An Expert’s Guide to Health Practitioners Part II

PART II: The First 8 Alternative Practitioners

There are so many people on my “Alternative Practitioner” list that I’m breaking it down into two posts. Today we start with the more mainstream ones, and next week we’ll look at the spiritual ones.

Here we go! Once again I'm writing about what each practitioner does, and including my level of satisfaction with the results, graded on a 0-10 scale (10 being "thrilled" with the outcome):

Massage therapist

Aaaah, massages. I love them, they are incredibly soothing and calming - most of the time. I don’t find they do much for my chronic pain, but afterwards I do feel happy and relaxed for the rest of the day, and that’s worth something, right? 5/10

Naturopath

Naturopathic doctors use a variety of herbs, homeopathics, and other treatments to help your body heal itself. I’ve been unable to tolerate 95% of remedies I’ve been given due to my nervous system’s hypersensitivity. Got some good information, but not otherwise helpful. 2/10

Acupuncturist

I have had varied results working with different acupuncturists, depending on their technique. Sticking needles into bodies is a complicated business, and some styles work better for me than others. I find the treatment itself very relaxing, and often drift off to sleep. Acupuncture has also helped me with stomach issues, frequent colds, and neck and back pain. The only beef I have is that the results don’t usually last more than a few days. 2 - 7/10 (depending on the practitioner).

Chiropractor

There are different kinds of chiropractors – they all work with your skeletal system, but some do spinal manipulation and some don’t. I prefer the ones that don’t, so as not to risk any scary accidents. That being said, the various chiropractors I have seen have given me a tremendous amount of relief from neck and back pain. 8/10

Nutritionist

There are many types of nutritionists, and my favourite are holistic nutritionists because work with your whole body and lifestyle, and focus on organic and sustainable food (I may be biased since I’m also a holistic nutritionist). Eating well has changed my life. When I’m feeling gross generally due to pain and illness, I don’t want to eat food that worsens my feelings of grossness. I also life being able to support a healthy planet through my food choices. 9/10

Neuro-Linguistic Programming Therapist

These practitioners use a specific communication technique that is meant to help reprogram your brain and relieve your distressing symptoms, whether physical, emotional or mental. I went for an 8-hour session (yes, in one shot!) with an NLP practitioner. The result – it triggered my PTSD symptoms and I was in a state of high anxiety for about a week afterwards. I can’t say I got anything positive from this experience. 0/10

Live Blood Analyst

The woman I saw pricked my fingertip to draw blood, and then looked at the blood under a microscope and told me what was wrong with my health. She then recommended a pile of remedies. It was fun and interesting, and confirmed a few things I already knew, but since I can’t tolerate remedies, not too helpful. 3/10

​Hypnotherapist

I’ve been to a couple of hypnotherapists. Here’s the deal – being hypnotized is like someone helping you get super super relaxed. When you are in that relaxed state, you are suggestible, but still conscious. You’re also really in touch with your intuition. It was intrested, and helped me feel emotionally safer and reduce the stress in my life. 5/10

So there’s my two cents for today. You may have completely different experiences with the same types of practitioners, and if you have, I’d love to hear about them. We are all so unique, and what works for us will be different than what works for everyone else. It’s a matter of finding the health team that’s best for you.

Next Monday I’ll be wrapping up my “Expert’s Guide to Medical Practitioners” series with the final eight. Stay tuned!