Self-reliance health care based on Alternative Dhamma Medicine: Middle-aged adults

Abstract

The main purpose of this academic article is to promote awareness of self-reliance in health care practice among middle-aged adults to prevent, or slow-down, any degeneration that occurs over their life-span. Simple, easy-to-follow, economical, safe, and effective techniques are always recommended and preferred. The principles and 9 healthy techniques of alternative Dhamma medicine for self-care practice developed by Jaiphet Klajon (Morkeaw) is one approach which has been well documented and widely applied. The two main concepts of the principles are restoring body balance and detoxification.

The rationales, steps, and benefits of applying alternative Dhamma medicine for self-care practice among middle-aged adults are found in two previous qualitative research projects which explored the first-hand experiences of village health volunteers promoting its use and the experiences of those applying the approach to their lives. The decision to use these principles was made due to how well-documented they are and because of the participants’ interest in trying them. The principles were applied in three steps, including integrating them into the users’ self-practices, having them use it in their daily lives once they understood that it can help reduce their health problems, and sharing their experiences with their families and friends. The benefits of using the principles included learning ways to do self-care to improve their health on their own, avoiding any unhealthy behaviors, not needing to visit the doctor when getting sick, and getting better without having to take any medicine. Additionally, it was found that applying the principles helped promote self-reliance in health care practice by reducing expenses for the participants and helping them to feel safe using self-care techniques. More importantly, doing so not only allowed them to create a healthier life with their own hands, but also enabled them to pass-along their good experiences to their family and friends, which helped to improve their relationships and promote healthy behaviors in their community. The findings suggested that the techniques and principles of alternative Dhamma medicine for self-care practice should be widely practiced, not only due to their health promotion benefits, but also because of their efficiency and psychological value related to improving how people feel and building their self-esteem because they were able to take care of themselves and had become role models within their communities.