Homeopathy

[freakofnurture]

I don't want to waste any more space here with off topic things - like homeopathy in relation to physical conditions -, thus interfereing with your enthusiasm. But I can't not make this post. So I'll put my little rant here in a tiny little font and you can just ignore it.
Though, if anyboy wants to continue the off topic about h. via PM or in a dedicated thread I'll be happy to participate.
I'll leave you with a quote by Tim Minchin:
"You know what they call Alternative Medicine that works? Medicine!"

So many ppl that doubt (...) homeopathy or other holistic practises question the theory & truth behind them, sadly without trying them, and experiencing the wonder they can bring. Even reiki is a prime example...

I was basically raised on homeopathic remedies, and they never worked. They didn't cure or even mildly improve my headaches, my sinusitis, my sleep problems etc. I nearly died of scarlet fever at age 7 because my mom preferred not to 'poison' me with antibiotics; so believe me, I wanted homeopathy to work, more than anything else in the world. I was as open and cooperative and emotionally responsive as a kid that age ever could be, because my f*cking life depended on it. Still, nothing. Cold showers and grudgingly accepted (by my mom) antibiotics however worked like a charm, and that's why I'm still here.
To realise that homeopathy doesn't work, I didn't need to know about the complete lack of plausibility of its founding principles and the bad science that is used to keep it alive as an international multi million dollar industry, basically lying to the ill.
There are people who are made so scared of 'poison-cut-burn' that they try to treat their cancers with homeopathy instead, parents who withhold life saving meds from their kids on their homeopath's recommendation, people who try to treat localised infections as prescribed by their homeopath. The cancer patients usually die, as do the kids. The people with infections only lose a limb or two if they're lucky and get an amputation before sepsis strikes.

So, when you said that homeopathy doesn't ever do harm, I had to take a lot of really deep breaths to keep asking questions and not bash my head into the keyboard violently.
Homeopathy doesn't ever do harm? Wrong. Belief in can f*cking kill you.

 

[seedling]

F of N - Sorry to hear about your terrible experiences. Any belief that blocks out all others can cause great harm. Glad you got the treatment you needed and are here today.

 

[Powder]

Wow, I am sorry that you were denied medicine when you needed it.
So, yes, your point is well taken. Alternative medicine should only be voluntary and as a wellness medicine. My Dr. actually will point out herbal or natural remedies, but she doesn't hold out hope that they will cure me. Just make me feel less symptoms. And that is what alternative medicine is about, feeling better, not curing a disease, IMHO. And hopefully and usually trad medicine can do that, but there is a focus on treating major issues. My condition can over time cause heart rhythm problems, but it is not treatable medically, neither is my PTSD. So, for most with such diagnoses, we look for pallative care from alternative medicine for quality of life.

The danger is that people will abuse it. But that applies to everything. Any good thing can be abused, used incorrectly, and used merely for profit by the greedy. This applies to religion, love, sex, and healing and therapies of all kinds. And people will be denied things that they need for all kinds of reasons.

Your personal history with Homeopathy is important and valuable and part of your trauma. Maybe it helped you feel better to vent. Maybe not. However, getting a hold on your emotions, which are entirely valid, by the way, and understandable and acceptable, so that you don't burn bridges with others, will help you heal. You will feel more in control and better able to maintain working relationships and aquaintences, which will supply you with a web of support. I have seen the need to vent the anger triggered by past abuse destroy careers and isolate good people before. I would hate to see this happen to you, so I'm reaching out; you should let the other poster here know that you don't mean this personally to her nor mean to imply that her intention is to do such harm to others. Maybe you should ask her why she got out of it?

 

[Philippa]

That's understandable, given your experience. It doesn't always work with everybody. if it did, people wouldn't try the alternative and decide to go back to what they know best...which they do. These remedies can work really well on some, and others need something else. It was neglectful of your mother to ignore the fact that her preference for natural medecine was not cutting it with you, and that's a form of abuse to not explore all the options in such a case.

When it comes to alternative medecines being a multi-million dollar industry though, I have to say it goes both ways in that regard. Pharmaceutical companies are just as greedy, if not more so, for people to remain sick so they can continue to sell their products and make a profit. This is probably one of the factors why your mother was so staunchly against anti-biotics?

It's a fact that doctors and psychologists have a deal with Pharmaceutical companies that the doctor who prescribes the most medication wins an all expenses paid family holiday in the Bahamas on a yacht at the end of every year. I know this because I asked a woman who used to work for a major pharmaceutical company, who left her position because of all the dodgy stuff going on there, so, it doesn't really matter which side you batt for, money is the bottom line at the end of the day.

 

[221177]

I disagree with it can kill you, but totally see the dangers in alternatives being the only methods used in treating any chronic disease. The clue is in the title - holistic, which means whole, and I believe any holistic practitioner should be aiming for using as many methods as possible and not necessarily cutting out pharmaceuticals. There unfortunately is a whole bandwagon of homeopaths that claim cures for cancers and all sorts - I don't doubt for one minute that homeopathy can achieve this WITH other methods for some people (not all because again ppl respond differently to different treatments), but to claim that this can work for everyone, and that ppl suffering should just rely on these remedies is vastly irresponsible imho. So it's the one tracked method that can kill you, not the remedies specifically.

I'm sorry to hear you've had so many problems in the past.

Let me just say that I know ppl like to attack homeopathy for being a multi-milliion pound industry, but I'd like to remind people that which is the bigger industry - homeopathy or pharmaceutical industry? Now as much as we can harp on about the science behind the pharm industry, don't tell me that the drugs being produced are equally not killing anyone, because we know they are probably in equal amounts, if not more so. I'm not saying we shouldn't take pharms or attack that industry for what it is, but my point is, no one route is the be all and end all - different practises work for different people, depending on the condition, depending on the person, and in my experience homeopathy can work wonders, no placebo about it.

One other misconception about homeopathy versus pharmaceutical drugs is this - pharms can relieve symptoms but sometimes this can be due to suppressing the problem deeper, whereas homeopathy can often make physical symptoms initially worse as these are heightened before being pushed out of the body. Again, many people won't be happy with this concept, but this for me shows of a medicine that works with not against the body. Of course if you have some chronic disease, making the symptoms worse is not what is required at all, so it really depends on the individual case.

All I can say, forget physical disease for one moment, from a mental health perspective, I have personally found homeopathic remedies to be a god send.

 

[221177]

But again, just to add on to that, I'm sincerely not trying to preach anything, just share that this has been an area I've benefitted from, and others may too.

Equally happy to have a little debate about beliefs, provided it's heartfelt though not taken negatively personally on either side :) x

 

[freakofnurture]

Hm... why is the font not tiny? Strange.

I don't attack homeopathy for being a huge industry, I just point out that distrust towards people making money off of something is no longer warranted as an argument for AltMed.
I'd love to discuss this further with you. Mind if I PM you?

 

[cherryblossom]

Hm... why is the font not tiny? Strange.

The font isn't tiny, because I changed it back to the default font - as laid down in the rules.