FROM SERVICE TO FEAR: HOW HEALTHCARE BECAME AN INDUSTRY OF CONTROL
- Madhukar Dama
- 6 hours ago
- 9 min read
INTRODUCTION: THE SHIFT YOU NEVER NOTICED
Once upon a time, healthcare meant a wise elder with soft hands.
A village midwife. A barefoot healer. A neighbor who knew herbs.
They listened. They touched. They waited.
There was no shame in being sick.
There was no panic in healing slowly.
There was no industry around illness.
Today, we live in a different world.
Healthcare has turned from a service of care into an industry of fear.
It no longer waits for you to be sick.
It convinces you that you already are.
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1. FEAR IS THE NEW FUEL
Modern healthcare doesn’t thrive on healing.
It thrives on your fear of not healing.
It doesn’t wait for you to say: “I’m unwell.”
It says: “You might be. Come anyway.”
A sneeze becomes the start of a diagnosis.
A cough becomes a cancer scare.
A tired day becomes a thyroid problem.
Every bodily signal is interpreted as risk, not rhythm.
Every pain is a panic button, not a message.
And so, people rush — not because they are ill,
but because they are afraid to be judged as careless.
> CASE STORY: Anita, a 32-year-old IT employee, went for a routine checkup her boss insisted on. One report showed a slight hormonal fluctuation. She was told it might be “pre-diabetes.” Three years later, she’s on three daily tablets — none of which were ever needed.
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2. FROM LISTENING TO SCANNING
In traditional care, the first step was listening.
Now, it is scanning.
You are not heard. You are measured.
Blood, urine, stool, X-ray, MRI, CT, ECG, hormones, antibodies, enzymes.
The more they scan, the more they find.
The more they find, the more they label.
The more they label, the more they treat.
The more they treat, the more they charge.
This is not healing.
This is subscription.
> FEAR FUNNEL:
Symptom → Google Search → Panic → Test → Label → Pill → Dependency → Follow-up Forever
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3. SICKNESS IS NO LONGER A HUMAN EVENT
Being sick used to mean:
Taking rest
Eating lightly
Getting sun
Asking your grandmother what to do
Now being sick means:
Appointments
Tests
Tablets
Procedures
Follow-up
EMIs
It is no longer a human event.
It is a medical product cycle.
You don’t recover —
you comply.
> SATIRE: You now need a prescription… to rest.
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4. PREVENTION IS JUST PRE-PAYMENT
Hospitals don’t wait anymore.
They offer “full body check-ups.”
They invent terms like “subclinical symptoms.”
They warn: “Better to catch early than regret later.”
But what they’re really saying is:
“Start paying before you’re even sick.”
You take cholesterol tests without symptoms.
You take vitamin tests without deficiency.
You take anxiety pills without a crisis.
And the best part?
Once you’re inside the system, you can’t exit without fear.
> GLOSSARY OF FEAR LANGUAGE:
“Just to be safe…”
“Let’s rule it out…”
“Better to catch it early…”
“It could be serious…”
“Let’s not take chances…”
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5. EMOTIONAL HEALTH IS MONETIZED TOO
You cry too much? Depression.
You sleep too late? Insomnia.
You feel overwhelmed? Anxiety disorder.
Instead of time, silence, ritual, fasting, crying, walking —
You are given labels and lifelong prescriptions.
The medical industry now claims ownership over:
Your grief
Your hormones
Your stress
Your parenting
Even your child’s behavior
Nothing is allowed to be just human.
Everything must be corrected.
> CASE STORY: Ramesh, a 9-year-old child, had trouble focusing in school. Within weeks, he was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication. The school praised it. The mother felt confused. No one asked if he simply needed more sleep, outdoor play, or a different environment.
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6. THE LANGUAGE OF CARE HAS BECOME THE LANGUAGE OF CONTROL
You are not asked what you feel.
You are told:
“You should do this.”
“You must not ignore this.”
“We can’t be responsible if you delay.”
They don’t talk to your body.
They talk over it.
Your instinct is disrespected.
Your pause is punished.
Your refusal is ridiculed.
Shame has replaced support.
Panic has replaced patience.
> SATIRE: Your blood knows the lab better than your kitchen.
