Healing Quest: Swimming With Dolphins As Therapy?
Posted on February 27, 2010
Filed Under Alternative Medicine |
Can these remarkable mammals heal the humans who swim with them? We meet some people in Hawaii who’ve had a lot of experience with that, and we assess the growing scientific and popular interest in wild dolphin experiences.
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25 Responses to “Healing Quest: Swimming With Dolphins As Therapy?”
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zenit- “the power of beleif can physically change matter and reality!!!”- Oh really? The great thing about matter and reality is that it can be measured and studied. Can you name me one alternative therapy which has successfully passed the same testing standards as conventional pharmaceuticals- tests designed to detect effects beyond a simple placebo effect? Just one will do.
why should everything conform to the ” CONVENTIONL PARMACEUTICALS”
your problem is clearly that you belieive what you hear without studying the mater for youself, if you did then you’d know that those companies give us poison on a daily basis and are paid by the governnmetn to pass drugs which are lethal, even putting them in medicaine,
sweets, alchohol and the list goes on,
it has been proven that people can be healed through inner strenghth and hope, maybe its not the dolphins but how they make them feel when they are with them ..who cares if its helping people?
Its harmful for two clear reasons:
1- Dolphins are wild animals which suffer badly in captivity (shortened lifespan, mental illness etc) and this healing dolphin rubbish is creating a market for dolphinariums again (which were going out of fashion due to the cruelty issue) there is a purpose build ‘therapy’ centre in Bulgaria (an ex-dolphinarium) full of wild-caught dolphins.
2-These so called ‘therapies’ cost an astronomical amount- its a charlatans dream come true, preying on the desperate.
Total bollocks. Pharmaceutical testing is specifically designed to discover effects on conditions which go beyond the placebo effect. The fact that alternative therapies cannot pass these tests means they have no effect! You can choose to ignore science but I bet when the chips are down you go for the conventional medicine every time. Or are you going to tell me that you would really go to a herbalist with a broken leg instead of a hospital?
i went swimming with dolphins in the bahamas…these dolphins were raised in captivity yes…which i am not exactly a firm beleiver in but apparently they got out on a regular basis, there were no high fences to keep them in , they would explre the ocean for a day or two, then they would come back , they liked being there. they knew what it was like to be out of captivity yet they always came back
would u rather dolphins accidentally end up in a tuna can or this?
You really think thats their only choice? Tuna or prison being poked by autistic kids?
Prison is the right word to describe what you wrote about the Bahamas: my mate is a prison warden and he tells me about the poor souls who have been made mentally ill by prison- when they get out they can’t cope so they commit crime to return to 3 meals a day and those safe 4 walls…
Well fuck im not saying i agree with animals being kept in captivity cause i dont…thats not even the issue. it wasnt a prison in the bahamas there was nothing to keep them there!!!! but they stayed anyways. you are very negative and cant even ponder the fact there may be something behind scientific medicine that can save lives, not neccessarily “mystical” beings but with love , hope , and faith. your mind cant even comprehend that idea just a little bit? if not i guess theres no hope for you.
The point is that training regimes in captivity condition those animals to return, same as the re-offenders at my mates jail. Dolphins rarely breed in captivity and the calf survival rate is rock-bottom so 99% likely your dolphins would have been wild-caught. Taking dolphins from the wild is brutal and traumatic- many die. They are social, family centered animals- you ever think of that? You pay for that pain and sadness by giving those places your money. Not a very therapeutic thought, is it?
For more information about the pain and suffering which captivity and the trade in wild-caught dolphins inflicts PLEASE visit the website of the ‘whale and dolphin conservation society’.
If you really want to help sick kids then donate to a science-based charity: anything else is a cruel scam.
all of the dolphins(over 5) were born there, so were their parents. the two eldest just past away..naturally. you keep focusing on the negative facts not the positive, yea there have been some (alot) mistreated animals kept in captivity but there isnt really much you can do about it. Have you ever thought that some of the people who are in that business may ctually love these animals? im not going to sit here and argue about this but if your going to live being negative and miserable than good
Im gunna go swimming with them again next year and not a word you’ve said will enter my mind….have fun being a negative opinionated bitch
The classic alternative healing customer- vapid, snyde and completely self-centered. I pity the animals that will provide the ‘all about you’ petty holiday experience. Send them my condolences.
and your trying to save the world by sitting at your computer debating topics you probably have no real interest in …and your much better?
Oo- ouch, that really hurt. You know what, you’re right: Fuck dolphins, fuck conservation, fuck desperate people being taken for a ride by charlatan healers. Lets just think little happy thoughts and have a nice holiday. Yeah!
I agree that captivity is not right. There must be a mutual benefit, anything that brings people and animals together, that creates understanding and respect for all the planets living creatures. Unfortunately there are always people who spoil it for the rest of us. Its all about our intention, we need to be respectful. If we do that then I think contact with them in the wild is okay.
freedom for the dolphins !!!
Dolphins attacking people in captivity is not uncommon and wild dolphins have been known to occassionally attack and bite people so I’d be careful.
Funny how people put their little kids in the water with bulky 100-400kg Bottlenose dolphins but wouldn’t dare let their child near a tiger or bear. Funny how many ‘new agey’ people ignore the fact Bottlenose dolphins also participate in infanticide, forced copulation, kidnapping and porpoise brutalizing.They’re not ‘gods’, they’re big wild animals.
Finally someone speaks some sense! I used to work on a boat with dolphins and half the time they didn’t care less about the boat or people. And if you get near certain species who have babies with them, watch out.
Actually I shouldn’t have just picked on Bottlenose dolphins. I was referring to Bottlenose dolphins in captivity even though this vid was about Spinners.
And this video is innaccurate saying that “also common are reports of dolphins helping those in trouble in the water”. They are not common and are mostly coincidence. There’s more cases of dolphins ignoring humans and swimming away. This is detailed in a book called “Whales and Dolphins”.
Alot of people are posting negative comments here so here is my view. Dolphins do not have “magic” healing powers. They make people happier and make them feel more positive and especially people with Autism like myself as they can be a great friend.
im from israel and the only place i can be neer dolphins is 6 hoours driving and it coast 90$ for 30 minuts!
If you ever actually study placebo effects they are found with medications and with alternatives. There some alternative medicines which can’t be tested by the same means as a medication, but if used correctly do produce noticable effects. A more balanced perspective would be that there is a place for both in the world of treating illness.
regardless of what you believe nothing compares to swimming with these amazing creatures