The first tomato from backyard!

It was delicious!

Is human a machine? --- some thoughts about modern medicine

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I am currently reading the book "The history of knowledge" by Charles Van Doren (even though I have not read many history books I still cannot help to say it's one of greatest history books I personally have ever read! Brilliant!). In chapter 8 "the Invention of scientific method" the author talked about how those geniuses' discoveries and ideas contributed to the later revolutions in Europe. One of the biggest idea changes at the time was the fact that people realized that our mind could truly understand the nature - the nature that works as a machine. Of course this idea was not new but at the time it was encouraged tremendously by Newton's mechanics. And one of scientific fields that was encouraged the most was modern medicine.

This part of reading inevitably induced my further thinking of modern medicine. Now, looking back, was it if not a mistake but a short-sighted perspective to consider human as a machine? My answer is "yes". Not only my personal experience but millions of other unknown diseases sufferers' situations already proved that this immensely complicated modern medicine system has been not enough to take care of us as it claims. It is getting very clear that even though each parts of our bodies can work perfectly fine but as a whole they just don't work as they are supposed to. So it is reasonable to say that by focusing on studying parts of our bodies like parts of a machines simply is not enough to deal with something as complicated as human.

Again I am not crazy about Chinese medicine but, there is one thing I believe very valuable about it - Chinese medicine consider our body as a holistic being. It was this view led Chinese medicine into a "superstitious" way because it believed that there was some "magic" power inside this complicated system - our bodies knew better how to cope with diseases than our minds did. There is a popular saying within Chinese medicine practitioners: Chinese medicine doesn't cure disease, it just helps our bodies recovering to a decent condition so they can cure disease by themselves.

As I have not really taken much advantage of Chinese medicine, I really don't have much proof myself to say how effective Chinese medicine is, but I do believe there is some truth inside of it, as thousands years of experience/practice is not something we could just ignore by claiming it as superstition just because we don't understand it.

Also, I do not mean to underestimate the achievement of modern medicine. I truly respect science and I believe the discovery of human body's mechanical functions was truly amazing at the time. However, I believe this achievement is only the first step of medicine. Now, medicine faces new challenges. As more and more unknown diseases comes out, medicine institutions will be demanded to rethink their starting point - the mechanical view on human, which by my belief is the true reason why modern medince is so clueless when deal with some new dieseases - and widen their perspective, develop some new methods and solution for diseases.

The first blooming!

I sowed the seeds over a month ago finally see a flower blooming!

CFS - the biggest challenge in my life

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My biggest challenge in my life is my many years of chronic fatigue syndrome - it challenged me on almost every aspect of life: relationship, financial situation, and the most crucial one - my self confidence.

The real challenge for most CFS sufferers, I believe is NOT the seriousness of this disease (even though it is far more serious than people have imagined), but the TIME – the long term's "disable" condition.

We all in our life would have serious diseases once or even many times, but we all can more or less keep our hope as long as we know we would get well again, sooner or later. But keeping being ill for years (some of them basically have to live with it), it takes totally different mentality to keep the grips on hope.

Second to the time issue, another challenge CFS patients face is the mental loneliness. Partially misled by medical professionals, almost inevitably most people would take CFS sufferers as mentally depressing people, because not only CFS doesn't sound like a real name for disease, not only CFS sufferers don't look like ill people, but also CFS never has been considered as any actual physical diseases by medical institutions. So CFS patients eventually have to give up on people’s understanding - which they well deserve to have - and choose to live alone, because even the loneliness is better to deal with than being treated without respect.

These 2 reasons made me personally believe that the challenges that CFS patients face are greater than the challenges that many other people with more "serious" illnesses face, as long as their illnesses have "formal" names.

Under such challenge, I had big time doubt on myself because I used to be one of the most capable persons in dealing with challenges, but, for all these years I was inadequate for some very simple daily tasks. The consequence was I found people's attitude changed - I was taken as a "negative" person by many friends, even loved ones, thus I had almost no any support.

Now, not physically completely recovered, I am in much better shape. Once I thought all these years was a big waste of life, but now I take it differently. I have learned something I might not learn had I not have such experience - I have changed the attitude toward myself. If the reason that I loved myself during early years of my life was (only) because I was considered bright and loved by OTHERS, the love I have to myself now is unconditional - I love myself however I am.

