Healthcare is only a disease care system that focuses on soothing the pain instead of changing an individual’s habits. Chronic pain is an epidemic that is ravaging society because people have become dependent on health practitioners to make them feel better, instead of seeking knowledge and support on how to resolve their issues. According to research, pain involves both the body and the mind, thus body-mind therapies may help in pain alleviation through changing an individual’s perception of pain (Lambert 94). Several factors including emotions, lifestyle, and personality influence how people feel pain. For instance, an individual who has been in pain for long may have their brain wired to perceive pain signals even when they are not being sent. The best way to relieve pain, stress, and anxiety is through learning a combination of techniques, like deep breathing, meditation, yoga exercises, and positive thinking. Drugs get rid of the pain but may have unpleasant and serious side effects but, relaxation techniques keep the body and mind healthy.
I agree with Thomas Aquinas’ natural law theory where he views God as the giver of natural law and that humans should receive the law from Him. From this perspective, the natural law contains values and principles that judge human action as reasonable or unreasonable. Human beings have the natural drive to eat, sleep and work, thus these actions align with the natural law. An individual cannot function while in pain and have the right to seek means of relieving the pain. Therefore, actions that support eating, sleeping, and working are morally good, while those that do not are bad (McCluskey 53). The relaxation techniques like yoga exercise should be considered morally right because they enable a person to eat, drink, sleep and work. If Aquinas was to analyze the above scenario, he would have advocated for rationality in dealing with pain. This is because God, who is the lawgiver, created us as rational beings to follow the rules and freely act on them. It was God’s choice to create human beings who can act freely and apply the principles of reason as law.
References
Lambert, G. How Did I Not Know About This?: Becoming Pain-Free Through Posture Therapy. 2021. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
McCluskey, C. Thomas Aquinas on moral wrongdoing. Cambridge University Press, 2016.