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Showing posts from April, 2013

What’s going on with psychiatrists?

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I was recently shocked to hear of one woman’s battle with a gambling addiction. She had originally approached Vancouver Hypnotherapy for some help, but instead went to her doctor. She was short of money, and felt that working with a solution covered by her government health insurance was the better bet (pardon the pun). Her doctor referred her to a psychiatrist. She had a four month wait before seeing a psychiatrist, during which her addiction cost her a further $16,000, and the psychiatrist then prescribed antidepressants. Asked how long she would have to take them she was told “We’ll see”. After two months, with no benefit she returned to the psychiatrist. She was concerned that she felt she was becoming addicted to the antidepressant, but that it was not having any effect on her gambling. His response was to  raise the dosage level. After a further three months she found she had no benefit whatsoever from her prescription, and now h

Whatever you do - DON'T LOOK ON THE INTERNET! - Part 2

So, if you read to the last blog I wrote, you'll see I am in the midst of talking about healthcare, the need for reformation of the system, and how alternative healthcare has a very important role to play in the future of our health delivery systems. Six hundred years ago, when people began to question their priests about what was in the bible that they heard read every Sunday, they were often told not to be concerned about it, the safety of their immortal souls was safe in the hands of the church. These smiling and helpful priests that read the mystical words were there to look after them, after all. Oh, And don't forget to pay your tithe on your way out of the vestry door. Being largely illiterate, unable to read or write in Latin  and essentially without education, one had to defer to the wisdom of the priest. Sound familiar? The reformation in the 16th century led to wars throughout Europe, and the great ecclesiastical schism that later resulted in thriving churches

Whatever you do - DON'T LOOK ON THE INTERNET! - Part 1

I find myself increasingly having to say, 'I'm not a zealot with a crusade against orthodox healthcare, but...', however I find myself once more writing about the problems of our healthcare system. When I say 'our', I really mean everyone's. The concept of a bricks and mortar hospital is relatively new. Only on the last two hundred and fifty years have any but the largest of cities had their own hospitals. Prior to that capital cities, and some university towns had hospitals, but it was by no means typical of medieval cities. In fact, even having access to a doctor of rudimentary training was likely quite rare. Instead traditional healers, priest and witches were pretty much it. If you had a severe wound, although many survived the experience, more than likely you would make do with what help was immediately at hand. Obviously this was far from ideal. And so, in the place of this ragtag collection of mixed ability, people began to look for a better solution.