Young Living Woo?

[thomps1d]

So here's the situation:

I've been dating a girl for a few months now, and it's rapidly become a very serious relationship. Shortly after moving in with her, I have found that her and her family seem to have been sucked in by a company called Young Living, which produced a line of what they call "essential oils", amongst other things. After listening to them talk about these oils for just a few minutes, I realized that I was entering some serious woo territory.
I read over a few of their brochures, and it all seems to be fairly standard tactics for the alternative medicine crowd - claiming that their cures are of the type used for centuries, that they are effective against any disease man can detect (and several we undoubtedly cannot), etc, etc.
I also perused a textbook printed by the same company - as much a marketing guide as an actual text on alternative medicine, but isn't that true of any alternative medicine book? At any rate, it is also filled with the usual junk science - accupressure, energy meridians, chiropractic suggestions, and so forth.

Since it seems pretty obvious to me that this is a fairly large and prolific woo company, it was surprising that I had never heard of them. I was wondering if anyone on these boards has encountered the company before, and if you have any suggestions for how I attempt to dissuade my girlfriend from believing in such nonsense. I've tried the standard recommendations for reading material, but part of the problem is that neither my girlfriend nor her parents have a formal education (the g/f has high school, but nothing beyond, and I don't think the mother even has that much education), so they find Dawkins et al to be difficult to read. Any suggestions for books/material that is clear and concise on the issue would also be appreciated.

 

[Mojo]

If it's specifically health-related woo you're talking about here you could try Christopher Wanjek's Bad Medicine.

 

[Overman]

Break up with her and attempt to meet a rational woman at TAM5...or 6 or 7...

 

[Kochanski]

Send her to this lnk: http://skepdic.com/mlm.html

Young Living is one of those MLM marketing schemes. Even if she doesn't understand science or understand that what they are selling is carp, she should be able to understand what a MLM is, or if she doesn't she SHOULD. Anytime you have a MLM involved the little guy is getting diddly and the big fishies are fat and happy.

 

[Blackwell]

thomps1d,

Here's an article from quackwatch:
http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/young.html

Welcome to the forum!

 

[thomps1d]

Thanks to all

I'd like to thank everyone for their quick responses, and the quality of the information offered.

As far as the suggestion to break up with her goes...well, this one is definitely a keeper, as long as I'm able to clear away some of the haze of woo that hangs over her house. I've already done my bit in dissuading her mother of her "we never landed on the moon" conspiracy rantings (with a helping hand from the Bad Astronomy book and web site), but the alternative health thing will take some convincing. Even if I'm able to get her away from this Young Living scam, it'll still be an uphill battle to get her believing in mainstream medicine.

Anyway, thanks again, and here's hoping that the info does the trick!

 

[Anti_Hypeman]

MLM's can be very cultish. Amway and Primerica have ruined many lives. People have left their families for Quixtar this wont be a easy task.

They use the same isolation tactics as religous cults like scientology. Her upline will push her to break up with you if you dont convert and she might do it. They can convince her that the reason its not working is because you hold her back. If she leaves the hive it could damage or even sever her relationship with the rest of the family. If you convince her to leave she may have to choose between you and her family.

By all means give it your best go but dont invest too much into a future together until you clear this issue up.

Does she push the product on you or your family/friends? If your girlfriend pushes crap they might stop inviting you over. Suddenly your friends are all busy and your family is "out of town" for thanksgiving.

 

[milesalpha]

Break up with her and attempt to meet a rational woman at TAM5...or 6 or 7...

I would urge a little more caution than this. My beautiful wife of 19 years believes in or utlilizes (more as a fun activity, than a hardcore believer though) tarot cards, astrology, reflexology, numerology, crystals and reincarnation. Not to mention using a few of those silly oils and herbs in her baths. Despite these vast differences, we have had only two arguments in our near two decades, and neither was about our beliefs (I was staying out a bit too late when I was managing a night club). We long ago decided that our love for each other and our love of being with each other outweighed such differences.

Ok, sorry for the soppy post, but without her I'd be a mess...a bigger mess.

 

[Walk The Line]

MLM's can be very cultish. Amway and Primerica have ruined many lives. People have left their families for Quixtar this wont be a easy task.

I'll second that.

Maybe the worst aspect of these MLM's is that they blame the victim. If a person decides to join an MLM and things don't go their way, then there is a reason for the failure - the person didn't work hard enough. MLM's say that the system works, but the only question in the equation is the person being hired. Thus, when the person fails, it isn't because of market oversaturation, or a plethora of goods that people can get elsewhere for cheaper. It's the person who didn't work hard enough.

It reminds me of the reason given by many faith healers for people who don't actually get healed: they didn't have enough faith.