dear healthcare, you can't treat people like a hooptie

The modern healthcare system treats us like a hooptie.

You know that old reliable car, barely pushing, but it gets us from A to Z, or sometimes just B.

But yeah, we sliding around town, and then the car gets a lil wobbly. So we go to the shop, tell the mechanic. He singles out a small problem, and then he patches it up… only good enough until we can get down the street.

And then boom, now the oil leaking.

This is a cycle that is all too common, not just in auto mechanics but in health care.

What had happened was...

You had symptoms, went to the doctor to address the symptoms, the doctor gave you a diagnosis based on those symptoms that a hundred other people had with the same concern.

Doctor gave you treatment, it worked temporarily, but the root never got addressed.

So now, the root is growing in the background and then here you go, more symptoms and worse outcomes. We all have been there.

And what happens is, we get back in rotation of the cycle over and over again, until our body gets tired of spinning.

But remember, we aren't machines with replaceable parts.

You can’t just slap a band-aid, pill, tea, or surgery on our symptom and expect all of our problems to go away...

But of course that is not the goal anyway.

Making all your problems go away is not profitable in the long run.

But anyways, just like the mechanics who will jack up your car, fix a small issue (all while ignoring the bigger picture), our health care system kind of behaves the same way.

Exploit the patient, single out a small piece of the equation, treat it, but fail to address the origin.

But we can't really fault the mechanics, I mean, providers in this broken system; they are just doing their job. It is the system that has taught us to prioritize managing symptoms over true healing.

BUT

When we understand that we are not broken people but are actually a part of a very broken system, we can finally break away and start our healing the right way.

Popping a pill for every symptom is not treatment, it’s deferment.

But investigating what's causing the symptom, is where your breakthrough is.

Point and case, you go to the doctor because you are fatigued. You find out you have anemia. Ask the doctor why.

Oh you have heavy periods.

Just take iron you will be okay.

No. That is not the final answer.

Ask more questions:

Is my abnormal bleeding due to hormonal imbalance?

Is my hormonal imbalance due to nutrient deficit or toxic overload?

Is my nutrient deficit or toxin excess due to my gut health?

Is my gut health due to nutritional intakes?

I know it sounds like a lot, but these are the things that help us uncover the root so we stop our condition from branching into chaos.

Our bodies are really smart and can heal from almost anything if properly supported. And our symptoms aren't the bad guys.

They are trying to help us heal.

They aren't a sign of brokenness; they are our temple’s signals telling us that, hey, we just need a little more help.

Listening to these signals and addressing root causes with nutrition, movement, rest, connection, and mindful choices will support your natural healing rhythm, and you might just keep yourself out of the shop... I mean doctors’ office.

It seems, these days, that we are in a constant battle between surviving (accepting bare minimum health standards) and living, which includes taking control of your health outcome with awareness and action.

But no matter what your situation is, the choice is yours.

So what are you doing?

Are you trying to survive or are you living?