Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired: Part 2

Sickness!

One of the biggest 21st Century issues to business is sickness - with sickness calculated by companies as losses of ....

• hours

• productivity

• income / profit

We are used to hearing phrases like "time is money", or "We / I don't have time to waste".

How many decisions are we making based on our energy levels or our health?

How much of what we decide can or cannot do is based on how much time it will take, versus how much time we think we have?

How many decisions do we make based on how much time we can afford? What that time will Cost Us?

Health Care Under Pressure

In the UK, the NHS is under immense strain - and as the Health Care system is put under ever greater strain, the individuals within that system being to bear the brunt of that strain - on an individual level! More sickness and absence from work by doctors and nurses puts more stress on the system, and lands upon the shoulders of those left holding the fort. The problem is compounded and exacerbated - and the cycle of sickness continues.

The silent effects of a continually stressed, and therefore increasingly sick people, both inside and outside of the Health Service itself, is that the burden of sickness may end up falling upon many other different areas of our community.

The financial strain of supporting sick people, their dependents or even their carers as they try to cope with the effects of their sickness either through different services within the NHS, or through ever diminishing community services provided to support the sick & vulnerable, is being felt by many people in many different areas of health care and across the country.

Sickness is an epidemic - and unfortunately, the Health Care system itself is also sick!

In fact we could be forgiven for thinking that our Health Care Services are actually not Health Care at all - But Sick Care Services!

Whilst our National Health Service is something we are (rightly) proud of, it spends most of its time and resources 'patching up' people whose health is already severely compromised! There is little space given in the overall application of our National Health Service for prevention, or encouraging mindful health practices that support the healthy balance of mind, body and emotion!

This budget sees 10% of its total being dedicated to mental health, with little allocated for assisting emotional health & wellbeing, although we do know that mental health is highly correlated to emotional health. Again, all of this funding is mainly directed at those already suffering the effects of imbalance and stress, those who are symptomatic of disease on one or more of these levels of our body.

Sickness is an epidemic - A Mind Body Detective Approach

Balancing the whole

As a 'whole machine', our health depends on many things.

Physical construction of new cells, or re-construction of our tissues and organs occurs continuously, as our body is always repairing and rebuilding itself. This process relies on two things: a healthy and balanced body that is able to digest and absorb foods, and a diet of good, healthy and balanced nutritional foods in order to feed and support healthy tissue growth in our body.

An essential, but overlooked aspect of health, is our bodies ability to filter out toxins and waste products, that would otherwise be harmful to us. In todays world there are more of these toxins in our food chain, and in our household products and skin care products than ever before. Cutting out any toxins or poisons, whether that be chemical products, heavy metals or pesticides is another important aspect of keeping our body healthy and will contribute to an overall balanced state.

The mind is also often overlooked when we consider our health. For not only are we what we eat, but we are what we think! And in relation to food - we are what we think about what we are eating, and how we feel about what we are eating!!

Our mind is such a powerful influencer on our health - it forms how we think about everything that is going on in our lives. Being stressed, or increasing our stress, or reducing our stress, is as much a matter of HOW we think about things, as WHAT we think.

In Meta-Health, we address the ROOT CAUSES of disease by addressing the thoughts and the beliefs that are going on behind the disease process. Identifying our personal stress triggers, and relieving their associated stress, we get to find long-term and more permanant solutions to the things that might, if left unchecked, end up making us ill, or keeping us ill! 

Emotions are powerful motivators in all that we do. Finding ways to experience joy and fun can make a huge difference to how we approach our day!

Peace, joy and love are keys to keep us in a place of balance. But sometimes, when we are very stressed in our day to day lives - it can be difficult to find time for these, and we can lose touch with them. However, these are the KEYS to keeping our life-balance!

Without them, we can become overwhelmed with more negative emotions, such as fear, anger, guilt or despair!

Instinctively we know that feelings of calm and happiness do help us to recover quicker, to feel 'better, but when we have felt sick and tired for so long, it can be very difficult to remember and to engage with the positive rebalancing emotions we need when we are on a downward spiral - often without even knowing it!

Feeling good enough

Sickness is an engrained aspect of our current social world. 

As sickness and financial constraints often go hand in hand, a sick person will often experience their own self-worth and 'value' plummet. Not least because a sick person may feel judged by others if they believe that they are not viewed as part of a 'productive society'. And 'productive' has become synonymous with the idea that the value add is monetary! This fear of what others may think can be at the root of why some people can experience reduced levels of self-worth when they are experiencing periods of long-term sickness. A shift in how we see ourselves, or what we believe about our own worth can be an important aspect of changing our emotional state. Simultaneously, this change in our thinking and our emotions can even improve our body's ability to heal!

But how do we judge our own value? By the money we have, our job, our worth in society, or how successful we are in a role we consider important to us: being a mum or dad, a wife or husband, a business person, teacher or doctor?

What happens if we begin to feel that we are "failing" to achieve our goals and the standards we expect from ourselves because of our health or energy levels?

It is at these times, that a person experiencing long-term sickness, or an ongoing disease, may need help to remember that they are valued as an individual. If they cannot remember this for themselves, then it becomes essential that someone else remains them of all the things that they are successful in, that they are loved and valued for.

Sometimes that nudge to remember their worth can be supported from a loved one, or a group that they can connect with.

It is not unusual that individuals with long-term chronic diseases begin to feel guilty if they are 'always sick'.

If we are Loving and Compassionate, we might well remember that any one of us in this situation might begin to question our value and worth.

It is essential that those who are sick do not begin to feel that they are part of a bigger problem.

It can be a difficult thought, or feeling to turn around, but one of the most empowering things that I have found that we can do is to begin to engage with our own health journey in a different way!

For me, it was an essential part of my own healing, that I began to look at the bigger picture of my health and disease.

Finding new ways to address challenges, shifting out of old thoughts or feelings in order to  focus upon the solution, both empowered me, and took me on a journey of self-discovery!

How we feel and think about ourselves can make all the difference to our health and well-being. 

Shame and guilt are a ball and chain that people who experience long-term sickness may begin to carry - and that guilt can stop them from being able to engage in both activities and emotions that ironically might otherwise enable them to rediscover the joy in life, change their thoughts and feelings and to begin the healing process.

Sparkles of Joy