Is there such a thing as good medicine? When I was young, medicine was always something that was good for you. Moms were always plying their latest remedies like cod liver oil tablets or chew-able vitamins.
Then there is the everlasting search for miracle drugs. Remember the movie Medicine Man? The jungle was combed for an exotic flower with amazing cures. I loved that movie because of the scenery, Sean Connery, and because in those days, I was working in a pharmacology research lab. I was amazed how they could get that chromatograph to work in the jungle.
One of the pharmacology PhD students complained about a headache one day. When I offered an Aspirin or Tylenol, she flatly refused saying, “I don't take any pills ever. You and I both know that there are bad side effects with every drug.” She would know better than anyone else and so would I.
Drugs truly save lives and prolong life. I spent many years working toward new and better drugs. However drugs always have both good effective actions and bad unwanted side effects. If not taken in the proper therapeutic range, for the specific recommended situation, in the correct dosages, the drugs either didn't work or could become poisonous and lethal.
As years went by I wanted to be in a healing profession in a new way. As I prepared to apply to medical school, one of my children had an issue that nothing conventional was helping. Out of desperation, we tried acupuncture. It helped her. I tried it and it helped me. I then embarked on a quest to learn more.
Healing means different things to different people. Many believe that to be truly healed you need to address all levels of our being, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Holistic healers and the traditional medicines actually link sickness to imbalances in the mind and physical manifestations of emotional dis-ease.
Holistic frameworks attach well-being to the environment, living conditions, relationships and our social structures in addition to good diet and exercise. For optimum health, modern health promotion tenets recognize that wellness also depends on factors like social justice, housing availability, access to medical services and food scarcity.
Some ascribe to energy medicines and see the value of healing frequencies obtained through sound, touch and channeling. Positive thinking, meditation, visualization, laying on of hands, prayer as well as healing circles and pagan rituals, all fall within the world of healing. There are tons of health gurus and healers to choose from.
My experience with the success of acupuncture changed my life. The results and side effects were always positive. Acupuncture fuels and facilitates our body's own natural healing abilities. I fell in love with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and studied to become an acupuncturist. I was converted from a scientist to a holistic medicine practitioner. TCM was the good medicine I had been looking for.