Have you ever known something, but didn’t know how you knew it?
For me, for some reason, I have known that we (in western medicine) do not have the ability to keep people healthy. I have known this for a very long time, maybe even before I got my degree in medicine. Problem was, before my degree, before being in practice, I didn’t know that there was any other way. As I have practiced it has become clearer that western medicine treats sick people. I know that sounds weird, I mean, what else would we do?
How about help keep people well? No, we don’t do that.
Our model is a sick model.
Did you ever wonder why they call it health insurance when you only get to use it when you are sick?
I bring all of this up because I started reading a book by Dr. Radha Gopalan titled Second Opinion. Dr. Gopalan is a cardiologist practicing in New York. He was born in Sri Lanka and had, to me, the benefit of growing up with a different “medical” philosophy. In his book, he talks about the weekly oil bath, eye cleansing, proper rest and bowel cleansing used to help to maintain health. Dr Gopalan studied acupuncture and is a board certified medical acupuncturist as well as certified yoga instructor.
When he had an injury, it was treated in a way that allowed his own body to take care of the problem. At the first sign of illness, rest was ordered to allow the body or the vital energy of the body to work on the illness, get rid of it…cure you. If the illness persisted, more western medicine type treatments were sought.
I love this book. I now realize that I am not alone in my feelings that our current medical system is not all that there is. I was raised in the United States by parents who believed solely in western medicine, but who also did not take us to the doctor for everything. Actually, we rarely went to the doctor. I am not sure when I learned that there was another kind of health care, not one just centered on taking pills concocted in a lab to be healthy. It seems like I always just knew that I had control over my state of health. I mean that by doing all the things we know about to stay healthy, but I also mean that when I was not well, I felt that I had the power to make myself better. I very rarely take medicine, even when my doctor prescribes it; I’m sure it drives her crazy.
Western medicine – the type practiced most commonly in the United States and the rest of the “developed” world – focuses on treating the disease. Eastern medicine works to bring balance or equilibrium back to the entire being. In other words, Eastern medicine treats the patient instead of the disease.
Can you see the difference?
Dr. Gopalan feels that for health we need a mix of Western medicine, Eastern Medicine and what he calls “You Power”. The recipe is 30% Western Medicine, 30% Eastern Medicine, 30% “You Power” and 10% chance.
Wait – what the heck is “You Power”?
Dr. Gopalan defines “You Power” as your make up: who you are, your personality, how you present yourself to the world, your internal dialogue or what you say to yourself, how you talk to yourself, as well as the You that you present to the world. Your emotions play a big role in your health and wellness. He explains this further in his book, discussing different disease states and how emotion affects you and can bring about states of dis-ease.
To me, in addition, “You Power” is what you need to be able to courageously interact with your health care providers. It is you being responsible for your care, not giving away your ability to think and care for yourself and to know what is right for you in given circumstances. By this I do not mean that you know everything; I mean that you seek advice from qualified advisers and make decisions based on your feelings. Many people, dare I say most that I see in my practice, want me to make the decision. Many get frustrated when I explain that I see my role as an advisor. I say that I do not walk in your shoes everyday, I do not know what is best for your life, I can only tell you what is medically available.
You Power in full effect will give you the confidence to know what is right for you, to take responsibility for your care. That is my goal, to help you to realize your full potential in the realm of caring for your health.
Remember, it is your responsibility.
