Eastern vs. Western Medicine

515 Words3 Pages
When you hear the word medicine what do you think of? I think of the pain relievers I take for soreness or taking something for an upset stomach. This is the thinking of Americans as well as other that live on the western side of the world. What is the difference between the medical lifestyles of the two sides of the world? The first main difference is how people perceive life in the east vs. the west. In the East they believe and recognize the Qi (or life force) while in the west we are unaware of such a thing. We believe that we can control nature and if we get sick we can control the symptoms and cure the disease, but in the east the way of thinking is that the Qi is life and the heart of medicine and that life and medicine are one. We believe health is the absence of disease, pain, defects, or signs of illness while in the east healthy is a state of well being at which your body is vital, balanced, and adaptive to its environment. We believe that sickness is defective or diseased tissue or something affected by a destructive process with a specific cause and characteristics while the people of the east believe it is a disharmony of energy and define this as any deviation from the body at its original shape. We see symptoms as being infected with a disease that is a disagreeable phenomena that would need to be eliminated or suppressed while they think it is the body trying to heal its self by sending these messages or signs that something needs to be balanced. The thinking and perception of health is much different on opposite sides of the earth and simply comes down to the west being more physical while the east is very spiritual. The logic of what health and medicine is is not the only difference. The prevention and treatment of the east and west are very different. Here, prevention is not the primary concern and is in fact actively discouraged
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