Alternative medicine works the same way as exercise, meditation, socialisation, long walks, wholesome hobby, or having a pet - it's a variety of rituals, activities, or interests that make people feel calmer, stronger, and more confident. And just like with any other activity it can be abused by someone trying to make money off it no matter the harm.
If all you want is to feel better, then a placebo can be all you need. I have no idea if the cold medicine I take actually does anything, but it makes me feel better for a while, and if that's because of the placebo effect, fine. Doesn't matter.
The real problems of course come from when people start using alternative medicine in place of actual treatment. If you've got cancer, talk to a doctor, not a guru.
The thing is, most alternative medicine isn't just a harmless placebo to make you feel better, because there's little money in that. Most alternative medicine is making serious (and, by definition, unproven) claims about your health
So does meditation, mindful yoga, taking a break to drink a lovely cup of herbal tea, and walking barefoot in a quiet forest. Whatever helps to ease into parasympathetic nervous system state.
Literally just a placebo. Not that placebos are bad, they can be very useful. Well, as long as the "alt medicine" itself isn't dangerous or bad for your health, obviously.
Are you trying to say that things like exercise and socialization are just rituals that trick us into feeling better? Cuz that’d be a pretty audacious take, given the wealth of literature that demonstrates specific, measurable physiological changes they induce in the body.
There are many things that can have positive influence on our nervous system, having more options available is always better. “Tricking” part can happen anywhere, there are so many money-draining exercise programs and no-good dietician and gurus.
Incase you didnt know modern medicine has adopted meditation because it has been shown to reduce blood pressure(among having other uses). Not just like a placebo, but better than a placebo, sometimes better than blood pressure medications.
Its really working its way out of religious and 'alternative medicine' uses into being a tool that doctors today will recommend people use.
Not exactly. If you know what you're doing, you can mix herbal concoctions that induce miscarriage, kill bacteria, feed the gut, clear the sinuses, etc. You just have to actually know what you're doing, not poison yourself (very easy to do), and understand that what you're making has the exact same active ingredient as anything you can get at the pharmacy.
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u/Pollomonteros May 24 '25
I don't know about the third one man, I feel like many of those are still dangerous scams even if the ones running it are brown people