We are all navigating change at a rapid pace and sometimes it’s challenging for the body and mind to integrate those challenges and changes that pile up over time even if they seem like micro daily challenges that you don’t quite notice. Then suddenly one day you feel like you are not as engaged with life or loved ones and not feeling like yourself.
The pandemic has a ‘special’ way of perpetuating that feeling despite the odd routine of our life at home, work, grocery store.
As a healthcare professional I can say for myself I was terrible at putting my health first before caring for others! I thought being of service meant sacrificing myself. Hard work is great to have but at what point will we allow it to literally burn out our bodies? That’s how burnout, resentment and long lasting fatigue happen. I know so many other healthcare workers are feeling that with the continued less than optimal working conditions. And I felt terrible for friends who said last year’s biggest lockdown in March (in Ontario) was a blessing because it forced them to get the rest they’ve been needing for months/years.
I’ve had people come to me when in physical or emotional crisis and they felt such powerful changes after! It was so good that I didn’t see them again…. until the next crisis happened weeks or months later.
It actually happened a lot working in physiotherapy. Once people saw they were healing there was this internal urge to overdue it because they felt so good instead of doing just a little at a time. It actually made them regress in their long term treatment goals despite the short term boost.
What if we changed our mindset on the definition of ‘health’? What would your body and mind feel like if you consistently made small choices for self care that could raise your threshold so when that next small or big crisis comes you could re-calibrate yourself and recover faster? That’s why carving out time for meditation, exercise, proper eating, sleep, and receiving care like Acupuncture and Zero Balancing regularly can empower YOU to embrace a life of vitality instead of crisis management. In the end you have the energy and clarity to empower yourself… and then you truly won’t need someone like me as often. Those maintenance visits will just be to keep raising that threshold of personal strength and health. That’s good!
That’s why in the old old days in China, doctors wouldn’t get paid when their patients got sick because they weren’t doing their job to keep them healthy in the first place. This is the level of care I want to bring to my patients and empower them with their own healing.