Woods and Paths

[Guest guest]

I hope you do remember a saying " Not to see the wood for the trees " .

Let us reflect a little bit on this from the medical point of view and

illnesses as well. To begin with there's a forest which is an illness

you happen (do you really?) to develop in your body. Then – roads and

paths – your recovery ways, let this be a path through the forest, not

a single one, of course. In most cases we will have lots of variants.

And finally, trees – components of the forest looking different and

having different shapes at the same time, the same structure – roots,

trunks, foliage. Lets us associate trees with an illness in the

following way: roots being a cause, trunk and branches – influence on

the body (incorrect metabolism, functionality imbalance and so on) and

foliage – the symptoms meaning what we see and feel as a result of the

illness affecting our body. For instance, in the case of stomach ulcer

we might feel an acute pain in abdomen area, nausea.

 

And now let us dream on for a little while. Let us assume you are

cycling and all of a sudden entering a forest (it means you have been

diagnosed with an illness and it is setting on right at this very

moment). You have a path but it is dodging like a serpent trying to

digest sour apples it had overeaten. The path is intersecting with

other paths, leading deep into the forest, there are plenty of

crossings, forks in the road… Where to go and how to get to your

destination overcoming the obstacles? What will you do in a situation

like that?

 

 

What does an ordinary person do when feeling sick? Right you are,

he/she tries to get treatment should he/she want to be healthy. Yet,

we need to pass through the forest, don't we? What choice do we have

in this case? Let us, as an experienced marketer, consider all

possible variants with their pros and cons with the forest's size

being our starting point. It is a constant the radius being seven

miles. It is impossible to detour – there are natural obstacles both

on the left and on the right.

 

 

Variant # 1 A hit-or-miss fashion way of solution (Self-treatment

without any understanding of the real cause)

 

Having neither maps nor any idea about where the exit is I will try

that path I see now, perhaps, I will succeed. Now, there's another

fork, I might try to turn to the left. Now to the right. One more

right turn. I have been cycling for four hours (it could be seen from

the hill – around seven miles to get to the other side) but there is

no exit. Oops, I saw this stump an hour ago….

 

 

From medical point of view. Your finger aches. You don't feel like

seeing the doctor for he has his only method. I'd better try and treat

it on my own. First, to heat it a little bit. It didn't work out. Ok,

I am gonna place some ice on it. Oh, something doesn't work out

either. Using garlic did but it started aching an hour later, that's

because I must have overeaten it. I tried for the second time – it was

of no effect with the finger aching more and more.

 

 

Conclusion. Self-treatment as one of the ways of modern medical

approaches can be acceptable. It is not that effective but lots of

patients think it normal.

 

 

Variant #2 The shortcut (Panacea)

 

I am an afraid of roads. I have strong feet and I am wearing my

helmet, thus, I am choosing a shortcut. Very well, oh, I have

forgotten the trees, well, that's all right. Ten yards is a normal

flight, twenty yards - it is getting dark. Now I see the light hearing

buzz in my ears. My poor bicycle with the front wheel wobbling. Now I

don't want this forest anymore. I'd better leave it alone, though I

will have to carry my bicycle and repair it afterwards.

 

 

From medical point of view. My finger keeps aching. All right, I will

call the doctor. He came, examined it for a long time for some reason

I don't know, felt it. Then felt my pulse, even did bloodletting.

However, my finger didn't stop aching and moreover, I started to feel

sick all the time and the cut spot doesn't heal…

 

Conclusion. This method was popular until 17 century but then it was

replaced with more progressive and purposeful approaches. Yet, it is

still used in that way by some limited people for relatively honest

money-cheating from believers.

 

 

Variant #3. Calling your friend. (Expert's Advice)

 

`Hi, I went astray in the forest and I need help'.

 

`What happened?'

 

`I can't get through it by any means'.

 

`Is it a big forest?'

 

`Not very much – but I don't the way that's the problem'.

 

`Is it dark there?'

 

`No there are birches all around there'.

 

`Why on earth do you need that forest for??? Just come here to us to

the mountains – have some fresh air and have a good rest'.

 

`Thank you so much – I knew you would help'.

 

 

From medical point of view. My finger aches a lot. I am going to my

doctor. He is examining it, feeling my pulse and taking my

temperature. He advises not to use my finger until it is healed and

vitamins to be taken before going to bed – he prescribed two packs for me.

 

 

Variant #4 Romantic (Enhanced diagnostics with Expert's Advice or

Pathogenetic).

 

I might as well call my friend – the one that wanders in the woods and

helps others to find their way from it. Here's our conversation.

 

`Hi. I am in a forest and I need help'.

