[MR] Herbal Ignorance

[Denise Keppel]

I once had the chance to talk to a pain management doctor and a counselor who specialized in chronic pain about herbal medication.  I was surprised to learn how up they were on what research had been done in other countries about herbal medication.  Some of the psychological benefits they found were

1. That when a patient turned to herbal remedies, they were able to take something uncontrollable (chronic pain) and begin to exercise control over it. (Moving from an external locus of control to an internal one, empowering the patient.)

2.  Never underestimate the brain’s ability to believe the body well and the body to follow.  (aka placebo effect)

3.   That there are very effective herbal pain killers out there- but they can counteract some of the western medical ones.

Speaking as a person with training in counseling- we were listening to a tape of a person with dysthemia (chronic depression).  Without hesitation, my professor wrote SAM-e, Exercise and Diet on the board before starting to talk.  That is the level of respect that comes from some in the healing arts.