FREE ESSAY ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

-  "Conventional medicine has little to learn from alternative medicine". 
Today many people in the UK and US choose to be treated by methods that are not based on
Western scientific methods, that is the science and practice of medicine which is
standard in the West. These methods are known as "Alternative medicine" or "Complementary
medicine" ,which include homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, aromatherapy, chiropractic
medicine, and reflexology among others. Chinese medicine is also increasingly popular.
Unlike alternative medicine, conventional medicine has proven effectiveness and is
scientifically based, while alternative medicine has its drawbacks and a lack of
scientific basis and its results are not always consistent. For this reason alternative
medicine is not generally available on the National Health Service in the UK and other
countries, and people have to pay for their own treatment. Whereas some people consider
it a mystery and do not dare try it because they believe it might be dangerous or unsafe,
some others just consider it as a lot of mumbo jumbo and pay little or no attention to
it. People who feel fearful or mistrustful of it claim that if its medicines and potions
really worked, then proper doctors would use it.
However, since the early 1980s alternative medicine has become more and more popular, and
although it is not officially accepted by the medical profession, some doctors do accept
that such methods can be effective in treating some types of illnesses. Furthermore,
conventional medicine has its limitations, since some illnesses are incurable and some
others which are caused by psychological problems cannot be cured by its methods. In
contrast, alternative medicine can be effective in many such circumstances and there is a
general acceptance that its methods can be beneficial. Many people who have not found a
solution to their problem in conventional medicine have resorted to alternative medicine
and obtained effective results, as is the case with hypnotherapy which has helped many
people in overcoming problems such as insomnia, stress-related disorders, a smoking
habit, an allergy, aches and pains. In addition, people who are in favour of alternative
medicine claim that it is good because it is natural. But not all the people who have
tried alternative medicine felt enthusiastic about it from the very beginning. On the
contrary, many of them mistrusted it and felt apprehensive or sceptic, and after their
experience they changed their mind and were pleased with it as they noticed an
improvement in their condition. In other cases, however, people who lacked motivation in
undergoing such treatments and were unable to take them seriously found them ineffective
and felt unconvinced or even resentful after their experience. This shows that most
probably motivation and trust on the part of people play an important role in the results
of alternative medicine.
In conclusion, it can be said that there can be many potential benefits as well as
drawbacks in alternative medicine, and that its effectiveness can depend heavily on
people's reliability and motivation with respect to it. Nevertheless it is not
scientifically based and cannot be regarded as having as consistent results as is the
case of conventional medicine. In spite of this fact, many people choose to be treated by
alternative medicine.
(521 words)