Healthcare. Do you Dare?
- Abigail Balkus - MSc. in Health and Social Psychology
- Jan 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 12
“You take the blue pill —the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.
You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes,” Morpheus, “The Matrix”.
Vocab for this article: Un loco/una loca ="a crazy".
Utilized in Colombia when someone sees a crazy-looking person.
No offensives meant, just a chiste (joke).
Healthcare has been a hot topic the last few weeks thanks to Mr. Luigi here.
While half of people are oogling over Luigi... and wondering if he has a brother (hehe).
The other half of people are concerned that we are not concerned about the man that was brutally killed. 🙈🙊
In reality, no one is surprised that non-billionaires (97% of the world) do not care about the death of "just another billionaire" that profits off of keeping people sick.
Alright, now if you haven't already, grab a warm cup of tea, yes even if it is hot where you live,
and..............
SWALLLLLLLOW THE RED PILL.
Tastes like candy🍭👅
We're about to dive into Wonderland, looking beyond the Westernized medicine structure,
investigating alternatives,
discovering all lenses of the healthcare topic,
Money-pigs aside (peacefully), what is really best for your overall health and wallet?
As you begin to rise up each step, treading deeper into the forbidden forest, without breadcrumbs to mark your trail...
You turn to your right and see una loca offering to help you with your health with an easy fix.
You turn to your left, and un loco is offering you a complete health makeover, but you will have to embark Choooose, choooose, give me your shoes! he riddles on an adventure.
Sounds so simple right, who has time for an adventure.... we don't live in fairy tales anymore.
So
You
Think.
Choosing with señorita loca places you right at the feet of the Western healthcare scheme.
Western medicine is based on a disease-treatment system, keeping you sick for the profit of pharmacological companies and health insurance monopolies.
This does vary by Western country: however I use the United States as the model, based on their large influence on the rest of the Western world.
In Europe, during the Middle Ages, and then the Renaissance, there was a large necessity to cure disease due to the immense spreading of plagues around this time.
During the late Renaissance, Europeans then brought these disastrous plagues to the Americas:
rendering the indigenous tribes defenseless to the brutal colonization techniques.
Check out... A brief history of Western medicine - ScienceDirect
These Native Americans (all aboriginal groups from the Western hemisphere), had never experienced such diseases, as they lived immersed in nature, respectfully honoring and utilizing its gifts.
Great read... We Were Not The Savages, First Nations History, 4th ed.: Collision Between ... - Daniel N. Paul - Google Boeken
The Native Americans had a knowledge of over 1600 biodynamic plant species in use by their medicine men. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non ... - Google Boeken
The application of medicinal plants in ancestral healthcare systems frequently incorporates faith-based rituals and blessings, seeking to heal from a biological and holistic standpoint that encompasses the body, soul, spirit, and environment.3
The main differences between today's Western and non-Western medicine systems:
Modern Western | Non-Western aka. Holistic, traditional, alternative, complementary, or Eastern medicine4 | |
Period of Development: | 1300's | Ancient civilizations (Date of 1st existence is disputed) some 60,000 years ago |
Treatment Method: | Symptom-based | Proper balance of body, mind, spirit, and emotions. Looking to heal the imbalance. |
Types of Treatments: | Pharmacological symptom "band-aids". Surgery | Lifestyle changes, whole foods, herbs/teas, energy work (acupuncture, etc.)5. |
While Western societies, have been creating a booming pharmacological and healthcare insurance industry,
Eastern and Indigenous cultures have been proactively preventing bad health, with the holistic mindset.
The idea is that if your liver has a problem, there are many areas of your body and lifestyle interacting with and causing this problem.
It is not as simple as only fixing the liver.
Western cultures live by "YOLO" and "Here for a good time, not a long time."
Creating a spiral of constant sickness and prescription medication,
as people live well a short period, and then begin a slow, painful death 6 (this is epitomized in United States culture).
Compare this to the "alternative medicine" system which prescribes a continuous healthy lifestyle, herbal & energy medicine as needed,
and a resulting gift of a long healthy life,
with a quick, pain-free death.6
I invite you to read H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine' for a look into what our fear of pain, through an over-reliance on luxury is pushing us towards. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells | Project Gutenberg (free :))
H.G. Wells is known for a long-list of spot-on predictions in his science "fiction", post-apocalyptic novels.
As we are seeing the negative effects of the disease-cure system in the obesity crisis in the US.
so embarrassing 🙄
"Wellness" "holistic health" "wellbeing" and "alternative medicine" have become catchy terms for the wisdom of the ancient health systems.
Becoming over-commodified, as luxury items, humanity requires an accessibility "trend" to rise up.
How ironic that we are living the dream of plague & war-time survivors, with how much food we have.
But now - obesity, instead of starvation, is Western civilizations' largest problem (literally🙃). Yet, we already hold the solution.
Big change is no "easy fix"
No easy pill to take.
Hang on,
enjoy the adventure back to our roots.
As you follow this blog, more tips for simple, cost-effective holistic living, from the ancient medicines will be shared, discussed, and fact-checked.
In the meantime, if you have some extra reading time, take a look at the resources shared throughout the articles and below. These guides offer uncomplicated information pertaining to holistic health and the history.
Next time you get sick, or you see a mental or physical problem beginning to arise...
maybe try-out a holistic practitioner near you, as explained in the Holistic Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide
Reference List
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