The questions we ask ourselves are immensely important. There is a little “nut” (seriously, it looks like an almond) in our brain, called the thalamus, that “tunes in” to the questions we are asking. I liken it to a radio station that picks up whatever channel we are listening to, and of course, we don’t hear the channels you aren’t listening to.
Yeah, so…? Well, the reason this is so important, is if you ask over and over, “what’s wrong with me?”…you will literally find what is wrong with you, because it picks up all information entering the brain that has to do with what is wrong with you. So you might want to be careful of the questions you ask…
Why don’t people like me? Why does this always happen to me? Why am I sick? Why do I always screw thing up? Why are all my relationships failing?
You will find more and more whys, that you really don’t want to find. It’s basic neurology. It’s hardwired into your brain…and your brain is your experience.
How about a simple rewording…How do I always run into friendly people? Why do I always come up with the solution I am looking for? How can I achieve better and better health?
Your “nut” will tune into whatever question you are asking, and find the answer.
How does this relate to health, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic conditions? Medicine was developed through acute care, and the questioning process of acute care is, “what is wrong and how do we manage it?” Great…that process has saved millions of lives.
Now, enter the age of chronic disease. We don’t die of acute infections like in days gone by. Sanitation played a huge part, including doctors washing their hands after cadaver lab (which was ridiculed as an idea when first introduced!), as well as the invention of antibiotics.
Now, people die of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes (along with its many complications). Diseases of aging…diseases of lifestyle…diseases of stress and sugar.
These diseases all require treatment…but the treatment can no longer be management of symptoms. Well it can be, and our (Full) assisted living facilities and nursing homes are good evidence of the use of management type treatments. These folks often are taking over 10 different medications to manage heartburn, thin their blood, decrease their blood pressure, manage their blood sugar, pain, sleep, anxiety, depression…you get the picture.
The problem lies in the acute care questioning. “What’s the problem and how do we manage it?”
Are you ready…here is the solution to America’s health care crisis. Instead of that question, doctors must begin asking, “How do we return (restore) HEALTH?” Same circumstances…heart disease, cancer, diabetes…but different question.
There are doctors out there asking this question. They don’t go by the “medical playbook,” which refers to the protocols established by the (acute care based) American Medical Association. And they don’t treat acute cases...they treat chronic conditions. They keep people out of the nursing homes, by finding a solution that restores health, wherever possible. (and, although you don’t know it, your expectations of what can be accomplished are based on the acute care model, not the chronic care model I am suggesting)
One simple question…one different question…that changes the way we see things. And that includes the patient and the doctor. Think about it, if you never ask the question, you will never find it. Neurology and that nut in your brain guarantees it. If you do ask the question (How do we restore health?), neurology guarantees that you see everything after that question differently.
Einstein first posed this concept, with his question, “Do you live in a hostile, or a friendly universe?”…the world changes with your answer.
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
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