Homeopathic Medicine vs. Western Medicine Research Paper

Homeopathic Medicine vs. Western Medicine - Research Paper Example The popularity of homeopathic medicine is proven by its various positive effects on mental diseases such as anxiety disorders, specific phobias, acute stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and other similar ailments, while at the same time homeopaths and advocates of homeopathy would in all humility not discredit conventional medicine as they say that it would be better to deal with anxiety through homeopathy first before conventional medicine (Reichenberg-Ullman & Ullman 86). Moreover, there are many other patients who resort to homeopathic medicine in order to deal with their colds and flu, pregnancy, injuries, aches and pains (Kayne 19-21). Homeopathy has become significant in that it has filled the gap that traditional Western medicine was not able to fulfill and that is a rather relatively faster and less addictive way of treating and curing ailments. The aforementioned diseases like anxiety and stress disorders would normally make up the majority of men tal illnesses not only of Americans but of other people in the world as well. Besides, no one of any age is immune from anxiety and stress. No matter how trivial, children too experience stress in the same way that adults experience it when dealing with the more serious things in life. The proven effectiveness of homeopathic medicine in curing these mental diseases is indeed a welcome idea for those who want to avoid the side effects as well as the exorbitant cost of conventional Western medicine. Aside from the aforementioned benefits, homeopathy is all-natural as it is mainly plant-based, and this naturalness of homeopathic medicine translates as its being environment-friendly. Homeopathic medicine basically utilizes plant products such as sleep-inducing and tension-relieving Valerian root, the sleep-enhancing lemon balm, the muscle relaxant Scullicap herb, the natural tranquilizer Passiflora, and the relaxants Hops strobiles and Gota kolu (Ballard 22). Unlike traditional Western medicine that is usually synthetically-prepared from a chemical base, homeopathic medicine is directly obtained from nature and only minimally processed. The utilization of such plants would therefore require planting vegetable gardens, which could indirectly reverse climate change, not to mention that if one has the plant products for homeopathic medicine in his or her backyard garden, then he or she gets â€Å"CO2-free and dollar-free† food and medicine (Bachmann 256). The connection between homeopathic medicine and global climate change may not be as close as anyone can conceive but a mass production of these plant-based products and an overall reduction in the production of conventional synthetically-prepared products would be tantamount to at least some significant environmental change. Homeopathic medicine may therefore even be the answer not only to a safer, more natural way of healing the body but also to an indirect way of healing the environment. The naturalness of homeopathic medicine ascribes to it relatively fewer side effects to none, compared to conventional Western medicine that is replete with adverse effects plus addictiveness. Many of these drugs, particularly those prescribed for depression and anxiety, may even naturally cause â€Å"unintentional prescription drug overdose† even with regular use, impaired intellectual functioning, â€Å"cold-turkey† withdrawal symptoms, and an overwhelmingly slow recovery of even up to 20 years, not to