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7. MEDICINE HAS BECOME A LIFESTYLE
Medicine is no longer a last resort.
It’s part of your routine.
Daily supplements
Monthly blood tests
Quarterly ultrasounds
Yearly health packages
You now live inside the hospital even while outside it.
You have become a chronic consumer of fear.
You are not sick.
You are simply trained to believe that health is dangerous.
> CASE STORY: Kumud, a retired schoolteacher, goes for monthly ‘checkups’ without symptoms. She’s on seven tablets. None have been reviewed in three years.
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8. THE COST OF THIS FEAR-BASED HEALTH SYSTEM
Dependency on pills for every ache
Emotional helplessness in minor illness
Financial debt for preventable conditions
Children growing up with zero body trust
Elders dying with tubes, not dignity
This is not medicine.
This is a system of control masked as care.
> INTERGENERATIONAL DAMAGE:
Children now fear a sneeze. Parents shame rest. Grandparents live on fear-based medicine.
Illness is no longer accepted. It is punished.
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9. WHAT TRUE HEALTH USED TO LOOK LIKE
Resting without shame
Waiting without panic
Touching without gloves
Healing with food, sun, breath, tears
Children healing through mud and mangoes
Elders healing through silence and walking
Women healing through fasting and song
It was not perfect.
But it was human.
> HISTORICAL CONTRAST:
In 1970s India, a cough meant ajwain. A stomach ache meant buttermilk.
A fever meant sleep, sun, and a cotton blanket.
Now, it means bills and blood tests.
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10. THE WAY BACK TO REAL HEALTH
Stop panicking at every symptom.
Give your body 48 hours.
Learn about natural healing.
Track your fear: is it yours, or sold to you?
Build a circle of non-panicking elders.
Let your children fall, cough, cry, recover.
> WHAT TO DO INSTEAD:
Fever: Rest, hydration, sunlight
Loose motion: Buttermilk, sabja water, fasting
Cold: Ginger steam, tulsi tea
Fatigue: Sleep, food reset, screen detox
> RITUAL TO RECLAIM HEALTH:
Burn your health insurance card (in your mind).
Touch the soil every morning for 10 minutes.
Fast once a week.
Walk barefoot.
Read one old home remedy book.
Talk to your grandparents.
Be present for your pain.
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CONCLUSION: HEALTHCARE SHOULD BE A SERVICE — NOT A SYSTEM OF FEAR
A system that thrives when you doubt yourself,
charges you when you’re unsure,
and silences you when you pause —
is not a healthcare system.
It is a fear economy.
Let us walk away from it.
Let us walk barefoot into our body’s truth.
Because the greatest doctor was never in a coat.
It was always inside you.
—
HEALING DIALOGUE: HEALTH OR HOSTAGE?
(A young urban couple visits Madhukar after realizing their life is built around medical fear, not true health.)
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CHARACTERS
Raghav (36): An IT manager. Proud of having health insurance. Believes in checkups and “playing safe.”
Priya (34): A schoolteacher. Suffers from chronic fatigue, acidity, and irregular periods. On multiple pills. Recently developed doubts.
Madhukar: A hermit, former scientist, who heals by making people see what they’ve become.
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Raghav:
We’re not here for healing exactly… just clarity.
We’re both okay — on paper. All reports are normal.
Priya:
But we’re tired all the time.
And scared, always scared something will go wrong.
Every small symptom feels like a sign of disaster.
Madhukar:
And so you obey the system that created that fear.
Raghav:
We do monthly health checkups, take vitamins, go to the best doctors.
Isn’t that being responsible?
Madhukar:
Responsible to whom?
To your body — or to the fear that was sold to you?
Priya:
We didn’t think of it that way… I just assumed prevention meant being on guard.
Like, “better safe than sorry.”
Madhukar:
You mean “better scared than sovereign.”
---
Raghav:
But sir, hospitals save lives!
Madhukar:
Yes, in trauma. In emergencies.
But in daily life?
They sell control.
They sell shame.
They sell certainty — but only if you obey.
Priya:
I have acidity. The doctor gave me antacids, then hormone tests, then thyroid pills.
Now I take 3 tablets a day… and still feel bloated.
