Alternative medicine has become more and more popular for individuals in the last several years. Much study has gone in to the effects and reactions of patients in accordance with alternative medicine, but some factors remain overlooked. While medicinal dosage, gender, age, weight, physical ailments and many other factors contribute to the effects of alternative medicine, there is another factor that remains forgotten. Patient behavior has a significant effect on an individual’s experience with alternative medicine, from the moment they decide to use it until they are well underway in treatment.

Many customers that choose to use alternative medicine have similar behavioral patterns. Some exhibit mistrust of widely produced, laboratory-developed medicines and believe in a more natural, holistic approach to bodily healing. These same individuals exhibited environmentally friendly behaviors and a desire for healthy, natural living. Others exhibit more desperate behavior, having met with failure in standard medicine and eager to seek other methods of treatment. Individuals that exhibit anxious behavior are far more likely to use alternative medicine, possibly due to the probable complications advertised by the medicine’s producer.

Effectiveness of alternative medicine depends on very different set of behavioral factors. Individuals that use the medicine incorrectly, have a poor ability to form routines, or possess a negative attitude towards alternative medicine are far less likely to benefit from its use. On the other hand, those with positive attitudes regarding medicine (and to some degree, those that have met with failure in standard medicine) meet with more positive results. Adverse reactions in alternative medicine can also be the result of certain behaviors. Those same individuals that use alternative medicine in incorrect doses or at an incorrect frequency are more likely to have negative effects. Other behavioral patterns – such as drug use, limited exercise or poor eating choices – can contribute to the adverse effects of alternative medicines. Though there are many issues surrounding alternative medicine, some of the risk factors can be decreased by the behaviors exhibited by the patients.