Everyone wants to be healthy and live their life to the fullest.  But what does that mean, really?  People say these things casually without much thought, assuming the ideas they have are universal.  Many generally believe that if a doctor doesn’t give them any specific or “serious” diagnosis at a checkup that they are “healthy” and, therefore, have all the physical resources they need to reach their potential.  The rest is purely a matter of discipline and willpower.

Doctors often use the words “normal” and “healthy” and so we assume these are useful concepts.  But, from a medical standpoint, what is “normal”, really?  Truthfully it is a virtually meaningless word that includes an extremely wide range of vitality and function.  In my opinion this is a problem that lies at center of the current western disease-based model of medicine.  The core of medical training and practice is to diagnose and manage diseases that have already been identified and well studied.  Overwhelmingly, the “standard of care” (a topic we will discuss more later) does not include or focus on tools that increase resilience, vitality, and quality of life.  Even though we all go to the doctor hoping to be “cured,” that generally isn’t what doctors do.

To illustrate what medically “normal” and “healthy” is, let’s look at two hypothetical people who go to the same doctor for a checkup.  Both leave the visit with a “clean bill of health” being called “normal” and “healthy” by their doctor.  Person A has been having difficulty holding down a string of entry level jobs.  He is frequently sick with colds and the flu.  Every day after work he is exhausted and crashes in front of the TV and therefore doesn’t have much of a social or romantic life.  He scheduled the visit hoping to get some help for his malaise and a lack of “feeling well.”  Person B is the founder and CEO of a successful company.  He has never been sick a day in his life and has an active social and romantic life.  He easily puts in long and demanding days.  He may complain or boast that he works hard, but he always has energy and rarely, if ever, feels particularly run down.  He’s an avid mountaineer with his fifth Everest expedition scheduled for next month.  In fact he scheduled the visit only as preparation for the expedition.  Both are “normal” and “healthy” (by traditional medical definitions i.e. the doctor couldn’t find anything).  But when you look at these two people, it is shocking just how worthless the words “normal” and “healthy” are.

Instead of only looking for the absence of obvious disease it is far more useful to look at the overall level of vitality, effectiveness, ease of effort, and satisfaction of life.  Obviously, in many cases, in order to improve these things you may need to solve problems i.e. curing or managing conditions or injuries.  But that is a means to an end.  It is not the end in itself.

The absence of an obvious diagnoses is an extremely low standard that, in my opinion, is also irrelevant.  Not only are many people suffering and languishing without a clear or useful diagnosis, it is also absolutely possible to have a vital, rich and meaningful life with one.  For that reason I encourage the reader to develop their own expectations about their health and vitality.  Learn and do as much as you can to reach your own personal goals.  But please never despair if there is a diagnosis.  It will be something you need to be mindful of and work around.  In some cases to a very large extent.  But you and your life are more than a diagnosis.  I certainly hope you can at least see the ideas of “normal” and “healthy” for what they are.

While I am (and will continue to be) very critical of standard, western medicine, it is still a very important and valuable resource.  I want to be very clear.  If there is a problem, especially if it is significant, go to the doctor.  Your doctor can have extraordinary insight into your body and any issues you may be having.  If you have anything that is acute he/she will be the most qualified and capable of helping you.  However, if you have a chronic or degenerative condition I think you will need to calibrate your expectations.  If real help or a positive prognosis does not come quickly you should prepare for the reality that the likelihood of a doctor curing you is almost zero.  That doesn’t mean you are doomed, but it does mean that you will be the one responsible for your recovery.  

Therefore if you are experiencing a problem that is interfering with your life do not resist seeing the doctor!  However, do not despair if the physician cannot find anything wrong with you or do anything useful to help you.  It was not necessarily the waste of time it seems.  Your doctor has just ruled out a list of particularly awful conditions.  Armed with that information you can continue elsewhere to narrow your search for solutions.  In future articles I will therefore share how I overcame significant disabling conditions for which standard medicine was powerless to help in any way.