Pause

Life can be tough. As Dr Larry Crabb puts it: ”Nothing makes us lose a proper focus more quickly than pain and nothing keeps us from recognizing a wrong focus more than a life that is going well”

 

 

I have made some major mistakes in my life. With those mistakes, however, has come the opportunity to build trial and discipline. Healthy introspection and confession are excellent tools for building the spirit’s endurance. The result is a strengthened character. Focus on your reputation and your character can suffer; Focus on your character and your reputation will flourish. As Coach Wooden put it:  “Reputation is what others think you are, character is who you really are.”

 

Over the next year I am going to exercise a few self-disciplines. My focus is going to be on achieving solitude and simplicity. Through this time I will not be blogging, facebooking, or, to the best of my ability, using technology.

 

 

 

My goal is to become humbled in a spirit of servanthood. I realize this may sound strange. However, we all wear a mask of some whether it includes a social mask, a family mask, a relationship mask, or a professional mask.  Many of our masks are steeped in egocentric thinking and behavior. My goal is to dissolve this false sense of self.  I want to become a better person, a better lover, a better son, and a better man.

 

 

Call it fanaticism, asceticism, or what you like. I call it a second chance and a new perspective at life. It is when our illusions of self are destroyed that true and real hope can take root. Those who know me best understand where I have been, what I have done, and, ultimately, where I am going.

 

For those of you who do not know me on a deeply personal level, I ask you to remember this: We are unique yet we are all the same, same in the fact that we are all fallible. We all go through trials. If you aren’t in one now you are getting out of one.  If you aren’t getting out of one, you may be ready to go through one. That’s life.

 

Finally, whether or not you choose to forgive is up to you.  It is important to remember, however, that bitterness harbors disease. It erodes both physical and mental health. It creates chronic pain and disability. It cripples relationships.  It prevents healing. It is a wound that if not treated becomes a crippling, systemic infection. We all make mistakes and when we do, remember to be supportive. Giving up should not be an option. We must, including myself, dust ourselves off, re evaluate, and hold ourselves to a higher, stronger standard.

See you in a year!

In Health

Dr Anthony

Controlling your health –part 3

By now you should be aware of how your perceptions affect your health. You have considered internal and external perceptions and how you will be examining your chance perceptions of health. Have you noticed how these perceptions influence your approach to managing your health? If not, please take a moment to think about the benefits of understanding your beliefs, values, and ideas of health. You probably understand how important these belief systems are in taking the correct step towards your well-being and being accountable towards your health.

Chance health perceptions

Einstein once stated that God doesn’t play dice with the cosmos, and neither should you in regards to your health. Now it may seem fairly devious that having no plan of action or control of your health is a bad thing, however, many still act with self-defeating attitudes towards their health. Moving from acute to chronic lumber pain is a prime example of when you leave your health to chance.  Your chance at health becomes a bet, and why bet with your health?

Identify your chance health perception

For each of the following, mark the most appropriate answer. Do this in private and be honest with yourself, knowing that you won’t be judged.  Score each answer from zero to ten.  Zero being no confidence and ten being maximum confidence.

1. My belief that health and healing are a matter of fate and nothing changes that result.

2. My belief that when I get sick or become disabled, it is a purely random event over which I have

no control.

3. My belief that regardless of what I do, it will not affect when I will die or how sick I will get.

4. My belief that one genetic makeup determines one future regard lees of what else may happen.

5. My belief that we have little control over when we get a disease or die.

 

Scoring your chance health perception

0-25:  Low confidence in random health actions

26-37:  Average confidence in random health actions

38-42:  High confidence in random health actions

43-50:  Very high confidence in random health actions

Understanding your score

What if you fail to see a link between no belief in yourself and poor health? Imagine that your health is simply a roll of the dice. You’re probably starting to feel how these thoughts are in some way crazy.

Passive coping

Passive coping  (thinking the pain will simply “go away”) and fear avoidance (avoiding specific activities out of fear) are both forms of a chance health perception.  It is within these perceptions that disability blooms. Disability and chronic pain are direct by-products of self-perceived poor health (Linton, 2000). The lumbar spine, in particular, requires identifying these ill-fated perceptions to avoid the reality of becoming non-organic (chronic). It may seem common sense but, as you already know, sense isn’t always that common. If you don’t see any point in taking care of your diet, managing a healthy life-style, taking your medication, or listening to your health care provider’s instruction, then you shouldn’t plan on living an optimal life. Simply put, there is no upside to a high score. The good news, however, is that there is a positive association with a lower score. The lower the score the more accountable you are and the more you are seeking the ultimate solution to your predicament. I trust that, by now, you are realizing how your perceptions affect your health. Develop new skills, get support, learn the true depth and value of how amazing you are, and feel empowered to take charge now.

Acknowledgements

1. Dr Frank Lawlis

2. Dr Craig Liebenson

3. Dr Phillip Mcgraw

Controlling Your Health – Part 2

 

In part 1, you learned about the four pillars of health and fitness.

