Pathology

I'm reading a really good book on pathology so I can understand various diseases, their conventional treatments, and how to go about treating them holistically. It's titled The Clinical Medicine Guide: A Holistic Perspective
by Dr. Stephen Gascoigne. I wanted to share these few paragraphs with you about the difference between conventional medicine and holistic medicine.

Symptoms, therefore, mean different things to different practitioners. Conventional doctors see symptoms as being caused by a disease -- an inherently existent entity that can be discovered by the doctor. Removal of the disease leads to cessation of the symptoms. The emphasis is on the physical nature of disease and symptoms. They are considered to be negative, unpleasant, and to be removed if health is to be achieved. Health is the absence of symptoms and this is a conventional practitioner's definition of cure.

In holistic medicine, symptoms are the result of an internal imbalance. The symptoms are a direct manifestation of the inner energetic state. They point directly to the state of Qi and Blood as understood by Chinese medicine. The holistic practitioner views symptoms as positive and helpful. They are pointing to the inner imbalance and are an opportunity for self-awareness and to regain balance.

In any situation, homeostatic mechanisms try to maintain health -- otherwise we would all die from an acute illness such as the common cold or influenza. Symptoms are the body's best attempt at self-healing. They are only severe and deep when there is no other option. If the symptom is removed without balancing the inner energetic disharmony it leads to further imbalance of Qi and Blood. If the symptoms disappear because they were not allowed to be expressed then the energetic imbalance has been suppressed either to a deeper physical level, to the emotional or to the mental level. This is the concept of suppression. This is potentially extremely dangerous and is one of the reasons why conventional medical treatment is often followed by other, more severe disease. Conventionally, these are either seen as unrelated episodes of ill health or called side-effects. From an energetic viewpoint they are the direct results of suppressive treatment.

If the symptoms disappear because the energetic imbalance has been rectified then true cure is the result. This is the aim of holistic methods of treatment. The holistic practitioner views symptoms as positive and helpful. They point to the inner imbalance and provide an opportunity to regain balance and develop greater self-awareness.

Interesting stuff, huh? I never realized until recently that prescription drugs and surgery are suppressive. I knew that prescription drugs were unhealthy, but I didn't know about the whole concept of suppression.