Western Medicine is designed to treat disease, fix bones, combat infections, remove lumps or tumors. However, it is not designed to prevent things from happening in the first place.
The word “Prevention” rarely appears in medical conversations. This might be because Prevention is not taught in medical schools.
Therefore, our annual checkup features blood work done for the benefit of seeing which of our numbers are normal or abnormal. If normal, “you are fine” no matter how you feel, and if abnormal, more medication would likely be prescribed. However, medication often leads to other problems that eventually need more treatment – and more medication.
Medical students follow the same path of their teachers. As a doctor, I was one of them, readily dispensing drugs to treat symptoms, without examining the root causes.
However, 23 years ago, I realized that modern medicine could not really help my problems. This is when I changed my approach, and looked into other ways of considering my health situation.
I learned that Prevention would be of great value to me. It not only helps you to heal your wounds, but also helps you to prevent the disease in the first place.
What is Prevention? It is a holistic life style that involves mindful practice. This includes regular exercise, both western style and eastern style, eating only healthy foods, avoiding anything unhealthy and handling stress with laughter and wisdom. Most importantly, it means keeping a positive attitude.
Prevention also involves being intuitive. Look at yourself to find out what is the source for this “dis-ease”, identify the root of the problem (maybe a wrong diet, not enough exercise, too much stress, or substance abuse). Then, correct whatever caused this “dis-ease.”
Prevention involves your complete participation.
If you develop the Preventive Mindset, it will really make a big difference with your health and wellness. I hope you have an amazing journey with Prevention leading the way.
