The other side of disease part 2:
Stepping into exceptional wellness
When Stephanie came into my office her knees would throb going up and down stairs and she dreaded having to use the restroom because standing back up was excruciating. “My dogs and I love to walk around the neighborhood but my knees swell up so bad I have been walking less and less.”
Stephanie was diagnosed with arthritis and had been told she no longer had any cartilage in her knee. The doctor explained that she would need to have both knees replaced but she had heard horror stories about knee replacements and wanted to avoid them. She was determined to accept her new limitations and deal with the pain for as long as possible and wanted to know if there was anything she could do to manage the pain.
I did an evaluation and helped her understand that instead of focusing on what we couldn’t fix (the “disease” required surgery to be fixed) we could focus instead on what she could improve. We know that a healthy knee moves in certain ways, we know that there are healthy ways to navigate stairs or walk around the block, why not work on moving in a healthier way and let her body heal what it can?
Health and disease work like a teeter totter, the more there is of one the less there is of another. We could wait until the symptoms were bad enough she decided to try surgery (the solution for the disease) or we could start improving her health today and let part of her disease fade away.
It has been 7 years and Stephanie still has not had a knee replacement yet she skis, hikes, and walks an average of 5 miles a day with her dogs.
What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.
Oprah Winfrey
How do you do it?
I am going to help you learn to understand what it means to be healthy. It’s a balancing act between the presence of all the wonderful things that make up health and the absence of disease. While I do value decreasing disease on 1 side I recognize that it is only ½ the solution. Simply being “disease free” does not mean you have an amazing, wonderful, and fulfilling life; however being “healthy” means that you strive for an amazing life and an added benefit is that disease fades away.
There are countless benefits to this approach:
- You get to start finding symptom relief right now, today. You don’t need a name for your disease, you don’t need confirming blood work or brain scans, let’s do it!
- You can ALWAYS feel better. No matter how symptomatic you are or what your disease is you can ALWAYS improve what is means to be healthy. More energy, less stress, and better relationships with those around you.
- You get to let go of the isolation and fear of struggling alone through the unknowable.
Isolation? According to research done by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, 45% of Americans are going through the same struggles you are. You will hear real life stories from others who are just like you, some who are where you are today and some who have walked the path towards exceptional wellness and will share their wisdom on the journey.
Fear of the unknown? Disease is a mystery but health is a puzzle. In disease focused therapy each time we find new information it changes our understanding and we find ourselves doubting what is right and what is wrong. In health focused therapy each time we find new information it improves and enhances our understanding so we get to continue to celebrate all the great choices we have made!
*It is not about battling, struggling, and eventually overcoming your disease, it’s about maximizing everyday and making a habit of working towards the best. Celebrate what you do right rather than beating yourself up for what you (believe) you could have done better!
Read on by clicking page 3!