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Ethical issues in modern medicine
Ethical issues in modern medicine
Shortcomings in socialized medicine
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Physical Responses to Words and Touch. ¶
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Healthcare is of concern to almost everyone. In today’s world, this subject is in the news every day. Anyone with a family member with a chronic health problem will especially be affected by the outcomes of current debates over healthcare. While many already use means outside of what is termed “traditional medicine,” with the current push towards socialized medicine, I believe more and people will be looking for alternative ways to take care of their health. ¶
Many believe the body in and of itself, if given the right nutrients, can cure itself of any ill. Others believe that the mind is the key to unlocking the body’s healing power. Good nutrition is a well enough documented factor in health that it does not need to be explored further here, but does the mind really have the ability to convince the body that it is well? I’ve heard too many stories of miraculous healings with no other explanation, to disbelieve that it is possible. With that belief, is the mind-body connection such that a physical touch can effect a change that can influence the mind so that the mind can effect a change in the body? The purpose of this paper is to explore this question and the various ways that are now being utilized in what I’ll term, Touch-Based Healing. ¶
In his book Quantum Touch – The Power to Heal , Richard Gordon states, “The “healer” (otherwise known as the client or patient), that is the person whose body is healing.” (18) He quotes a spiritual teacher named Lazarus, “The definition of a great healing is someone who was very sick and got well quickly.” (qtd in Quantum Touch 18) This implies that it is the sick person that...
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...t define life itself? (11) ¶
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According to Dolores Krieger, tt is the mind that directs the flow of energy , stating “Therapeutic touch is being done as a conscious, mindful act based on a person’s knowledge of the therapeutic functions of the human vital-energy field.” “Dynamically driven by Intentionality” (Krieger 13) ¶
There seems to be growing scientific evidences that the mind-body connection is very real, but it may take many more years before touch therapy is used in traditional medicine. When faced with an emotional or health challenge, it seems that it would be worthwhile to at least try some of these things, whatever method is chosen, and see for ourselves if we really can unlock the healing powers of the mind and cause a healing to take place. ¶ Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Anne Louise Oaklander then proceeds to discuss touch. She explains that senses have evolved specialized organs to process senses that were already discussed in this forum. Touch however, as Oaklander explains, can be perceived all throughout the body- something she likes to refer to as “somatosensation.” Oaklander defines somatosensation as: “A product of a number of different kind of sensory processes all chiming in to give you a perception.” All these sensory processes are somehow connected with processes in the brain.
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small.
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
Healthcare is intriguing. The health and wellness of people always has been intriguing and always will be. My background in healthcare came as an environmental pass down with a father as a Registered Nurse and a mother in healthcare management. It was inevitable that the journey of healthcare started being instilled without my knowledge of it, as a young child. A constant learning in the health sciences and management directed my way. By the start of college, the intrigue lead to compassion, lighting a fire for the administration of healthcare. This calling spurred by a great woman, my mother, who is a national redesign award winner by the Bureau of Primary Healthcare in Health Disparities. These footsteps down her similar path with careful guidance, but not to be confused with an easy path.
Reflexology is the theory that the human body can be healed from disease or imbalance through pressure to specific points on the hands, feet, and ears (http://www.doubleclickd.com/reflexology.html). This alternative form of healing is doubted by many, although there are studies that support its theory.
The Usui System of Natural Healing. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://www.dpierce.com/pat/. Herron, D.(n.d.). The Reiki Attunement process. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://reiki.7gen.com. International Center for Reiki Training Web site (n.d).
There is a total of five steps in the Therapeutic Touch technique. The first step is called centering, which is meditation this is used to make sure that the patient is calm. The second step is assessment, which is where the practitioner moves their hands 2-4 inches over the patient to detect where the patient has an imbalance of energy. Third step is unruffling it’s also called intervention, which is when the practitioner is trying clear the energy flow so it can be symmetric. The forth step is balancing or rebalancing energy, this is when energy is being redirected to where it needs to be. The final step is called evaluation/closure, which is when the practitioner decides when they’re finished, but they usually repeat this process 2-3 times. Usually this process does not involve any type of contact unless the practitioner uses the old form of Therapeutic
Western medicine has recently discovered the powerful affects of meditation, by allowing doctors to treat the body and the mind. In reality, the mind is a very misunderstood and unexplored region of the human existence. Modern science knows more about the composition of the earth than it does about the mechanics of the human brain. Yet, meditation thwarts all notions of modern medicine with its shocking ability to to take obscure visualizations and create physical responses in the body. Mahayana Buddhism, found mainly in the autonomous region of Tibet, has become the main reference and standard for meditation practices in the west. Tibetans have used meditation for centuries as treatment for illness, and now, modern medicine of the western world is just beginning to reap the benefits of this unique and unconventional treatment for a variety of physical and mental ailments. Once a practice reserved strictly for Buddhist monks, meditation has become a worldwide phenomenon. Simply enter “Buddhist meditation” into the any Inter...
In my experience, I am aware of many cases in which my body affects my mind (I stub my toe & I feel pain) and many cases in which my mind affects my body (I feel an itch & I scratch it).
The mind being the main control of the body. Many individuals have problems connecting the two due to consciousness of the mind and how it makes us who we are and that having no connection with our body. We do have strategies and ways to see how our mind and body works but not necessary our consciousness in reasons as why we choose to do certain things, who we are, personality, or even free will. Others can only see our body and how we look but not who we are. If we did have a connection between our mind and body we can assume that it allows us to choose and control our body. If that is the case we would be able to control our bodies and their properties. Feeling pain, hunger, laughter, or is it that the mind can only control portion of the body as sending signals from the brain to our bodies. We don’t connect both because either we create them in our mind we can control them, since its not the case either someone else creates them or something does. I think that the mind is not physical at all but as far as being connected to the body maybe just a portion of it. Because of science we know that we need our bodies to exist or continue to exist. I guess we will never know since we don’t have proof of anyone surviving without their bodies and are here to tell their
Derived from several ancient healing practices, therapeutic touch is based on the theory of human energy fields - every person has an energy field that surrounds the entire body. During therapeutic touch treatment, practitioners use their hands, without actually touching the person, to re-establish a healthy energy flow. Therapeutic touch seeks to restore balance within the body while also stimulating the patient's own healing response. The practice of therapeutic touch is used worldwide in thousands of hospitals, clinics, and private practices. It is an easily learned, successful complement to other healing programs.
Many of our finest researchers and scientists have explored that question, and while the exact answer still eludes us, the facts seem to bear out that the mind does have the power to assist in both healing, and conversely, bringing on "disease" as well. Two such examples of mind and body healing are hypnotherapy and meditation. There are others such as ionization, which focuses on thinking positive instead of negative.
This paper will discuss the mind-body connection and it's relevance to health care professionals and to the public. It will explore the history of the mind-body connection, as well as state research that has been done on the subject. The reader will gain an understanding of the various techniques used in mind-body therapy, as well as their effectiveness.
The principal role of modern medicine is to achieve full health of the citizens. Due to the society we live in, there are a lot...
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.