Sometimes when I’m talking about health with friends and neighbors who don’t know me well the conversation will turn toward a health problem or concern that someone experienced. Like it or not, I’m generally asked about my experience, which is when I politely mention that I handle my health problems through prayer. Recently, when a reporter asked me how I took care of my health needs and I mentioned by prayer, she wanted to know about check ups and prevention. I’m finding however that I’m not alone – there are a great number of individuals finding reasons for not jumping for expensive medical treatments before alternative methods are tried, such as physical therapy and spirituality.
In an article written by Jordon Rau titled, “Hospitals Have Got Your Back, Maybe a Little Too Quickly,” Medicare data was presented that stated “that among states, Minnesota had the highest average rate of MRI back scans without prior interventions, at 40.9% percent. Wyoming was second, followed by Arkansas, West Virginia, Utah, and Montana.” This data indicates a high use of expensive medical services without preliminary and/or non-invasive alternatives.
It seems that budget slicing, at least with Medicare, doctors, and hospitals, are coming under scrutiny as to not only how to cut costs but how to practice better health care. Recently, Newsweek carried an article by Sharon Begley titled, “One Word Can Save Your Life: No!” I think I would be safe in stating that the essence of this article was that alternative methods of health care should be explored and that more health care is not necessarily better health care. Author Begley quotes Dr. Rita Redberg, professor of Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco, and editor of the prestigious Archives of Internal Medicine, as stating, “there are many areas in medicine where not testing, not imaging, and not treating actually result in better health outcomes.”
The public should be aware of the effectiveness of the mind-body and spiritual alternatives. A recent You-Tube presentation by 15-year Pharmaceutical Representative, Gwen Olsen, urges all Americans to become much more knowledgeable about the long term effects of drugs on the individual’s health and alternative options available to them. It does seem that there are many thoughtful ways that health care can be managed and that one of the most unexplored is alternative care.
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Thanks Don, I read Begley’s article too and found that like her, more and more people are looking for alternatives to the expensive cost of health care. Not too long ago I read in our local newpaper about a doctor who was concerned about his own daughter having too many scans. He stated that most doctors are not aware of how many MRI’s or scans they do on an individual in a one year period or longer. Apparently they are finding out that too much imaging is not good for people and can cause other problems.
So I agree with Ms Begley in that saying “No” could save one’s life. Every medication given, as well meaning as it is, has one or more side effects which could be more harmful to one’s health. Asking ahead of time what those side effects are may cause an individual to opt out of taking the medication and seeking an alternative. Like you, I have found that prayer is the best alternative because of it’s effectiveness.
Thank you, Don, just about everyone I talk to has a physical problem of some sort. I decided a few weeks ago to start offering a Christian Science Sentinel to each of them with a few words about the healing articles inside and the whole collection from the late 1800s being housed in the CS Reading Rooms around the world for the public to read. I also mention the same for the Journal and a few words about spiritual healing, all as the Bible indicates.
Yes, Christian Science can be thought of a “alternative health care,” caring for physical needs, but it seems to me I have seen in recent years in our periodicals some emphasis on the fact that Christian Science is more than just alternative physical health care, and it occurs to me that we should be careful not lose sight of that. cf S&H 150:4. Thanks for all you are doing, Don.
I really liked this article and am so glad that we’re having this on-going public discussion about health care. Many people have been locked into the medical approach with total reliance on drugs for so long. These dialogs are a wonderful opening of thought to new ways of approaching individual well-being.
To Jim I’d like to say that I appreciated the citation from Science and Health you mentioned. And it is absolutely necessary for serious students of Christian Science to understand all that Christian Science encompasses. But all of us are at different levels of understanding, and I think someone just learning about Christian Science would be very interested to know that it is an alternative method of health care. We all have to start some place, and a physical healing through prayer is a clear and effective example of what Christian Science is capable of. Many people have become Christian Scientists through just such healings.
Your point is important and a good reminder. Thanks for sharing it.