1. Muscle and Joint (Musculoskeletal)

2. Cardiovascular and Pulmonary systems

3. Dietary Habits

4.Mental Well-being

You also became aware of self-efficiency and how it relates to your perception of health. By now, you should have a better understanding of your internal beliefs, perceptions, and how they relate.

In this article, you will be examining your external perceptions and understanding how they may be adversely impacting your health.

In this article you will be understanding you external perceptions and how they may be adversely impacting your health. In addition to discovering what can be done about it. Remember that the best indicator of how much control you have over your health is how much control you believe you believe you have.

The test used in this article is from Dr Frank Lawlis (Jeanne Achterberg and G.Frank Lawlis, The Health Attribution Test, Champain, III.: IPAT 1979). As a reminder this is a three part series covering the entire health attribution test. In part 1, we examined internal health perceptions, this time we are examining external health perceptions; and in part three we will be examining chance health perceptions.

 

External Health Perception.

External health perceptions are important to be aware of so that you become more empowered and accountable toward your health. Having the idea that you are going to be healed by your Doctor can lead to disappointment and the inability to create coping strategies.

Remember that accountability counts. A lack of self-accountability means that you are allowing yourself to become a victim. If you are overweight, you are accountable, if you have lower back pain, you are accountable, and so the list goes. If it’s something you have no control over then you are accountable for doing all you can to minimize future risks. By understanding you perception of dependence on others, you may stop relying on others to resolve your health predicament.

 

Identifying your External health perception.

For each of the following mark the most appropriate answer. Do this in private and be honest with yourself, knowing that you won’t be judged.

Score from 0-10: 0 being no confidence, and 10 being maximum confidence.

1.   My belief that my Doctor will heal me.
2.   My belief in medicines to heal my body and mind.
3.  My belief that if I follow all instructions given to me by my health care professional, I will be healed.
4.  My belief in the concept that if I have faith in my religious symbols of teaching,                        I will be healed by my spiritual power.
5. My belief in the healing power of my friends and family as crucial to healing my body    and mind.

Scoring Your External Health Perception

0-20: Low Confidence in others as healing agents.

21-30: Average Confidence in others as healing agents.

31-40: High Confidence in others as healing agents.

41-50: Very high confidence in others as healing agents.

Understanding your score.

If you have a high of average score you may be highly dependent on other people or influences to get you out of health troubles. You may believe that someone or something is the holy grail of health. This leads you to believe that your doctor has magic hands, your specialist has the magic technique, or your spiritual leader has the secret formula to prayer. In other words you are totally convinced they, the individuals and their methods, will work.

There is an upside to having a high score. You may be more likely to reach out for professional care, supported or trusted expertise. If this sounds like you, make sure you choose your health care professional wisely. As a health care professional, I can personally say that people presenting with higher score in this area are typically more compliant with rehab regimes. In other words you may be a doctors “perfect-patient.”

The downside is that you may lack healthy skepticism regarding the promises of a magic cure. No one is better at managing your health than you. Remaining inactive and passive toward your wellbeing creates a victim mentality, whereas being in control and accountable, helps you to take ownership. In the long run, maintaining such ownership increases your chances of success. Be responsible and take control now, without blaming others. I acknowledge that this may sometimes be difficult. If you have bad knees, or if you are overweight and under-active, then you need to address the contributing factors. If you believe that you are genetically predisposed to certain medical issues, then you have an even higher onus to live a lifestyle that minimizes your elevated risks. Cigarettes, alcohol, stress, your job, in-laws, none of them are to blame. Your own choices and actions are! Be accountable and active in influencing your wellbeing.

In regards to lower scores, the upside is an “I can do it myself” attitude. While foolish pride isn’t the answer, a rebellion against authority isn’t necessarily a bad thing. An example is the biomedical model for lumbar pain. Advanced imagery, surgery, bed rest, and narcotics aren’t necessarily the problem, let alone even beneficial! 

The downside of a low score is that you probably don’t trust anyone or believe that anything will work, in parallel, you may be overly skeptical toward the health care profession. Therefore, you may not seek treatment because you are not convinced it will help. You are “the glass is half empty” type. Unfortunately, that won’t solve health challenges.

In the next part of this series we will test your chance perception of health. If you are comfortable with it, leave your score and comments below.

Controlling your health. Part 1

Health and fitness is, without a doubt, one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare; and for good reason. The top six killers around the globe are heart disease, stroke, COPD, cancer, accidents and diabetes. What do most of these have in common? They are lifestyle based. Of course there will be medical elements to some of them but its hard to argue that a healthy lifestyle wouldn’t be beneficial.