Madhukar:
Because your body isn’t confused.
It’s just unheard.
Your belly is not a battleground.
It’s a voice. And you’ve muted it.
---
Raghav:
But isn’t it dangerous to ignore symptoms?
Madhukar:
You’re not ignoring. You’re observing. The system taught you to panic at every cough. To fear every fever.
But healing begins where fear ends.
Priya (quietly):
When did we stop trusting ourselves?
Madhukar:
The day you believed a report more than your rest.
The day you trusted a machine more than your breath.
The day you accepted that health is earned through obedience.
---
Raghav:
What should we do when we feel something’s wrong?
Madhukar:
Ask yourself:
Have I rested?
Have I fasted?
Have I breathed?
Have I trusted time?
Most diseases are just body conversations delayed too long.
Priya:
But what about family pressure? If I don’t go to the doctor, people say I’m careless…
Madhukar:
That’s not care. That’s cultural panic.
Fear disguised as concern.
You were never asked “how do you feel?” — only “what did the doctor say?”
---
Raghav:
It feels like we’ve become hostages. We don’t even know what real health is anymore.
Madhukar:
You are not alone.
Most modern people are walking tightropes — between what they feel and what they’re told to fear.
You can step down. There is ground. There is food. There is sun. There is silence.
Priya (smiling faintly):
Can we learn to listen again?
Madhukar:
Start today.
Let the next fever be your teacher. Let the next headache be your pause.
Let the next hunger be your compass.
Walk barefoot.
Fast once a week.
Sleep with the windows open.
Say no to the next unnecessary pill.
Say yes to your own body.
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FINAL SCENE
Raghav and Priya walk away quietly. The wind feels new. They are still afraid. But this time, not of disease —
They’re afraid of missing life while obeying fear.
And that is the beginning of healing.
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“OBEY, SWALLOW, SUBMIT — AND CALL IT CARE”
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they didn’t want your health.
they wanted your fear
on a tray
with a signature.
they didn’t ask
how you slept,
how you breathed,
how your bowels moved,
how your grief held you last night
like a wet dog in the rain.
they asked,
“when did you last get tested?”
---
they sell diseases in soft words:
“just to rule it out”
“might as well check”
“better safe than sorry”
“it’s free with your insurance”
— and suddenly you are sick
without ever feeling unwell.
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your heart beats too fast?
take this pill.
you feel too much?
take another.
you bleed too often?
we'll remove the part of you that bleeds.
and if you ask why,
they point to numbers
on a screen
you can’t read
but are supposed to obey
like commandments.
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they said it was care.
but it was surveillance.
they said it was safety.
but it was sedation.
they said it was modern.
but it was slavery in a glass capsule
with steel beds
and bad lighting.
---
your grandmother touched your forehead and gave you hot rasam.
your doctor touched your chart
and gave you monthly follow-ups.
your grandfather healed with silence.
your prescription screams from the fridge door
with magnet clips
and dosage times.
---
you take calcium
but never see the sun.
you take iron
but never eat a damn leafy green.
you take pills to sleep
because the screens stole your darkness.
---
the only thing contagious
is fear.
it spreads from ad to phone,
from WhatsApp group to hospital hoarding,
from mother to child.
a fever now means shame.
a stomachache means weakness.
a question means rebellion.
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and so you comply.
you become your medical file.
you carry health cards like they’re birth certificates.
you pray to doctors.
you beg in pharmacies.
you inject obedience
and call it wellness.
---
but health?
health is barefoot on wet soil.
health is turmeric on a wound.
health is ten hours of sleep without apology.
health is fasting on Sundays.
health is watching the sunset without tracking your steps.
---
health is knowing
when to shut up
and lie down
and do nothing.
---
health is not hospitals.
health is not insurance.
health is not test packages or full-body scans.
health is your breath
not panicking when you forget to measure it.
---
so the next time
your gut growls,
your head spins,
your chest aches —
don’t sprint to the altar of fear
dressed as a hospital.
go home.
make kanji.
rub your legs with castor oil.
sit in the shade of a neem tree.
talk to your grandfather.
sweat.
cry.
rest.
and maybe
you’ll remember
that healing
was never a subscription.
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