History Main / UnwantedHealing

-->'''Ex-Leper:''' Half a denarii for me bloody life story?
-->'''Brian:''' There's no pleasing some people.
-->'''Ex-Leper:''' That's [[IronicEcho just what Jesus said]], sir.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

-->'''Ross:''' No, no don't! Stop cleansing my aura! No, just leave my aura alone, okay?
-->'''Phoebe:''' Fine! Be murky!

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Diabel refuses a healing potion after being severely injured while leading the raid to kill the first boss. He did this due to guilt; he had manipulated the raid's strategy to improve the chances of his receiving a bonus item for dealing the final hit to the boss. Because Sword Art Online is TheMostDangerousVideoGame, this kills Diabel in real life too.

* In ''Literature/KingdomOfAsh'', Yrene offers to heal Elide's ankle, but it would require rebreaking the bone to reset it. Elide refuses.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

See also AfraidOfNeedles, UnwantedRevival and UnwantedRescue. May result in a MercyKill if the person would prefer death over treatment.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Fry contracts stomach worms from eating an old egg salad sandwich, which do not harm him, but instead [[BeneficialDisease improve his body and intellect.]] When the Planet Express crew enter Fry's body, Leela stops them just before they can expel the worms, saying he is better this way. Fry eventually disposes of them himself anyway and reverts his body to normal, thinking Leela loved the worms more than him. [[spoiler: he was wrong.]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Nightmare in ''VisualNovel/HeartNoKuniNoAlice'' is constantly coughing up blood, but refuses to go to a hospital because he doesn't like needles and thinks medicine tastes gross.
[[/folder]]

* Prior to the beginning of ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'', both Gert and Victor chose to die rather than allow any chance of causing the BadFuture in which Victor became the supervillain Victorious and Gert was the only one left to try and stop him. In the beginning of the series, Chase mistakenly believes that Gert would have wanted to live and thus goes back in time to prevent her death. He also reactivates Victor, because he doesn't know the circumstances under which Victor died, and thus doesn't know that he wanted to die. Naturally, both characters chew him out when they find themselves alive again, and the series shows them both engaging in self-destructive behaviour.

* In WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfic [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/58529/the-ash The Ash]] any pony effected by the meteorite dust has their magic go wrong turning them all into AxCrazy, BrownNote inducingly ugly cultists. They consider this CursedWithAwesome however and react with hostility to attempts to change them back. [[BreakTheCutie Fluttershy found that out the hard way.]]

* ''[[WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle George of the Jungle (2007)]]'': George and several other animals are afflicted with a terrible itchy rash, but refuse to take the medicine because it tastes bad. Ape, Ursula and Magnolia eventually trick them all into drinking it, much to George's dismay.

** In "Livin' On A Prayer", the child of a Christian Scientist couple becomes very sick with a treatable cancer, but his parents refuse to take him to a doctor because they do not believe in modern medicine or doctors. Lois becomes so worried she goes as far as to kidnap the child and get him to a hospital against their wishes. The couple change their minds when Lois reasons with them that [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped maybe cures to treat illnesses like cancer came from God answering prayers for miracles and that they should not be taken for granted even if faith in God is believed to be a form of medicine.]]

* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin2'': Mona is implied to be a necromancer (she sells necromancy skill books) and a DeathSeeker suffering from a plague. If you somehow heal her Diseased status through game mechanics she turns hostile and tries to kill you.

See also AfraidOfNeedles and UnwantedRescue. May result in a MercyKill if the person would prefer death over treatment.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku is visited by Trunks, a boy from the future who brings dire warning not only of deadly androids that will threaten Earth in three years' time, but of a heart virus that will kill Goku before they come. He gives Goku medicine that will save him when the illness appears, but in the entire three year span between Trunks' arrival and the androids', Goku never took the medicine because he never became sick. His illness doesn't kick in until the fight with the androids has already begun, incapacitating him while he's taken home and given the medicine to recover.

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', when Goku starts having a heart attack during his fight with Android 19, it's revealed he never took the medicine Trunks gave him to prevent exactly that from happening. When asked why, Goku replies he never took it because it was grape flavored and he doesn't like grapes.
** Actually, he wouldn't mind grapes, but he is highly allergic to them and anything grape flavored. He tends to turn purple and start oozing out a purple liquid, according to Tortoise.

Most people that are sick will wind up taking whatever antidote or treatment they need in a heartbeat. However there are those who for whatever ridiculous reason will turn it down. These reasons may be various, ranging from simply not trusting the treatment, to the healing [[HarmfulHealing literally harming them]]. Regardless, they ''have'' to take it, even if it means methods like slipping the medicine into food or pinning them down and performing it by force. The alternative can range from prolonged suffering or worst case scenario: a slow, agonizing death.

SubTrope of AfraidOfDoctors. See also AfraidOfNeedles and UnwantedRescue. May result in a MercyKill if the person would prefer death over treatment.

[[folder:TV - Live Action]]

* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', Alfyn discovers that an older apothecary, Ogen, is sick with the same disease that he once had. When Alfyn confronts him about it, Ogen refuses any medicine, [[DeathSeeker having no desire to live]] after [[spoiler:losing his wife and then killing her murderer in revenge.]] Alfyn does manage to cure him and convinces him to keep living for her sake.

Most people that are sick will wind up taking whatever antidote or treatment they need in a heartbeat. However there are those who for whatever ridiculous reason will turn it down. These reasons may be various and may fall under one or more of the following listed:

* Medicine that tastes terrible.

* The involvement of some kind of injection or a [[AssShove suppository]].

* Little trust in the one offering the healing.

* Little trust in the method of healing (such as someone refusing magical healing because they hate magic).

* The illness itself will cause irrational behavior that makes them refuse it.

* Maybe it involves HarmfulHealing.

* Maybe they don't feel that they're worth being healed, especially if they're gravely injured.

* Maybe they want to pass it to someone who they feel have GreaterNeedThanMine.

* It may involve surgery or even amputation.

* The individual/s' condition may be too far gone for the treatment to work.

* The treatment may leave the individual in a FateWorseThanDeath.

* The individual may refuse treatment of their condition on moral or ethical grounds, such as if the cure was produced through AnimalTesting.

* The treatment might be objected on religious grounds.

* The treatment was obtained through [[HumanResources involuntary human experimentation]].

* The Individual/s are overconfident that they can fight the illness with sheer willpower, with [[TooDumbToLive often disastrous results.]]

* The individual will only take the cure through a specific method of insertion.

Regardless, they ''have'' to take it, even if it means methods like slipping the medicine into food or pinning them down and performing it by force. The alternative can range from prolonged suffering or worst case scenario: a slow, agonizing death.

* ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle2007'': George and several other animals are afflicted with a terrible itchy rash, but refuse to take the medicine because it tastes bad. Ape, Ursula and Magnolia eventually trick them all into drinking it, much to George's dismay.