I believe health and fitness is a state of balance between body and mind. This equilibrium in-duality  is accomplished by achieving wellness in four primary categories:

1. Muscles and joints

2. Cardiovascular system

3. Dietary habits

4.Mental health

When these four systems are healthy and happy, I believe you are in a balanced state of health and fitness. Doing so can be challenging, especially if you are lacking in self-efficacy. It will be our goal in this three-part series to get to grips with your own perception of health and self-belief. Your mindset creates, controls and influences your health, It is your beliefs, values and expectations. Ultimately, you will identify how you perceive health on three separate levels.

1.  Internal perception
2.  External perception
3.  Change perception

Once identified you will allow you to have an idea of your health expectations and beliefs. By knowing what you believe you can begin to halt destructive behaviors and begin to take action to improve your health. You are the ruler of your temple, no-body else manages your body but you.

 Internal health perception

In practice I have witnessed the difference between those who believe they can and those who don’t. The difference is huge in terms of recovery and relapse.We all know someone  that has overcome a great health crisis. Were they positive or pessimistic?

Pessimism, defined as stress resulting from hostility, resentment and despair, has been linked to a host of diseases. Men between the age of 40-55 who have high levels of hostility have a 42% higher risk of death, so relax guys because the stress is literally killing you.

Identify your internal health perception

For each of the following mark the most appropriate answer. Do this in private and be honest with yourself, knowing that you won’t be judged. Score them from 0-10. 0 being no confidence and 10 being maximum confidence.

1. My willingness to follow a good nutritional program in order to maximize my body’s healing abilities.
2. My willingness to exercise my body in order reach maximum recovery.
3. My belief in my ability to use focusing techniques to accomplish my goals in health.
4. My belief in my ability to calm my stress issues and use that energy to succeed in my physical healing.
5. My belief in my inner strength to heal my body.

Scoring your internal health perception

0-30 Low confidence in self direction

31-40 Average confidence in self direction

41-45 High confidence in self direction

45-50 Very high confidence in self direction

Understanding your score

Our perception of our health is so important to how we live, work and play. It’s within our beliefs and expectations by which we base our decisions concerning our well being. If we believe in a system there is a much better chance that it will work.

Take for example, chicken noodle soup for a common cold or flu. If you believe in it chances are it will help. Your internal health perception is how much you believe in yourself as the manager of your health and body. Your belief is important if you don’t believe in yourself you don’t have control. With that being said, there are cases and issues outside of such control. Hereditary disease or any uncontrollable events may also negatively impact your health. These are not your fault and there is no point in beating yourself up over it but instead focus on the future by what you can do now.

People who score low on this test need to understand that they are accountable. Now there is no reason to feel guilt but if you do feel guilt it is because you have violated one of your biggest standards. Now that you have acknowledged that move on!  Commit yourself to making sure the behavior doesn’t persist.Use the guilt as leverage to never violate your own standard even again.

If your scored high, congrats. Scoring high is for the most part a great thing It means that you take responsibility for your health The higher the score the more likely you are to:

1.Acknowledge your perceptions

2.Own your perceptions

3.Find solutions of your health issues.

4.Make the solutions happen

The down side to having a high score is that you may be overly self-sufficient. In this case, you may fail to seek advice or mentorship. You may fail to reach out to others that have a wealth of information. Again if the health concern you may have isn’t your fault (blindness, heart disease etc) don’t pressure yourself. Blaming yourself for issues outside your control is worthless. Focus on what you can do now to make a better future. Hold yourself accountable for your actions from here on.

In the next part of this series we will be looking at your external health perception. How you view others in regards to your health and wellbeing. If you feel comfortable leave your scores below; its alway nice to compare notes. There is nothing wrong with a low score as long as you own up to it and seek out advice or support.

In Health

Dr Anthony.

Acknowledgments.

Thank you to Doctor Frank Lawless for his health perception test.

16 simple rules to inner well being

Today I had passed onto me some well meaning axioms that were supposedly written by Buddha. I personally found them enlightening and thought I would share.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson
3. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck
4. Learn the rules, so you know how to break them properly
5. Don’t let a little dispute ruin a great relationship
6. When you make a mistake take immediate steps to correct it
7. Spend some time alone everyday
8. Open your arms to change but don’t let  go of your values
9. Remember that silence sometimes is the best answer
10. Live a good and honorable life that way when you are older you can enjoy it a second time
11. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life
12. In disagreements with love ones, only focus on the correct situation , don’t bring up the past
13. Share your knowledge, its a great way to achieve immortality
14. Be gentle with the earth
15. Once a year go somewhere you have never been before
16. Follow the 3 R’s

• Respect for self
• Respect for others
• Responsibility for all actions

In life we are merely passengers, so its best not to “back seat” drive. We are architects of our lives and great plans require great work. In many great projects there will be disappointment, discouragement and dissolution. These are nothing but tests and traps. True character is found in times of crisis. Focus on what lies ahead, stick to your true beliefs and values; and you will forge a noble reward. Remember that on the horizon of every dark  and cold winter, lies the promise of a sunny and warm summer.