It is becoming more and more apparent in my practice that people are getting sicker and sicker. There seems to be a waiting game that is happening, where people wait until they are out of conventional options before they think about doing something different. I unfortunately get most people when they are at the end of the line with their health. They’ve been to see all the other doctors, they’ve tried all the different medications, and done all the surgeries. When they come in, they want things to just get better. Is there hope? Yes, of course there is hope! Everything that an individual needs to heal is already within themselves. The doctor does not do the healing; the individual does it. The doctor should merely furnish the patient with the tools to allow the healing to happen. Both parties have to be extremely patient. Natural processes take time to develop (it takes years to develop a chronic illness, just as it takes years to heal), but once that development happens, momentum ensues and healing can begin.
So why are these concepts relevant? Because we have to open our eyes to the fact that people are getting sicker, and we cannot wait around for disease to develop and then hope we can just “manage the symptoms” and everything will get better. We have to take a proactive approach by preventing illness. This is the ONLY way that we can address the ongoing crisis in our healthcare today.
What are the steps for prevention? I feel we do a pretty good job of over-complicating preventative strategies for people. I love the idea that health and prevention are simple: you just have to buy into the idea that every choice you make is going to have an impact on the direction you are going, towards health or towards disease. I have patients push back at this concept, given the initial effort that you have to put into the examination of your choices. As I stated before, there is a simplicity to healing and health but that does not mean it’s easy. Things in life that take time and effort and perseverance are lasting. The effort has to be put in. You can’t short change yourself by thinking you can just a put little in and get a lot out.
So what are these preventative strategies? I like to say that they’re not “sexy.” In our culture, we seem to be searching for the new latest and greatest treatment that is going to make us “better.” Remember, everything you need to heal is already in you. You have to remove the obstacles and support the paths of normal physiology. For instance, what you eat/drink matters (food is the best medicine), how you move, your quality and quantity of sleep, how you breath, your level of hydration, your ability to detoxify and prevent stagnation, your belief system, removing fear from your life, etc… Prevention is found within a self-care system that you create. One which is congruent with a purpose. A purpose that keeps you focused on why you need to be healthy, not why you want to be healthy. Most people want to be healthy because they do not want to have pain, deal with symptoms, or get cancer. But that is not a sustainable belief system that one will carry forward once they’re not experiencing symptoms anymore! That belief is really based on fear, and fear cannot be the motivator, for the patient or the doctor. Love must be the motivator. Love is the vision of why you need to be healthy. We need people healthy so we all can give back and help others in our own unique way. This is the purpose for everyone!
Below is a great quote that a patient told me about martial arts for which I substituted self-care:
“If you leave your self-care routine for a day, your self-care routine will leave you for two.”
This emphasizes the need to maintain frequency, consistency, duration, and perseverance of your self-care preventative plan. Now the question is, do you have one? And who are you consulting with to encourage and support you with the implementation of it? Find someone, make it happen, you are worth it!
Dr.Buttler