Although having been raised in a family that has a very deep faith in religion but now living in a society that tries to segregate religion, my opinions on illness and dying are quite similar to that of my parents’ and my grandparents’. There are many differences but there are far more similarities than I expected. Having thoroughly discussed illness and dying with my father, I have come to the conclusion that no matter where you were educated or how well you were educated, you will always have a similar idea to how things work and how they should work. Like every religious person, my parents have a strong faith in the power of prayer. Besides prayer, my parents don’t have any respect for any other holistic treatments. Unlike most religious people however; they have a lot of confidence in allopathic treatments.
Treatments such as therapists and psychologists are some of the holistic examples that my dad absolutely despises. He believes that people spend too much time determined on letting other people fix their lives that they forget that they are the ones in control. They are “Brain washing and mind controlling schemes” according to my dad. He also says therapists and psychologists just leech money from people who are desperate and give them answers that the patients want to hear. I completely agree with my dad but I also think that just because therapists and psychologists play mind trick, doesn’t mean they aren’t helpful. If a person is having suicidal thoughts and a shrink is able to help him by using mind tricks, then why not? I see nothing wrong with that.
My family has had complete faith in allopathic medicine for generations. My grandfather was a surgeon and his father was also a doctor. My sister is also studying medicine in college and she aspires to be either a surgeon or just a hospitalist. Even though I’ve never been admitted to the hospital for more than a day, I have full confidence in the work they do. This may sound hypocritical, but my family and I also try to keep away from powerful medicine. Not because we don’t trust it but because of the possible side effects and also because you should always try and have as less chemicals as you can in your body.
When I asked my dad about what he thought about dying and how he would like to die, he closed his eyes and was quiet for a while. I thought he fell asleep or something but after I nudged him a little he simply said, “I am trying to remember something”. He could not recall where the quote he was trying to remember was from but it was, “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.” I later looked up the quote and it is by Isaac Asimov. He confessed to me that he didn’t want a painful death. I didn’t question him about this since he is older and a lot more experienced with death than me. He suffered through the deaths of both of his parents and he knew how it would feel when I went through the same thing.
