Modern Medicine Lacks Emotional Intelligence - 1277 Words

Paralleled to former decades, when an individual enters a medical facility their experience relies heavily on technological advances, with diminished personal care and attendance. Patients uncover themselves encased in white-stricken walls, reeking of rubbing alcohol, as they wait for their five-minute interaction with an emotional-deficient healthcare provider. Based on my experiences and the text, I do agree with the author that modern medicine lacks emotional intelligence, as healthcare providers generally disregard patient tears while continuing to present medical facts. The truth stands, â€Å"Medicine in modern society has defined its mission it terms of curing disease – the medical disorder – while overlooking illness – the patient’s†¦show more content†¦The fundamental step to increasing emotional intelligence in modern medicine remains to simply acknowledge a patient’s pain and confusion – let a patient know that they do no t stand alone. The purpose that modern medicine must acknowledge a patient’s pain and confusion subsists in the notion that, â€Å"Peoples emotional states can play a sometimes significant role in their vulnerability to disease and in the course of their recovery† (Goleman, 2005, p. 165). An individual’s emotional state retains the facility to determine their desire and willingness to participate in prevention measures, pursue care, and consider a treatment option. Toxic emotions – depression, anxiety, and anger – â€Å"are bad for health; distressing emotions are as toxic as a risk factor as, say, smoking or high cholesterol are for heart disease† (Goleman, 2005, p. 169). These toxic emotions not only stimulate a negative mindset, but they also endorse physical damage through their physiological effects. In the context of anxiety, this toxic emotion destroys the immune, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal system through its coherent stress. Functioning as â€Å"the motion with the greatest weight of scientific evidence connecting it to the onset of sickness and course of recovery,† I retain familiarity with the damaging