Is it One Thing or is it Everything?

In healthcare, we are often sucked into the mindset that there must be “one thing that is wrong.”  One thing must be the absolute problem. The mindset most Americans have is that there is a magic cure that is the ultimate solution to their “problem.”  The truth is, health is much more complex than that.  Let me give you an example.


The Example: Searching for the Ultimate Cure

“Joe” goes to the doctor’s office for back pain.  He has been dealing with the issue on and off for years with severe, debilitating pain setting in every few months.  Because of the constant pain, Joe is prone to move his body less, guard the area of his lower back where he feels the pain (increasing muscle microtears and inflammation), and sometimes drinks too much alcohol to cope with the pain.  He eats the standard American diet (SAD), full of processed foods that increase inflammation and contribute to arthritis.  When Joe is stressed, his lower back hurts even more, but he doesn’t see the connection between the increased pain and the stress.  At his doctor’s office, Joe is told that he can take muscle relaxants and pain relievers, but will ultimately need surgery to fuse his L4-5 vertebrae.  Joe goes forward with the surgery because he doesn’t know what else to do and he thinks this will be the ultimate cure to years of suffering.  While the surgery addresses the L4/L5 issues, it causes the areas above and below the fusion to become more arthritic.  Due to his lifestyle choices (SAD diet, alcohol, lack of movement), Joe’s body is inflamed, contributing to even more arthritis.  Given the increased arthritic issues and lack of core strength - despite the surgery, Joe still does not develop a habit of exercise.  Because of the lack of movement in the spine and how this affects his ability to feel and experience the world (reference research by Dr. Candace Pert, PhD), Joe’s depression continues, making it hard to mount the energy for lifestyle shifts.

Does the “Cure” Promote True Healing?

While this is an example, it is a situation we have seen in many variations, hundreds of times, with so many practice members.  The thinking that the L4/L5 issue was causing all of Joe’s problems (and that the surgery would “fix” the problem), did not give an accurate representation of all of his other habits and lifestyle factors contributing to the problem.  Because the whole picture was never addressed, the issues became more and more severe.  The surgery may have stabilized one thing, but created issues in others.  


It is Never “One Thing” - it is “Everything”

IT IS NEVER JUST ONE THING … it is a series of events, a combination of lifestyle factors, and reactions to circumstances that create what I visualize as the onion effect.  Because our culture is so stuck on quick fixes and immediate results, we can become stuck in this loop for decades, and some people remain stuck here their entire lives.  

The inside of an onion is a core issue (maybe caused by an accident, by lifestyle choices, by specific stressors, even genetics) and the layers of the onion are adaptations and choices that are made over and over again to “cope” with the core issue.  In order for someone to truly heal, we must look at the core issues, determine the baseline function of the nervous system (the system that controls every other system) and develop a plan that encompasses many facets of healing.  NSA and the specific methods we use to evaluate the body can get to these “core” issues.  We are evaluating and addressing neurological patterning in the body.  This affects alignment, function, healing capacity, strength, energy, immunity, perspective, even mood.  When this deeper aspect of health is addressed, it sets a tone for healing throughout the entire body and over time, with consistency, can get to core of the onion!  

When people function better at a root level, they have a vastly increased capacity to heal.  When they add in dietary changes, exercise, core strength and mobility, and the appropriate supplements, it takes healing to another level.  Just like there is never “one thing” that caused an issue, there is not “one thing” that will be the answer.  Consistency with the right measures applied (adjustments, exercise, food, deeper/affirmative thinking and stress management) set a tone and a deep foundation for healing.

So, it really isn’t ever “one thing”—it is “everything” AND it takes time for “everything” to work.  When we have patterns that have been ingrained in our nervous systems since childhood, it is a PROCESS to change it.  Sometimes when things are stagnant, we may feel stuck in our healing, but the body is doing clean-up work - using our energy and resources.

Time, Consistency, and Mind-Body Awareness

My words of advice: give it time, be consistent, use your NSA-enhanced mind-body awareness skills to pay attention to the aspects of your lifestyle that make positive changes, put it all together, and stick with it!

Create Health by Choice, Not by Chance,

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