Why Medicine Has Failed Those With Invisible Illnesses
When I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I was lucky enough to already have a doctor who was able to diagnose my illness fairly quickly. She was a functional medicine specialist, as well as a GP. Her treatment included acupuncture, supplements, and rest. She actually advised me to take a year long vacation. I tried all of these things, and more. Most of the things I tried were not from the traditional medical box, because I knew that medical doctors didn't have the answers to these illnesses. They simply didn't know. So I took my health into my own hands. I had a very strong desire to get well and get back to my life. I could think of nothing more disempowering (aside from the illness itself) than going from doctor to doctor, and subjecting myself to tests and diagnoses...I was determined not to become a professional patient with a long list of mysterious symptoms and inconclusive tests. It's probably my nursing background that led me to have this perspective...I had seen too many "professional patients" in my work, and I was determined not to become one.
When I tell people how I recovered, so many of them are skeptical. They cannot believe that I could recover from such a serious and debilitating illness with a simple mind/body exercise. I now coach my own clients, using the Energy-Flow Coaching techniques that helped me recover. When I explain to prospective clients how and what I do, many times the answer runs something along the lines of...
"but my body is sick...there is nothing wrong with me except for my illness...how can this work if my only problem is that I can't physically function?"...It's the same misunderstanding of the nature
of the illness that the medical profession has, and this is why medical doctors or research don't have the answers we're looking for.
Medical doctors approach illness from a biomedical model. They work within a paradigm that views symptoms as a result of illness or injury. Most of their treatments revolve around treating symptoms using pharmaceuticals. This is wonderful and works well for most people. But for those with Invisible Illnesses, or Functional Illnesses, this doesn't work. This is why sufferers are left to cope by implementing what I call "extreme self-care", revolving around diet, supplements, rest, etc
When I was sick, taking care of myself, implementing and following self care techniques, was a full time job in and of itself.
When we can step back and view these illnesses from a different paradigm, from the stress-disease model of illness, then we can start to understand these illnesses in a new light. When we view mind and body not as separate entities, as the medical paradigm does, but as a functional system that works together to enhance health or create disease, then we are on our way to a new understanding of functional or invisible illnesses.
Deep and true healing from these illnesses can occur, but only if we are willing to embrace a new view of our illnesses, and be open to taking the journey down the road of exploration and discovery into a deeper meaning of illness and health. In other words, when we develop a different relationship to ourselves and our illnesses, we can heal, grown and change on a very deep level.
When I tell people how I recovered, so many of them are skeptical. They cannot believe that I could recover from such a serious and debilitating illness with a simple mind/body exercise. I now coach my own clients, using the Energy-Flow Coaching techniques that helped me recover. When I explain to prospective clients how and what I do, many times the answer runs something along the lines of...
"but my body is sick...there is nothing wrong with me except for my illness...how can this work if my only problem is that I can't physically function?"...It's the same misunderstanding of the nature
of the illness that the medical profession has, and this is why medical doctors or research don't have the answers we're looking for.
Medical doctors approach illness from a biomedical model. They work within a paradigm that views symptoms as a result of illness or injury. Most of their treatments revolve around treating symptoms using pharmaceuticals. This is wonderful and works well for most people. But for those with Invisible Illnesses, or Functional Illnesses, this doesn't work. This is why sufferers are left to cope by implementing what I call "extreme self-care", revolving around diet, supplements, rest, etc
When I was sick, taking care of myself, implementing and following self care techniques, was a full time job in and of itself.
When we can step back and view these illnesses from a different paradigm, from the stress-disease model of illness, then we can start to understand these illnesses in a new light. When we view mind and body not as separate entities, as the medical paradigm does, but as a functional system that works together to enhance health or create disease, then we are on our way to a new understanding of functional or invisible illnesses.
Deep and true healing from these illnesses can occur, but only if we are willing to embrace a new view of our illnesses, and be open to taking the journey down the road of exploration and discovery into a deeper meaning of illness and health. In other words, when we develop a different relationship to ourselves and our illnesses, we can heal, grown and change on a very deep level.
Comments
Post a Comment