Tag: healing
Illness, Healing, and Other Terms That Can Be Confusing
Watch your language. Some terms that are frequently confused: pain vs. suffering, disease vs. illness, cure vs. healing. Science-based medicine focuses on diseases; alternative medicine focuses on illness: that explains a lot.
Homeopath Quits Homeopathy but Thinks the Homeopathic Approach Has Value
A former homeopath shows that there's nothing scientific about homeopathy; in fact, it contradicts all known scientific principles. Nevertheless she finds value in the homeopathic approach to the patient and thinks all providers can learn from it.
The Magic Feather Effect: Placebos and the Power of Belief in Alternative Medicine
In her book The Magic Feather Effect, journalist Melanie Warner covers placebo research, shows that alternative medicine is placebo medicine, takes a "try it yourself" approach, and gives belief and anecdotes more credit than they deserve.
Cowabunga! Can Cow Therapy Cure Cancer?
A hospital in India offers to cure cancer in 11 days with Ayurveda and cow therapy, giving patients a drink of desi cow milk, yogurt, ghee, urine, and dung. It's very unlikely that cow therapy can cure cancer; but in another sense, the author of the book Holy Cancer says it "healed" him.
How We Believe
James Alcock's new book about belief is a masterpiece that explains how our minds work, how we form beliefs, and why they are so powerful. It amounts to a course in psychology and an owner's manual for the brain.
The Living Matrix: A Movie Promoting Energy Medicine Beliefs
It’s boring to try to ferret out reliable health information from dry medical journals. It’s easier and more fun to watch a movie. A new movie promises to change the way you think about your health. To bring you breakthroughs that will transform your understanding of how to get well and stay well. To share the discoveries of leading researchers and health...
Healing But Not Curing
Last week I discussed the book Healing, Hype, or Harm? edited by Edzard Ernst. I was particularly struck by one of the essays in that book: “Healing but not Curing” by Bruce Charlton, MD, a reader in evolutionary psychiatry at the Department of Psychology of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Charlton proposes a new way of looking at CAM. He describes...