Alternative therapies have been described as one of the ranges of
systems of healing or treating disease not included in the traditional
medical curricula taught in Europe and America. Sometimes alternative
therapy practices are based on belief systems. Alternative therapies
usually incorporate spiritual, metaphysical and religious foundations,
sometime untested practices or newly developed approaches to healing are
also included. Alternative therapy is generally safe and effective.
Conventional practitioners have adopted it and it is no longer
considered as alternative therapy. Alternative therapies are commonly
categorized together with complementary medicine under the term
'complementary and alternative medicine' (CAM for short).
Some
critics say that some of the fields of alternative therapy are not
scientific. Jurisdictions also differ concerning the legality of the
branches of alternative therapy. Numerous supporters of alternative
therapy strongly disagree with the limitations extended by the
government agencies that approve medical treatments. India, home of
several alternative systems of medicines, has already recognized many of
the alternative therapies. Many people make use of conventional
medicine for diagnosis, while turning actually to alternative therapies.
The studies show that most people use alternative therapies with
conventional medicines. Increasing numbers of medical colleges' world
over have begun offering courses in alternative medicine. The most
common CAM therapies used were the prayer, herbalism, breathing
meditation, meditation, chiropractic medicine, yoga, body work,
diet-based therapy, progressive relaxation, mega-vitamin therapy and
Visualization.
The practice of using complementary medicine
collectively with conventional medicine is known as integrative
medicine. Alternative therapies include herbal medicine, Chinese
medicine, chiropractic, naturopathy, osteopathy, acupuncture,
homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy, Alexander technique, Bach and
other flower remedies, massage, hypnotherapy, shiatsu, ayurvedic
medicine, nutritional medicine, yoga, anthroposophical medicine,
spiritual healing, iridology, kinesiology, meditation and others.
It
is advisable for patients to inform their doctor when they are using
alternative therapies, because some treatments may interact with
conventional medical treatments, and such possible clash should be
investigated in the interest of the patient. However, many patients are
usually unwilling to share this information with their doctors since
they fear it will hurt their doctor-patient relationship. However not
informing their conventional doctor can sometimes cause harm.
Many
critics of alternative therapy claim that people have been hurt or
killed directly from various alternative therapies or the subsequent
avoidance of conventional medicine which they consider unnecessary.
It
may be very surprising to learn that many of the prescription drugs are
now being tagged as dangerous for human health, there is a big problem
posed by people's attitude in using the alternative remedies, the
problem is not in those remedies themselves, but in the way people like
to use them to address their health challenges.
In other words
people generally come to the alternative therapy searching for that
magic pill to cure them with a snap of finger, as the conventional
prescription drugs do not offer cure usually, instead they only help to
suppress the symptoms for the time being. Vast majority of chronic
diseases are caused by the lifestyle adapted by the patients themselves.
Usually patients are asking for a magic herb to cure their symptom. If
they have pain, they want a pill that will eliminate the pain. The
problem with patients is that they fail to recognize the internal cause
of their pain, or they fail to take ownership of their role in creating
the disease they are expressing.
This is extremely frustrating for
practitioners of alternative therapies. Because therapists want to help
patients, but most patients really aren't looking for long-term
solutions or the cure, what they're actually looking for is short-term
masking of their symptoms, using products that they can call natural.
There
is a huge challenge before the therapist and that is educating
patients. However, most patients aren't looking to be educated. They
don't want to change their lifestyle, and they don't want to have to do
anything that's too uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Alternative medicine is
not better than conventional medicine if the patient treats it as a
temporary cover up for a set of symptoms that they have created in their
life through their reluctance to change that lead to long term health
goals.
Alternative therapies really can do wonders for you, if you
turn to them whole heartedly and follow them religiously for a long
term cure of your problems. One more thing to be certain of is proper
accreditation of the therapist but this does not always guarantee the
expertise.
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