Commentary: There are ways to heal veterans’ maladies without pills

Patient participation in health care is on the rise, as seen in people looking for alternatives to allopathic medicine. And in July, National Public Radio (NPR) did a report titled, “Veterans kick the prescription pill habit, against doctors’ orders.”

It details how some veterans — initially prescribed with many pills for pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — are now personally deciding to stop taking these medications. And those included in the NPR program report they are feeling significantly better without the drugs.

One reason for this change? These veterans have found that the drug use is debilitating, addictive and destroys quality of life for them. One veteran pointed out that he at times was taking more than 20 pills a day. What he experienced was that he would take his pills, the day would pass before he knew it, and then it would be time to go back to bed.

Are these veterans unknowingly shaping a more client-centered approach to treatment? Over-diagnosing and over-treatment has come under fire recently, and now veterans are also reacting to their own over-treatment. Is it possible that they are turning to a higher power for help?

This personal action of being willing to try to heal oneself naturally is not new. As far back as the late 19th century, Mary Baker Eddy, a health researcher who founded the Christian Science movement, recognized the importance of patient participation.

“Give sick people credit for sometimes knowing more than their doctors,” she wrote in her book, “Science and Health.” “Always support their trust in the power of [the divine] mind to sustain the body.”

What is different about the veterans kicking the prescription pill habit, even against doctors’ orders, is that they are taking more control over their own health as demonstrated by their actions to do what they feel is best. They’re making decisions that work for them. And they can call on a higher power for healing and health. This kind of spiritual healing is effective, and it brings health without addiction or side effects.

DON INGWERSON, a Laguna Beach resident, is in media and government relations for Christian Science in Southern California.