Posted by Jack Smith on March 13, 2003, at 13:16:13
In reply to Re: homeopathy » Jack Smith, posted by viridis on March 12, 2003, at 19:52:13
A few comments, this is an interesting discussion and I think our disagreement is very small.
> I'm certainly not an expert on homeopathy
Neither am I. Just thought I would clear that up.
> I still can't believe that the ultradiluted preparations work, simply because after a certain number of 1 in 100 dilutions, chances are that there's nothing left of the original substance. People have tried to come up with explanations ("water memory", etc.), but none have held up. So, I still can't buy this aspect of homeopathy,
I agree that the "water memory" thing just doesn't add up. But, just because there has not been an adequate explanation provided by western science does not mean that it is all bunk. The best example of this is accupuncture--I think just about everyone recognizes that accupuncture is clinically effective for a range of things, most notably pain. Yet, western science has still not offerred an adequate explanation for it--though there have been better theories than the "water memory" one for homeopathy.
> I do think that the "whole person" approach (which I think overlaps with "holistic medicine") is very sensible.
I think this is the most tragic aspect of modern psychiatry/psychology. Too few take such an approach. It seems that there is a great divide between those who see mental illness as chemically based and those who seem them as rooted in past experiences or in negative thought patterns. I do not see the two as incompatible. The common insulin analogy with the diabetic, in fact, tends to support both theories. Just as you wouldn't tell a diabetic to not take insulin and just get over it, you wouldn't tell a depressive to just stop taking their meds and just get over it. HOWEVER, just as you wouldn't tell a diabetic to not learn to adjust their lifestyle to deal with their disease, you should not tell a depressive the same. Psychotherapy/CBT or whatever is useful in teaching a person, who may very much need medicine indefinitely, how to deal with their chronic condition.
Thanks for listening.
JACK
poster:Jack Smith
thread:207975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208757.html