what is our stance on holistic medicine?

[Zazzy]

i don't think i will get a girlfriend because even before the military i always been super awkard with girls, i have a very high strung/hyperactive personality which people love me cuz im funny, but girls usually want a guy who is calm and collected.

and now the main problem i am dealing with, is my emotional control/depression problems. I been trying to finish college degree in computers, I am able to function mentally as far as the course work goes, but I have a hard time regulating my emotions now, I get angry, and the depression and wanting to die and start screaming and crying badly. I been in therapy a lot, and made some progress, but still not enough to hold out for a whole semester in college, I been enrolling every spring for the last few years, and having drop out half way through.

ANd now I'm getting older, most people graduate college around age 22, and I feel like the time is passing me by, and I just feel like theres nothing left in this life for me, I just wanna die and go to heaven and be happy.

Leo, this is a sad story. But remember, you are only 24, and everything is still possible for you. Keep working with your therapist, thinking things through, and being honest. You can be happy now if you stop being so hard on yourself. If you served in the military, you have helped everyone here, and you should be proud of that.

Remember-college work can be difficult, and it's OK to be frustrated with it. And women can be difficult (I know, because I am one), and it's OK to worry about that. You're a very young man, and you'll figure it out. Deep breaths, man.

[mralstoner]

me and some guys on yahoo chat were talking about holistic medicine, and I didn't know what to say about it, do we think its good?

You've obviously never had an illness which doctors couldn't cure. That's usually the trigger that sends people off into "alternatives". Now there's alternatives, and there's alternatives...

There's definitely a lot of quackery to be avoided. But one of the best "alternative" therapists I know has for his moto: "an alternative to medicine, not alternative medicine" i.e. holistic "medicine" which works is that which creates the conditions for the body to heal itself, usually through nutrition/diet.

Raw foods and dietary detoxification are the main approaches to self healing, and there are literally a tonne of books by people who have recovered from "incurable" diseases via this route. Indeed this route has a long history. But if you've never had an "incurable" illness, you will never know this alternative reality exists.

[Kayenneh]

i don't think i will get a girlfriend because even before the military i always been super awkard with girls, i have a very high strung/hyperactive personality which people love me cuz im funny, but girls usually want a guy who is calm and collected.

There a plethora of girls, who prefer different kind of guys. Don't give up!

ANd now I'm getting older, most people graduate college around age 22, and I feel like the time is passing me by, and I just feel like theres nothing left in this life for me, I just wanna die and go to heaven and be happy.

I'm 24, turning 25 in February, and I have still (at least) two years of university. I lost a year to depression, and I do feel on occasion that I am too old and that younger people have succeeded where I failed. But then I remember that this is a race where I can only compete with myself, and now I've kicked myself in the butt, enrolled in as many classes as I can manage and I'm looking forward to my vocational training this April. Once again, don't give up, especially if you like the subject you're studying.(Besides, you have chosen well, with a degree in computing you should be able to get a job in no time!) Take the time you need to graduate, I think that will be a vital ego boost that you need. Don't worry about others passing you, you need to work within your own limits and make the most of the situation you have at hand.

And regarding the OP:
I study to become a pharmacist, so I view most holistic 'medicine' with a sceptical eye. For instance, today in my 'Pharmacy Management and Economy' class we went through the ethical guidelines for my profession. We did a small group work, focusing on some real cases and what our opinions were. One group got a case where a young mother bought homeopathic 'remedies' instead of asthma medication for her child. I was quite vocal about my opinion regarding the use of homeopathy, especially in a serious case like this. One of my classmates stated that the customer is entitled to her belief, whereas I said it had nothing to with belief, but knowledge. As it was mentioned, the difference between medicine and alternative 'medicine' is that the other one has all the data backing up the effectivity. If you get relief for your chronic headaches thanks to acupuncture, that's wonderful. But critical thinking and knowledge collecting is vital to separate the outright quackery to the placebo effect to actual effectiveness.

[leodeo]

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

But hey what about acupuncture? It was mentioned in Page 1 of this thread, I been reading about it online and lotta sites say its effective treatment including webmd!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=is+acupu...3&ie=UTF-8

[downbeatplumb]

but i still WANT to believe that after i die, i will go to heaven and have a girlfriend. (obviously i can't have one here anymore :| ) even when i was a christian, i always said to myself, after i die, i will go to heaven and have girlfriend.

Why can't you have a girlfriend here?

After reading more of thread I don't think that there is any real barrier to getting a girl in this life. My question is why you think anything would be different in a possible after life.
Or are angel girls easier?

[Doubting Thomas]

Feverfew - shown to be quite effective in treating migraine headaches.

I'm going to have to check this out. As someone who often suffers migranes, I'd like a good solution other than taking old Lortabs left over from an operation I had last year.

[Kayenneh]

I'm going to have to check this out. As someone who often suffers migranes, I'd like a good solution other than taking old Lortabs left over from an operation I had last year.

Have you tried triptans? Or candesartan as a prophylactic, if you suffer from frequent migraines?

[Faith No More]

I'm going to have to check this out. As someone who often suffers migranes, I'd like a good solution other than taking old Lortabs left over from an operation I had last year.

Yeah, save those Lortabs for next time you have a couple of beers.

Just don't let Kayenneh know!

[Kayenneh]

Yeah, save those Lortabs for next time you have a couple of beers.

Just don't let Kayenneh know!

[Faith No More]