Picture this: A person goes to see their family doctor for a pain syndrome. The doctor tells the patient that early pain is a warning sign but that significant pain warrants taking an analgesic to kill it. Unfortunately we all too quickly accept this as good advice.
If the same patient were to relay this story to their acupuncturist, the acupuncturist would respond something like, “If one of your car’s warning lights blinked on, yes, it may be enough to just catch your attention. If it persists, and you’re finally compelled to do something, would you have your mechanic just turn off the light so you don’t have to look at it anymore?” Hopefully not!
The moral of the story? Symptoms such as pain are not the problem! Just as the car’s warning lights themselves are not the problem, the physical symptoms you experience are merely your body’s attempt to tell you that there‘s something wrong. Masking those symptoms (whether they be pain, heartburn, headaches, fatigue, or whatever) with drugs doesn’t fix the problem, and can actually make the situation worse. By taking meds to numb out symptoms, you’ve essentially stuck your fingers in your ears like, “la la la, I’m not listeniiiiing!” in response to your body’s attempted communication.
The problem is that the drugs we take are most often just treating the symptoms. Has you doctor asked, “well, WHY is this person having acid reflux/migraines/fatigue/high cholesterol? What’s causing it? How to we correct THAT problem?”
No matter what you do to mask the symptoms, the problem is never going to change until you actually address the root cause. Hopefully it’s obvious that this should be done as soon as possible, since just as the first warning light could indicate an easy problem to fix, like a minor oil leak, if you wait too long to address the root problem, that “simple oil leak” could progress into something much more serious or worse, irreparable “engine” damage. That damage could be coming from ignoring the root cause of the problem, or it could come from your symptom-masking medications themselves.
This is where holistic, natural therapies such as acupuncture come in. It’s been a root-cause centred therapy for over two thousand years. Combine that traditional philosophy with an acupuncturist who has an appreciation for the science behind modern diseases, and you have someone who can very realistically help get your whole body system back on track.
The best part is that acupuncture is a totally natural and relatively painless therapy with no adverse side effects. Thus, replacing your symptom-masking medications with natural, side-effect-free acupuncture will not only stimulate your body’s natural ability to heal, but it will also serve to reduce the medication-induced stress placed on your body, giving it even more freedom to repair itself.
More info:
Posted by Niall O’Leary
For an appointment, or free consultation to have your questions answered, call Niall on 087 2632732
