Health Problems and Emotional Wellbeing – Prevention Not Cure

In his forward to Chinese Medical Qigong page 1 (1) Marc S. Micozzi M.D. PHD states “current political debates in the US about healthcare “reform” amount only to “rearranging the deck chairs on the SS Titanic”.

Personally I would extend this description of healthcare to Britain as well, because in my experience current welfare and NHS “reform” amounts to the same superficial, short sighted rearrangement. (2)

In global economic recession poverty and therefore health problems are on the rise.

In the book ‘Violence, inequality and human freedom’ by Peter Iadicola and Anson Shupe; ‘structural violence’ is described as ‘violence of institutions’, ‘for example, violence can be an outcome of how we have organised society in terms of access to basic necessities of survival’ (3). The implications of which are limited access to medical care and education for the poor.

In the wake of the economic sinking ship there is the question; how to tackle health problems when poverty is on the rise?

The NICE Guidelines for clinical excellence (4) lay out the ‘stepped approach’ for mental health problems and recommend therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, counselling and access to health care services which should be available to combat common mental health disorders. NICE lays out all guidelines for healthcare in Britain.

It is unfortunate that the resources to provide for these guidelines are being cut, or in some cases are simply not there at all (5). Additionally changes to the benefit system are being made which negatively impact upon the emotional health of the sick and disabled (6).

The situation is not helped by competition for the little work that is available. It is easier to manage health with an income and something to occupy the mind such as a job, in my experience.

What possible solutions are there to these problems?

Could the application of systems theory (7) be the beginning of change in bringing information about health to the masses?

In her book ‘Your Health is Your Wealth’, Jacqueline Harvey appears to be supporting the view that self-education and self-care and responsibility are the way forward in terms of a long term solutions to integrative health. (8)

I support this whole heartedly, as in my experience holistic health practices such as yoga (9) and tai chi (10) are very beneficial for health and promote self-care and self-education. They encourage the exploration of body, nutrition/diet and psychological personal development.

It would be nice to think that children have the opportunity to access these types of exercises and mindfulness practices, as well as physical education and sports so that in the future they did not need to access Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (11) for health conditions like personality disorder. DBT has some basis in Buddhist mindfulness practice. Would it therefore be cost effective to build mindfully based approaches to health into the education and health system from an early age?

In the circumstances the building of networks, social or otherwise, and communities on a local, national and worldwide scale; made up of existing established resources, practices and health resources seem like the way forward in tipping the balance towards preventing health problems and managing conditions.

I think I am a little bit ‘evangelical’ about promoting personal health care exploration.

God bless the World Wide Web.

And finally:http://www.drfranklipman.com/motivation-and-personality/ an after thought but very relevent.

References

(1) Chinese Medical Qigong – Editor in Chief: Tianjun Liu, OMD Associate Editor in Chief: Kevin W Chen, Ph.D.

(2) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/vincent-brogan/private-healthcare-and-th_b_1909057.html?utm_hp_ref=health-and-social-care-bill

(3) Violence, Inequality and Human Freedom by Peter Iadicola and Anson Shupe ISBN:0-7425-1923-6 Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc

(4) http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13476/54520/54520.pdf

(5) http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/11/benefit-reforms-penalise-disabled-people

(6) http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Documents/GetInvolved/Campaigns/Benefits/FailedByTheSystemReport.pdf

(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory

(8) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Health-Is-Wealth/dp/1401916287

mine came free with http://www.ommagazine.com/ October 2012

(9) http://littlewindmillyoga.com/2012/10/21/yoga-the-ultimate-freedom-trailer/

(10)                    http://www.taichimaster.com/tai-chi/the-tai-chi-tipping-point/

(11)                    http://www.priory.com/dbt.htm

My Favourite ‘Pep’ Blogs – ‘Gin and T’ for your in box

When your health’s gets you down in the dumps there are things you can do for yourself to make your day go better.

I do this by seeking out the people who are having a good day. Friends and family sometimes aren’t enough.

