Transcript
"When the Old Style Isn't Working" 2/15/19 As the saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". But what if it is? Then what do you do? That tells me that if the old style isn't working, find a new one. What I have found is that the Department of Corrections prefers a "quick fix" as opposed to finding a real solution. Why is that? So many outcomes would be different if they would simply try a new approach. Many lives could be saved. Many would have been saved. When the old style isn't working... With the evolution of technology and science, there now seems to be a pill for every ailment one suffers. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary's definition of medicine is : 1 - A substance or preparation used in treating disease 2- A science and art 2 dealing with the prevention, alleviation, and cure of disease. Understandable. But what happens when these substances treat one problem, but eventually cause another? I have yet to see a medication which produces no side effects, whether they are subtle or severe. They exist. So, in essence, you will be trading one problem for another! Where's the logic? If, as offenders, we are already not receiving adequate healthcare, why compound something that is clearly a struggle? Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are spent annually on healthcare for prisoners. From what I know about the Department of Corrections, it is not their wish to spend money on our healthcare. For them, it's all about saving a dollar, not saving a life. I honestly feel that they 3 could care less whether we live or die. Our survival is left up to us, sadly. There is something called Alternative Medicine. Definition: Refers to a wide range of healing practices that generally are not considered part of conventional medicine. Why has this not been considered? Is it because it is so much easier to put a band-aid on it by writing a prescription? I suppose so. We're all adults here and don't need pacifiers. I'm not here to be pacified! I'm here to be rehabilitated! To rehabilitate is to restore to good condition or health. This is not what is transpiring, obviously. We are leaving these institutions worse off than we were upon our arrival. How is this even possible? Once again, when the old style isn't working... 4 In the twentieth century, this technological era, many doctors consider alternative medicine unscientific. But, during the second half of the nineteenth century, many people became disenchanted with the use of conventional medicine. Each person for their own reasons, of course. If scientists and doctors know the complexity of human anatomy and are aware of, and believe in the functioning of the immune system, why do they shun the body's natural ability to heal itself? The immune system protects the body from foreign substances, cells, and tissues. It is the body's own resistance to disease. If we take time to really think about it, we'd realize that our brains are our personal computers! Consider exactly 5 how much information it has the ability to process... And how quickly... So, I am now in agreement with the doctors who believe in the mind/body connection. Your subconscious mind knows precisely what your body requires to heal itself! So, if your immune system was designed specifically to control only that, and if the brain is the computer controlling the entire body, how can it not have the ability to heal itself? Plausible? Definitely! What am I proposing you may ask? Simply that the doctors employed in the correctional institutions stop being so quick to whip out that prescription pad and try something new! Step out of their comfort zone and think outside of the box for a moment. Consider the possibilities. And, in some instances, other 6 medications are prescribed to offset the side effects of the medication given to treat the underlying condition! What do they expect to befall our liver after all of this? Liver damage, of course! And if this one organ responsible for secreting bile and causing changes in substances within the bloodstream no longer has the ability to process what is continuously being pumped into the blood, what then? This one organ... not the central processing unit (cpu), in regards to human anatomy, our brain. If our own personal cpu is capable of enabling us to continue breathing without consciously thinking about it or making the effort, it can heal itself. After all, if we only use 10% of our brain consciously, then that means that the other 7 90% is utilized by our subconscious mind. It has been proven with modern science that the brain can be re-wired. How? Positivity! Plain and simple. Positive thinking, positive affirmations, etc. Though it is highly sophisticated, the brain is still an organ, a muscle. What do we do when we want to strengthen our muscles? We exercise! So, if we want to strengthen our brains, we must continue to exercise them, and there are many ways to do so. If you can strengthen a muscle of this vastness, you can also re-wire it! Make sense? My suggestion?... A more holistic approach. Rehabilitation comes in many forms. This is one of them. Not only will we learn how to become healthier physically, but mentally as well. 8 To me, this is rehabilitation at its finest! It may also prove to be more cost effective. Pills, pills, pills equal bills, bills, bills, bills! Written by: Chanell Burnette
