts. It's a very simple idea; small amounts of that which makes you ill, can, indeed, cure you. I have no real struggle with the ideology, yet I am more than keen that all who wander down this path find themselves a VERY good homeopath...this said, and I really can't name nam
es, a London homeopath who graces British TV's airwaves should be avoided at all costs...inside information proves that he has misdiagnosed on more than one occasion - naughty...I nearly lost a friend to the ill practice of a homeopath (she was diabetic and the homeopath encouraged her to stop taking her insulin), so please, before buying and swallowing any homeopathic remedies, talk to your normal doctor AS WELL as a qualified homeopath.

Acupuncture sounds like soooo much fun: I really must find an ailment that can only be cured by people sticking needles in me. No, in all seriousness, this, along with dead tiger's tongues and snake's blood down the local Chinese Medicine Centre, seems to have the most impressive history...more importantly, studies in these subjects appear to take longer and be more in depth - This is a big problem for me, as I see so many westerners getting an HND in some eastern alternative practice, and printing out their business cards the very next day.

I do believe that massage should fall into this category, as a deeply relaxed patient that allows their mind to release the stresses and strains of everyday live, is likely to be a healthier and happier person. My preference is with Shiatsu - again, a treatment that should be studied for at least four years before being practiced - I do believe that there is a reputable school in London, to which students travel from around the world (worth finding out about, as the students will charge you pittance while they are still unqualified). Unfortunately I can't do Shiatsu while preggers, so these back aches are surely going to get worse before they get better :o(

Reflexology means that people get to play with the lumps and bumps on your stinking, corn ridden feet. Different areas of your feet pertain to different areas (organs etc.) of your body...there's a head version of this as well, but the name escapes me.

What about hypnotherapy, then? Doe
s that still qualify as an alternative therapy? I find hypnotherapy works a bit like massage does (and I'm not talking about childhood/pre-life regressions or alien abductions): It places the patient in an utter state of relaxation - Obviously, the suggestions that follow (you do not wish to smoke/eat/fart etc.) are the bits that are supposed to 'work', as they reach and penetrate your mind on a subconscious level...hmnn, that bit has never really worked for me, but after a quick hypno I feel all fluffy, tingly and relaxed...makes me want to smile at strangers in the street, you know?

Aromatherapy, and things that smell nice can make you feel better (tshh, I know It's not that simple,but that's the general gist, no?).

An acquaintance of mine is involved in research with light reflected through different coloured crystals - this is all in the hope that cancer cells can be combated with positive light. Ah hmnnn.

And psychotherapy? Now that's an interesting one....I really do want to say "YEAH" to all those who 'find' themselves, who are able to overcome their past, to open up and release...but I find myself set deeply against the boxes that are too easily given and gratefully taken: When I talk to a good friend of mine, I wish to talk to HIM; sometimes I find myself talking to the manic depressive that he was diagnosed as, just because it is an easier persona for him to assume.

And did you know that over here we get all payments for spas and water therapies refunded by the social security? Well, if that's not a good enough reason for moving to France then I don't know what is.

Sometimes some of these things work - sometimes they don't. Whether or not this is down to belief/faith (call it as you will) or some sort of placebo effect, I know not: To generalise on this matter would be unfruitful, as those who seek these practices out are varied and their reasons are wide. It
has to be true that whatever the situation, if the therapy works for just one individual, then it has to be a good thing, no? And if it offers another hope, then who are we to argue?

But what about real ALTERNATIVE therapies? Who amongst you have heard of trepanation? Oheeerk, even writing the word makes my fingers tingle (in anxiety, I hasten to add). Trepanation is the practice of making holes in the skull; It has an astounding history, but more worryingly it continues to be practiced in the present day.

Hows about exorcism (inside and out of the Roman Catholic Church - although outside it seems to be the practice of disturbed individuals and more often than not results in death)?

Have you heard about the family in Hyderabad, India that prepare a miracle cure for all those with respiratory problems? It consists of a live fish stuffed with herbs and water - it is distributed once a year in the Mrigasira solar phase (for about two days) and has to be swallowed whole (and alive): Apparently the live fish helps to clear the food pipe on its way down, later releasing the herbal medicines once hitting the stomach. Eurrgh.

I've got a good one for you: How about laughter? After all, we know how much better we feel after a belly guffaw or a chortle or two.

I worry, I really do, when I see how adolescent girls are introduced to the pill at a time in their life when their body is still growing and changing; they aren't given any real information as to the side effects of/and prolonged usage of such a drug, and from here on in they tend to lose all consciousness of their own bodies - depending on more drugs if anything else goes wrong. There are good drugs and bad drugs (as I'm sure any cancer patient will tell you) but just because your doctor (a fallible human being after all) tells you to take them - well, you don't have to if you don't want to.

Oh, I don't want to come across as a earth loving
hippy, nor as a uptight, middle class tart in search of enlightenment: These things exist in the world, there for you to discover. Some of them are pure nonsense and dangerous to boot, some of them may well help alleviate your ailments...my only bone of contention is that you find a GOOD and qualified practitioner of whatever you wish to indulge in ('cept trepanation of course).

All this aside, I find one rather cheap alternative therapy the most productive: Self belief and positive thought have done more for my migraines, psoriasis, morning sickness and general health than any number of pills could have ever done...and it's better than a hole in the head.

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