Do you want to be healthy? You might be surprised to find out that not everybody desires health. Sure, if asked if they would prefer health or sickness, most people would say they would prefer health. But the acquisition of health takes effort and understanding and many people are numb to the fact that they will need to be part of the process. In order to be healthy you will need to be conscious of and participate in the process of health. Health is not an event, it is a process.
We have been taught that health is an event. The basic understanding of Newtonian physics states that physical things affect physical things. The public believes that in order to be healthy you must have something physical happen to you. In other words, something from the outside must physically affect your body on the inside.
One of the cleanest thinkers in history, Albert Einstein, said that energy and matter are interrelated. Taking this philosophy into health care suggests that in order for you to be healthy you must consider the energy state of your vital being. No life form functions without energy so health is a matter of delicately balancing the energy of your external environment with the energy of your internal environment.
Healthy living can only be accomplished when you begin to understand the fundamental definition of health. The definition of health has changed over the years but the actual concept has always been the same. Interestingly, when a person is asked to define health they often begin by describing how to obtain it. Most people will say that is health is eating well, exercising, having a good mental attitude and getting good rest. They may also mention that health is avoiding substances and practices that will cause you to fall ill. While these practices will help to acquire and maintain a state of health, they are not the definition of health.
In order to have health we need to understand what it is. Health is optimum function in your physical, mental and social life. Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. You are not necessarily healthy if you are not diagnosed with a disease. You are not necessarily healthy when you feel good and you are not necessarily sick when you feel bad. Symptoms can help find out what the functional state of your body is in and lead to a diagnosis. This is because the human body behaves according to a set of rules and dysfunction or disease can have some definite appearances. But often a symptom can indicate a state of health.
If health is optimum function then perhaps a symptom is just an indication that the body is reacting appropriately. The symptom may be a result of the body working to balance its internal with the external environment. In this case the symptom may be a sign of health. Perhaps you remember a time when you or a family member has been exposed to food poisoning. The affected person feels terrible and at first glance you would say that the person is sick. The fact is that if optimum function defines health we need to consider that the digestive symptoms of food poisoning may actually be a sign of health. The person would be sick if the poison to stayed inside of the body to do further damage. The most functional response would be ejection of the poison.
The opposite is true. Not having a symptom does not necessarily mean that a person is healthy. There are many dangerous, dysfunctional conditions that do damage to the mind, body or spirit that are partially or completely without symptoms. High blood pressure is a good example. If you have a symptom, you cannot ignore it. It is dangerous to assume that your symptom will go away and please don’t assume that it is necessarily a sign of health. If you do not have a symptom, you cannot ignore it.
The main thing to consider is that symptoms are a poor indication of the functional state of a human being. Symptoms or the lack of symptoms may indicate health or they may indicate disease. The wisest choice for assessment of your state of health is to keep a regular evaluation schedule with your health care provider. Optimum function can be measured using scientific testing procedures and your doctor should be prepared to help you make wise decisions that will allow your vital energy to be at its highest level.
Health is a dynamic process that requires energy input and awareness. There is no reason to settle for average. Because health is dynamic it can reach levels above and beyond ordinary. It is up to you to decide what you want. An ordinary life means it occurs on its own. An extraordinary life needs to be created.
All is Well,
Dr. Tim, Chiropractor
