Good health is an increasing popular topic, so it popped up again.
Yesterday, I had a conversation with an older lady. She just finished eating her cold cuts sandwich. After expertly cleaning her remaining teeth from the bun remnants, she turned towards me eager to start a conversation.
We were at an IT meeting, so the health conversation came out of the blue. Once she realized I am in the “healthcare business”, she took the opportunity to tell me about her stubborn weight and her love for cortisone (it makes her feel good).
She was in good health!
She said she was in good health (WTF??!!!), but wouldn’t mind getting rid of anxiety, insomnia, fungus on the toe, hump on the back, bald patches on head, and those nagging aches and pains…
She said she tried “everything”, that pill, and that cream, and that procedure. Nothing comes close to fulfilling her health desires. She felt very disappointed that her doctors “didn’t care much” and weren’t very “keen on helping her” more.
Did you try self-care?
I suggested that the best health care is self-care, and she may want to try something outside of her “everything”, like healthy lifestyle which seem to magically rescue nearly all hopeless cases, but she objected. It is the cortisone cream and the hormone pills that made her feel better. She tried dieting once, but it did not go well, so no point trying again.
She convinced me… her case was hopeless. I could not help her. I did not have a magically comforting pill. I could only offer a magically healthy lifestyle. But she wasn’t looking for health, she was looking for comfort.
5 things that tell you are seeking comfort not health:
- You are into things that make you instantaneously feel better (pills, cookies, smokes, etc);
- You deny or rationalize your addictions (you don’t do it frequently, it’s harmless, you need it)
- Your doctor can’t figure your case out despite trying different prescriptions
- You seemed to be cursed by bad genes and your situation is incurable
- There is no point of doing anything different, because you “tried everything” and “nothing helped“
Be clear
Be clear about who you are. Be clear about what you want. And most of all, don’t confuse good health with comfort. Good health comes from good lifestyle habits, which aren’t always comfortable…. at least in the beginning.
Now seriously… are you in good health?
