It's time to design your own preventive
healthcare plan
The national discussion about health
care is focused primarily on treatment after illness has
occurred, with little attention paid to the medical
system's role in keeping us well. Why are we content to
allow that definition to stand as our model for
wellness?
Absence of symptoms is not the same
thing as good health. And yet our system is designed to
work in a disease-specific way, defining and treating
symptoms. Annual check-ups and screening tests catch
problems like high blood pressure or cholesterol, but
negative trends are rarely identified early enough that
reversal isn't a significant personal challenge.
If you have a chronic health problem,
you are far more likely to receive medication to treat
symptoms than substantive support in addressing the root
cause of ill health. The complexity of the current
system and fierce debate over proposed reform have made
one thing obvious: for optimal health, it's important
to design your own preventive health care plan.
Whether or not you want to immerse
yourself in the details of politics and the debate, you
must be clear on who's in charge of your health. At no
time has it been more obvious that that person is you.
You have complete control over what you eat and how
you live, right now.
Diabetes, heart disease, obesity and
chronic health problems are not natural states of being
that we descend into as we age. They are the result of
poor choices made over a long period of time.
We already know what we're supposed
to do: eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise, manage
stress, etc. The real question is, are you doing the
things you know you should be? And if not, have you
made it a priority to begin designing a preventive
health care plan that works?
The first step in improving your
health is to make it a priority instead of an
afterthought. You must cultivate conscious awareness of
the what is and is not in balance, and where you need to
place your emphasis in regaining your equilibrium. That
includes not only a personal practice of balancing food,
exercise, career, relationships and spirituality, but
also an acknowledgement of what the medical system can
and cannot do for you, regardless of what form the
national health care plan ultimately takes.
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