To make wise medical decisions, you need to know whether you are a believer in modern medicine or a doubter.
Believers generally look to physicians to diagnose and treat their problems. They believe their best chance for recovery is through one of the options presented, most likely the option recommended by their physicians. Modern medicine gives them hope.
In contrast, doubters are skeptical of physicians' diagnoses and recommendations. Maybe they believe in the self-healing power of their body and don't want to jeopardize that by taking medications that might interfere with self-healing. They worry about side effects and/or damaging their body permanently. Modern medicine gives them guarded hope; they believe it can both help and harm.
In Your Medical Mind, the authors outline and give examples of the many factors that can affect whether you are a believer or a doubter, including:
- The culture of your upbringing.
- Your (or a loved one's) prior medical history.
- Your orientation toward science and technology.
- Your response to risk.
You'd likely tend toward being a believer if your parents were believers and/or if someone in your family was saved by modern medicine and/or if you embrace technology and/or if you understand and accept necessary risks (i.e.,you are not risk averse).
There is a not a "right" or "wrong" orientation. As a Healthy Survivor, your knowing whether you are a believer or doubter helps you avoid the dangers associated with your orientation.
Next: some illustrative examples.
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