Example Of De-Medicalization In Modern Society

Discussed in the video lecture, de-medicalization is when there is a shift in medical practices that will be toward cultural aspects of society. Viewing de-medicalization in a contemporary society will demonstrate individuals avoiding medical care in hospitals as well as medications that are sold over the counter or prescribed by physicians. Furthermore, others may believe that prayer and religious/spiritual activities will eliminate and cure an illness, without the use of medical care.
In modern society there has been a lean toward de-medicalization such as avoiding medical advice and using home remedies that have been resonating in families for generations. Home remedies could include preparations of a meal that will nourish the body and …show more content…
At first, I was unsure whether this could be an example however the victim will not present “sick” symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, body aches, chest congestion, fever and the list continues nevertheless the victim will present behavioral issues that will present as a mental disorder. Hearing the word mental disorder will resonate examples such as schizophrenia, dementia, depression the list continues on as well. Recently there have been movies pertaining to the practice of exorcism, which can be explained as performing a series of prayer over an individual whose body has been taken over demons. This practice is done by a person of God such as a pastor, priest or father. In this case, a religious figure is in place of a physician. The victim could suffer from convulsions, seizures, delusions and etc. With symptoms as these individuals will believe that the illness is caused by a demon rather than an illness such as cancer, the flu, and …show more content…
Especially in the society that they live in could have an influence on the route to cure the patient. If the patient comes from a religious family and once he/she gets sick and presents the symptoms listed above or present behaviors are out of the norm. Notice how I stated “out of the norm”, when families notice a behavior that they have not seen, they will resort to a spiritual leader when physicians are either unaware of the cause or advice a cure/treatment that could be drastic. Immediately there will be a serious action to the church and the man of God. These concepts have the movement out of the realm of medicine because of the pattern of not having a physician present and ignoring medicinal