What's going on with a person who has militant belief and near zealot faith in health foods and alternative medicine?
I mean I never talk about MBTI off this board. I don't know anyone else in offline life who is interested in it and I certainly don't want to push something on someone else that they don't find useful on their own.
So I really can't understand someone who believes that health food is the answer to ALL illness and this person pushes it on others and in fact will drop them entirely, doorslam them if they won't follow that particular form of health food belief.
And I am not saying that people shouldn't eat healthy or anything, I am talking about a specific belief system of eating specific supplements (expensive at times) and specific foods.
This person NEEDS to believe they have the answer for every illness that befalls those around them, and there's a thread of truth to all that they say but it goes beyond that, it is like a religion. It also seems tied to their personal image. To reject their belief system about diet is to reject them and it hurts them and they respond with anger. They truly believe that they can take away all the pains of the world with their particular diet--they HAVE to believe it.
I am chronically ill myself and feel like I am dangling by a frazzled thread with this person. I'll be dropped sooner or later. I am always on eggshells around them. It's hard because I do care deeply for the person. But I've tried many of their touted "cures" all on my own, years before they got on this particular bandwagon and have seen no effects. I am not willing to drain my money away on pure faith. I'd have to see some results, any results. There are some natural foods/supplement things that I did see a positive effect with and I have kept these things up.
Again, it's not about eating healthier or more natural or anything basic like that, it is about specific supplements, specific brands, specific foods, fear of certain foods etc.
Like with cow's milk. I went a whole year without cow's milk and saw no difference. And it's a lot of work to completely avoid milk and milk by-products in our culture and there are several other foods that I do have an intolerance for so deleting milk from my diet was hard. I added cow's milk back to my diet and saw no effects either. I don't believe I am intolerant to cow's milk in the least. However I do believe some people are and some people reap great benefit from total avoidance of it. But this person I know, believes that EVERYONE is intolerant of cow's milk and that most illnesses can be traced to intolerance to milk and wheat (gluten) products, among other sins and it is a SIN.
Another wearying thing is being spoken down to when they are in this mindset. They will start explaining how the human body works etc. I tell them, you can skip this part, I made an A in college anatomy and physiology but it never helps. If I want to please them, I must sit quietly while they painstakingly explain the inner workings of the human body. They will do this kind of stuff with strangers in the store even.
We both know a person is chronically ill with an autoimmune disease and she's heavily involved with the national association for that aliment and she's over 70, I mean she's intelligent and pro-active, believe me, if she's interested in alternative meds, she already did/can seek it out. Well, the health food guru lectured her rather severely and then doorslammed her for refusal to adhere to given health food regimen.
What makes a person so dogmatic?
Please share any personal experiences with situations like this or offer your theories on why people get like this. Or best of all, how do you handle people like this.
..
I mean I never talk about MBTI off this board. I don't know anyone else in offline life who is interested in it and I certainly don't want to push something on someone else that they don't find useful on their own.
So I really can't understand someone who believes that health food is the answer to ALL illness and this person pushes it on others and in fact will drop them entirely, doorslam them if they won't follow that particular form of health food belief.
And I am not saying that people shouldn't eat healthy or anything, I am talking about a specific belief system of eating specific supplements (expensive at times) and specific foods.
This person NEEDS to believe they have the answer for every illness that befalls those around them, and there's a thread of truth to all that they say but it goes beyond that, it is like a religion. It also seems tied to their personal image. To reject their belief system about diet is to reject them and it hurts them and they respond with anger. They truly believe that they can take away all the pains of the world with their particular diet--they HAVE to believe it.
I am chronically ill myself and feel like I am dangling by a frazzled thread with this person. I'll be dropped sooner or later. I am always on eggshells around them. It's hard because I do care deeply for the person. But I've tried many of their touted "cures" all on my own, years before they got on this particular bandwagon and have seen no effects. I am not willing to drain my money away on pure faith. I'd have to see some results, any results. There are some natural foods/supplement things that I did see a positive effect with and I have kept these things up.
Again, it's not about eating healthier or more natural or anything basic like that, it is about specific supplements, specific brands, specific foods, fear of certain foods etc.
Like with cow's milk. I went a whole year without cow's milk and saw no difference. And it's a lot of work to completely avoid milk and milk by-products in our culture and there are several other foods that I do have an intolerance for so deleting milk from my diet was hard. I added cow's milk back to my diet and saw no effects either. I don't believe I am intolerant to cow's milk in the least. However I do believe some people are and some people reap great benefit from total avoidance of it. But this person I know, believes that EVERYONE is intolerant of cow's milk and that most illnesses can be traced to intolerance to milk and wheat (gluten) products, among other sins and it is a SIN.
Another wearying thing is being spoken down to when they are in this mindset. They will start explaining how the human body works etc. I tell them, you can skip this part, I made an A in college anatomy and physiology but it never helps. If I want to please them, I must sit quietly while they painstakingly explain the inner workings of the human body. They will do this kind of stuff with strangers in the store even.
We both know a person is chronically ill with an autoimmune disease and she's heavily involved with the national association for that aliment and she's over 70, I mean she's intelligent and pro-active, believe me, if she's interested in alternative meds, she already did/can seek it out. Well, the health food guru lectured her rather severely and then doorslammed her for refusal to adhere to given health food regimen.
What makes a person so dogmatic?
Please share any personal experiences with situations like this or offer your theories on why people get like this. Or best of all, how do you handle people like this.
..
I think people should do whatever they need to be happy and healthy...and that will be different for everyone! Perhaps they had a terrible experience with allopathic doctors and feel that allopathic medicine is morally wrong and harmful? Even so, it seems irrational and hurtful and aggressive/angry to me to leave friends behind in the name of "healing"?? I'm sorry that this person hurt you, heart. 
