Back to the basics

By Rebecca Huber

So much in print these days. Where does one start? Who’s right? Why doesn’t everyone agree? These frequently posed questions are or should be the basis of any good research, amateur or otherwise regardless the topic. When I have a questioning client present to my office with difficult health issues they ask me these same questions but preface them with the thinking that the world of medicine and medical research would be different. Medicine never has and never will be an exact science. Therefore, when scientists, researchers, doctors and other health care providers try to make it an exact science, the system fails, at least part of the time, leaving a certain percentage of patients to fall outside the so called norm without good answers to their difficult health problems.

As a health care provider who ends up with a fair share of these kinds of patients I do find one thing to be exact. As the story unfolds there is always a great deal of information, facts, figures, symptoms, anxiety and emotion surrounding and clouding the issues at hand. Time to do some sorting. What is fact? What is theory or speculation? Where does one start? Where do I go from here? Just the basics please.

Absolute number one: start with the facts. What are the undisputed facts? If you have a broken arm, fractured immunity or chronic pain, those are the facts, for now.

Next if you are currently under medical care good, if not do so. If not satisfied with that care, move on, never resign yourself or give up that your situation might improve. A word of caution, do not buy into bogus cures that may make the situation worse, cause you to loose hope or waste precious time.

Never be afraid to employ more than one therapy as long as those therapies mix well together, (kind of like having more than just a hammer in your toolbox). If you have been sick for a long time expect that you may feel depressed, angry or at the ver least frustrated. Is some counseling in order or possibly a massage? Other therapies that would mix well with the traditional medical model would be chiropractic, acupuncture, or a visit to the nutritional counselor.

A journal is an invaluable tool for finding yourself, or should I say not loosing yourself to your illness. Progress can be slow, some days immeasurable. A journal allows you to look back and reinforces albeit a snails pace that things are improving.

Working one’s way through a difficult or lengthy illness can feel like the convoluted twists and turns of a maze, a few steps forward, a lot of back tracking, no good directions and lots of confusion and frustration. It is your job to stay on track and focused, difficult as it may be. Don’t continue down paths that you know will not lead you back to health and always always stay with the basics.

Till next time, Rebecca.