Getting connected via the internet is a useful tool to make connections via social media, networking and blogging sites. If you can’t talk or leave the house this can be the only way to get ‘empowered’.

There are lots of people out there who have insight into wellness, holistic and mind -body medicines. Remember you are not alone in being unwell and that the nature of the human condition means that this won’t change.

If you have been somehow hoodwinked into thinking that poor health is something that happens to other people or that you are unlucky enough to be alone in your suffering then it’s time to look around!

EVERY BODY NEEDS BACKUP!

Remember – no man is an island! 🙂

Seriously;

The current medical model does not include a pep talk at your doctor’s from a wellness warrior. This is a great shame because getting us into shape when we are not at our best can need military strategy.

Don’t just rely on your doctor.

For this reason some of my favourite blogs are from ladies and gentlemen who in their own way are driven to educate us on our health and well –being. Either by sharing their experience or by providing information about how to improve your physical, emotional, mental or spiritual health.

I have some regulars that I stream directly into my life and some of these I would like to share with you.

In no particular order I give you;

Number 1

http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/

Jessica Ainscough

This lady is clearly THE ULTIMATE aptly named ‘wellness warrior’. She survived cancer and so to be honest every word she writes I cling to like a limpet; because you don’t know how good you have it until you read about someone else’s misfortune. This lady is very positive and provides me with a little ray of sunshine even when I feel like a glow slug.

Number 2

http://sierrabender.com

Sierra Bender

Following some truly awful experiences around ectopic pregnancy Sierra went on to write ‘Goddess to the core’ and brings to America ‘Boot-camp for goddesses’ with yoga and empowerment teaching, in particular aimed at women.

I have not read the book but I find Sierra’s weekly updates on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies very insightful. My in -box would be empty without her and I would like to meet her one day.

Number 3

http://www.brucelipton.com/

Bruce Lipton

Bruce is not a man who is afraid of ‘out of the box thinking’ and for this reason I could kiss him!

Even if you don’t share any of this maverick biologist’s research views you should check him out for sheer positive collective thinking.

It’s all down to experience at the end of the day. If you read this man’s research you may realise it’s NOT just down to your genes.

This man is the ultimate warrior for ‘Mind over matter’.

Number 4

http://www.energyarts.com/

Bruce Frantzis

Another Bruce on the warrior list, this time a real life martial warrior. Bruce’s blog updates are very much tai chi orientated but his life experience is well worth researching.

Bruce suffered severe back injury following a car accident and spent many years re-training his spine.

As a person who suffers from back pain myself I respect him for not only his immense skill, knowledge of Tai Chi and martial arts, but also as a survivor of back injury!

I found it necessary to read his books to really benefit from his experience and understand how he has overcome problems with – training. You don’t need to be doing tai chi to listen to his meditations which are available to download in some cases.

Number 5

http://epilepsytalk.com

Phylis Feiner Johnson

Everybody has their specialist subject and this lady is the ultimate ambassador for mine. I have not managed to find any other blogger with such a rich encyclopaedic knowledge of epilepsy. Phylis is using her life experience to educate and inform others about epilepsy. I only wish I could ship her to the UK to meet my consultant, because I think she knows more than he does.

Number 6

http://www.drfranklipman.com/big-pharma-define-better/

Dr Frank Lipman

Last but not least Dr Frank Lipman the newest addition to my inbox. Promoting alternative wellness on a grand scale in New York. This link is to his blog about ‘big pharma’.

Even though I do take medication, there is a good argument for all things in moderation.

It’s important that we don’t neglect the whole.

Without medication I would have seizures, but it is worth noting that even with medication if I neglect the whole body – Mental. Physical, Emotional and Spiritual then I get sick anyway.

Meditation is my medication.

It is important to keep learning about your body.

Don’t be blinded by science it hasn’t got all the answers.

It is important to look for ‘Back up’ and depending on what health condition ails you, your personal reading may lean towards specific health conditions. Facebook, twitter and specialist websites exist to take us to other people when we are not able to leave the house.

Get Googling!

Don’t be alone when you need help.

Get conneted, get smart, get empowered and get well!