Yes, self-esteem is unconditional. Someone might understand this easily but it took me huge chunk of my life to get it. Well, it is still worth it.

Physical vs. mental (again)

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It is my impression that many people over-state our mental power over physical condition, as if we human being really are only made spiritually. I might have agreed with this prior to my Chronic fatigue experience, but now I totally disagree with such subjective view.

Below is what one of my online friends said and it exactly matches what I have been thinking:
A physically healthy person can be either mentally healthy or unhealthy, but it's almost impossible for a physical unhealthy* person to be mentally healthy.

If we agree that physical part is the foundation of our whole existence, we would consequentially agree with this statement, and admit that physical part has more power to our mental part than the other way around.

I also have an impression that those whoever are physically healthy tend to believe that our physical unwellness are often caused by our mental problems, and whoever are physically unhealthy would easily accept the fact that mental unwellness in many cases are caused by our physical problems. I believe both views come from people's experiences so both are telling parts of truth. But to me it seems to be a problem here that most medical professionals can easily or willingly consider the first one as fact and role out, or at least do not pay enough attentions to the second one, especially when they face some unknown diseases.

Not only medical professionals, the theory of over stated mental power toward physical condition seems to be accepted universally as a "scientific truth" through some misleading medical and premature psychological studies. That's why CFS patients' suffering have been ignored not only by medical institutions but also ordinary people. CFS sufferers are not treated as physical patients but mentally frustrated/unhealthy people.

Forgive me for getting a little personal here again. I am very very tired and sick of this fact: whenever I mentioned I was physically not well (trust me, I prefer not to mention at all), people would look at me (just by look) and said: "You look fine. Don't just think you are ill." I promise, next time if someone say things like this again, I am ready to launch a tirade!

No doubt people can get so superstitious!

* "Physical unhealthy" here means those conditions that cause patients suffering. It does not include physical disability.

Lives in backyard

Vegs are growing...

June 6th, Day of visibility for CFS/ME Fibromyalgia, Lyme, POTS -UNITE!

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So many diseases or illnesses have NOT been recognized by modern medicine and "mental issue" is always the most convenient excuse for doctors to ignore both their ignorance and patients' suffering. Most these sufferers from these "invisible" diseases are not considered as patients thus they don't receive decent respects and compassion as they deserved. Mistreatment and misunderstanding, NOT their "depression" are the reasons for them to stay solitude.

Here is the quote from a fackbook page for today's event:

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Invisible Diseases are often thought of as just making people really tired. -If only that was the worst of it! You want to know what we are tired of?

~We are tired of the majority of medical doctors sending us home for depression!

~We are tired of being shunned from our friends and families!

~We are tired of waiting and waiting as we grow weaker and weaker!

~We are tired of this constant internal pain and suffering!

~We are tired of being humiliated!

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texts source:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=346763190338&index=1

New life from backyard

the new seedling of green beans

mater convolvulus?

The history of medicine

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Trying to read a new book "The immune system cure" (by Lorna R. Vanderhaeghe & Patrick J. D. Bouic). On the head page, I just read this:
--------------------------------
The history of medicine

2000 BC: Here, eat this root.
1000 BC: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1805 AD: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 AD: That antiboitic doesn't work anymore. Here, take this root...

---Unknown
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Chinese medicine vs. modern medicine

Just read an article about Chinese medicine practice in North America.

It was about a 10 years anniversary party for a Chinese medicine practitioner Tongnina Zhuo, in Canada. The party drew quite a big attention not only to his friends, but also several news reporters from major medias. Even prime minister of Canada and governor of province were in the list who sent him congrats cards. About total over 300 people came to the party.

Chinese medicine practice in North America never be accepted by mainstream. The author of the article asked the Chinese doctor about how he could have such influence, his answer was very simple: he cured many patients.

Here is a quote from the article:

Chinese medicine can let you live without a reasonable clue; modern medicine can let you die with many (scientific) reasons.

I believe in science, also I believe there are truths behind seemingly superstitious Chinese medicine. I also believe in future, many magic phenomenons of Chinese medicine would be demystified by science.