Has anyone watched the PBS special, Mind over medicine, Lisa Rankin?

[ellenrr]

[MineralMan]

1. No. Have you?

If so, what did you think of it and what was the general theme of the special?

[ellenrr]

2. Yeah, I've watched it a few times (it repeats) and I've gone to the website.

The theme is that we can access our own internal healing.
by reducing or eliminating stress.
not only for a specific disease but for general overall health.

I resonate with a lot of what she says, but as far as stress:
sometimes there is stress in one's life, which cannot be done away with. (in my case relates to my living situation. Since I am poor, I cannot move to a place I would like to live, I am waiting for a place in senior housing, without any great desire to be there, just that it is the only alternative to where I am.)

so I know that the stress hormone cortisol is a killer, imo, is the source of many ailments, esp chronic ailments that affect so much of the American population.
It has been scientifically proven that stress and inflammation are intertwined, and that inflammation is the cause of many conditions.

BUT what middle-class people do not understand, or do not think about, is that for some of us we have to live with the stress as best we can.

for ex a fast-food worker is under extreme job stress. You cannot tell this person - you should eliminate stress by changing jobs. DUH! If they could get a better job, they would.

so my objection to the thesis is that it applies to middle-class people who have more opportunities to change their lives.

What I did get it out of it, that I CAN do, is for example to meditate to relieve stress.
Of course I already knew that.

But it is interesting that this is a doctor who is criticizing her profession for not taking the mind and emotions into account. And she is very critical of the health care system too.

[MineralMan]

3. Thnnks. That makes sense.

Taking control of the factors that affect our health is very important, but we're all likely to have health issues from time to time. For that, we have health care. Good diet, reducing stress, getting adequate exercise and all of those things can reduce the need for health care to treat illness, but won't eliminate the need for it.

We still need real medical care. Alternatives aren't a substitute for it, in my opinion.

[ellenrr]

4. I don't think we have medical care in this country...

what we have is marketing.
the medical /pharmaceutical industry has totally corrupted the scientific method.

I could recommend some books by industry insiders.

or we could agree to disagree on that.

[MineralMan]

5. I think you're wrong.

I'm alive because of outstanding medical care, and I know many people who would be dead right now had they not had excellent medical care. So, I guess we'll have to disagree.