 

`What happened?'

 

`I can't find my way though it'.

 

`Is it a coniferous forest?'

 

`No it's not, there are mostly birches and shrubbery'.

 

`Is the shrubbery high?'

 

`Waist-high'.

 

`Do birds chirp there?'

 

`They do from time to time'.

 

`What wheels does your bicycle have?'

 

`Round with spokes'.

 

`Yeah, that was a futile thing to do. Square and solid would have done

you much better there. You are unlikely to get out there on those

you've got. Although most everybody uses with spokes. You might try

though. Okay, well, listen to me now. First you try and follow birds'

chirping then go to the north, the moment you see a weird branchless

birch, turn to the west. Should you fail to see the birch, do not

turn. Got it?'

 

`I gotcha. Thanks a lot. If I am lucky, I will let you know'.

 

 

From medical point of view. My finger aches a lot. I going to my

doctor. He takes his time asking me about my life, especially about

last months of it. He suggests complete diagnostics and all sorts of

tests. I am doing my tests, doing the tomography and see my whole self

in 3D. I prove to have thrombosis in my right arm, kidneys' disorder,

intervertebral rupture, cicatrized ulcer, aggravating cirrhosis…I

don't remember what not. They suggest two variants. I don't wish to go

mortuary yet. They advise eating well and leading healthy lifestyle.

Okay, I decided to start doing that while my finger was still a source

of pain.

 

 

Conclusion. Enhanced diagnostics on physical and biochemical levels is

rather evil than good. Because of excessive information and applying

statistics, personality of the patient's problem is lost.

 

 

Variant #5… But on the other hand, it will be cured forever. (Surgical)

 

What a blessing that there are good people in the world. I am calling

a lumberjack I know. He came to me, had a look at the forest and saw

into the problem saying that I'd better go home for it would be ready

in a week time. I came back a week later. There was a throughcut

across to the other side of the forest – a straight, broad and nice

one. I wasn't able to get through though – stumps and roots sticking

out are interfering.

 

 

From medical point of view. My finger ahces a lot. The doctor turned

out to be a rarely polite and understanding person. He led me to the

surgery. I spent a week there and took my treatment. At the end they

gave me anaesthesia saying that I would be all right in 30 minutes. I

am waking up – I have no finger, nothing's going to ache anymore.

Still, it does as if it were there.

 

 

Variant #6 (Symptomatic)

 

This forest. Where to go?!? There is a straighter path leading to the

left, I will turn there. There goes a fork. Going straight away is

hard and uphill, let me turn to the right, it's going to be easier.

There goes a fork to the right with stumps, pits and bumps, whereas to

the left is no joy either. Yet, the branches do not dangle that low, I

will head there… To the left, to the right, again to the right and

then again to the left…But there is no exit.

 

From medical point of view. I came to see my doctor for help. He asked

what sort of pain I had. I answered it was awful. He prescribed pills.

They were effective. A week later the finger started aching again. The

doctor said I was getting used to the pills and prescribed other

pills. They worked too, for five days with my finger aching more and

more. The doctor mentioned the head – but it was my finger that ached.

We tried to apply the ointment. It ached less then. But the ointment

stinked a lot.

 

Conclusion: `Do not seek easy ways, most of them lead you to the false

target'.

 

 

Variant #7 GPS and maps (Information therapy)

 

Okay, where should I go? I have no idea. I don't see the other side of

the forest. There are lots of paths. I am taking out... no, not a

wallet from my wide pants but a GPS. The signal was resumed and the

area map was shown. Yeah, there were really lots of paths but there

was no a straight one leading to the other side of the forest. Okay, I

need to go there, there is the other side. I counted 17 turns. Who

walks like that? All right, I have got my itinerary, should I be

mistaken somewhere, my navigator will help me out there whether to

turn further or to make a U-turn. I have got 30 minutes to travel.

It's a little bit too much for seven miles but I haven't decided on

the straight road! But what should I do to the forest?1? I will have

to cross it many a time.

 

 

From medical point of view. It's necessary to define a source and type

of the illness and the ways leading to its successful treatment. If

need be, in case the patient makes a mistake him/herself or to specify

data during the treatment process – doctors should modify further

steps to reach the sought-after result. The modification process given

can be carried out from time to time depending on the complexity and

type of the illness. Efforts of the patient him/herself are no less

important than those of the doctor's. These are tactical tasks and

they of no account annul strategic ones – to detect a real cause of

the illness development and enable everybody to correct this cause or

causes on information level. In most cases such causes will be

breaking moral laws leading to deformations of information field and,

as a result, to illnesses on physical and mental levels.