Hello.
Welcome to The Own Your Health Podcast.
I'm Cyndi Lynne, and I can't wait to
help you step into your health power.
Tonight we're going to talk about a topic
that's been coming up a lot lately
in my practice. I've been hearing
people express more and more fear.
And it's interesting because the fear is coming
from both kind of sides of the equation.
There's fear about going to the doctor.
We've talked about that before.
Fear of what you may find out, fear of what
could be going on, fear of what the treatment would
be or what the suggestions would be, or often what
people describe is what the doctor will make them take.
There's also fear expressed about not knowing, like, if
I don't go when something happens, then what?
And the third area that the fear is expressed,
and this is one that I've had a lot
of discussions around, and I feel that there's a
lot of promise and excitement in this particular area.
And that is the fear
when you start to take responsibility for your
own health, when you start making the decisions,
when you start calling the shots.
And it's interesting because that can be in the
exact same situation as having fear about going to
the doctor, finding out what's wrong, finding out if
something's wrong, and then knowing that you don't want
the solution that's being provided.
So my clients are pretty savvy
i n general. They tend to use medical
services when they absolutely have to, somewhat
preventatively, but also very actively.
And when it comes time for that ubiquitous prescription
pad to be pulled out, many of my clients
will say, wait, what else is there?
And as excited as they are to do that, as confident
as they are to know that there are other options than
just drugs, in many cases. As excited as they are to
talk about, okay, what can I change in my lifestyle?
What can I do differently?
What kind of activity or what kind of dietary changes, what
can I do within my life to take control of this?
And they feel empowered when they do that.
And that's fantastic.
But excuse me, there's also a little bit
of fear around that, because when we take
responsibility, we are held accountable to ourselves.
And for some of us, that can be a very
scary thing because we're used to giving that power away.
We're used to having someone else make
those decisions, and then it's their responsibility.
Responsibility.
And the outcome is their responsibility.
And we very often excuse poor outcomes
when they come from professionals.
So if a healthcare practitioner takes two or three
or four visits, or it takes two or three
or four different healthcare practitioners to sort out what
we actually have going on in our body,
we seem to accept that. Sometimes we need to
try more than one medication. Sometimes we need to
try more than one type of therapy.
We accept that iterative process when it comes
from that person, when it comes from the
outside, the provider, but we're much less forgiving
when it comes to our own decision making.
And I'm here to tell you that the antidote
to that fear, although ideally we would like it
to be just this ultimate confidence in taking charge
of our health. Most of us aren't there!
I think the antidote to that fear is curiosity.
And if you can calmly ask yourself the
same kind of questions that you should be
asking a healthcare professional, then that curiosity will
lead you to a comfort.
And I think as an antidote to fear,
curiosity and comfort are a really good solution,
especially when we're just starting out.
So what does this look like?
You can ask, what else can I do?
When you have a diagnosis or when you're
posed with a situation, when you go to
a healthcare provider and you've got something going
on. What else can I do about this?
So you ask the question and then you
calmly listen and then you can ask them,
or you can ask yourself the question, what
would happen if I don't do this intervention?
What would happen if we waited?
You know, waiting and watching has historically been in
a watchful waiting is a legitimate and historically very
appropriate response to many conditions in the body when
someone can't figure out what's going on.
If it's not life threatening, then watchful
waiting is a perfectly legitimate solution.
So if you're in a position that you're not
ready to make a decision, you don't want to
give up all your power and just have someone
else make the decision, then get curious.
What would happen if I would wait a couple of weeks?
What would happen if I saw
a different type of practitioner?
What would happen if I spent some more
time looking at what resources are available?
What would happen if I prepared myself for
a period of time before the treatment?
Now this is one that comes up with my
clients pretty frequently, and they'll have surgery that's recommended
and we'll talk about it and they'll say, oh,
yes, you know, they got me in for surgery.
They want me to go in next week.
I don't know if I'm really ready.
And I'm like, you know what?
You probably aren't ready.
You probably have things to get settled at home.
And by the way, there are ways that you can
eat and move and behave prior to surgery that will
actually get you set up better for surgery.
So when I work with clients in
the office, we work on dietary changes
before any surgery, significant dietary changes.
We work on breathing exercises, especially if we
know that that's going to be a challenge
after the surgery. We work on practicing the types
of exercises that would be done in rehab so
that their mind is already accustomed to the motions.
We do anticipatory work with the body.
If they're going to need to use a walker,
a cane, crutches, we practice those movements ahead of
time so that they're much more prepared.
We talk about what's going to happen during the surgery,
what's going to happen in the hospital, how long they're
expecting to stay in the hospital, what they need to
have in place when they get home.
All of this preparation is a way
for you to own your own health.
So getting curious about, okay, maybe this surgery is
highly recommended, and maybe this is a solution to
whatever situation I have, but get curious about how
you can prepare so that you're more ready for
whatever type of therapy, treatment you decide on.
So again, even with surgery, the
antidote to fear is curiosity.
How can I prepare for this?
What do I expect will happen?
Can I expect recovery to look like?
And these are all things that I work
with, with my clients on a regular basis.
So if you need this information, if you're
planning surgery, if you're considering some type of
treatment, absolutely reach out, and I'd be happy
to work with you on that.
But in the meantime, there's a lot
you can do on your own.
And so next time you're feeling fearful about
a situation, whether it's a doctor's office visit;
whether it's making a decision yourself on what
supplements you're going to take; on what dietary
changes you're going to make; understand that anytime
you initiate change and take the responsibility for
that, there may be some twinges of fear.
And that's okay.
Flip that around.
Bring in some curiosity.
Get some support if you need it,
absolutely.
Get support from someone who's going to help
you with that curiosity and with answers to
the questions, not just support from someone who's
going to make that decision for you.
Because part of this journey, all of this journey, is
so that we can all own our own health.
So until next week, go out and own it.
And absolutely reach out if you'd like some support.
