The Treatment Is Not the Cure

When we don’t recognize the signs of dis-ease, and instead treat or obscure our symptoms, we will be led to the next stop on the Wellness Continuum: disability. The word “dis-ability” means to be unable to perform or to become separate from our natural ability to express health.

Used with permission, "Wellness Workbook", © 1981, 1988, 2004 by John W. Travis.

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Disability manifests with multiple symptom patterns in all forms of named diseases. When functional imbalance exists in the body for a long period of time, several of the body’s systems can no longer compensate for the imbalance. Disability occurs when the involved systems become unable to perform their normal functions. When we reach the level of disability, another level of vitality is lost.

Most diseases are diagnosed by the variety of symptoms that are present. The more complex the pattern of symptoms, the more systems in the body are involved. In medicine, the more complex the disease, the more complex the treatment. In my practice, it is not unusual to see a new patient taking anywhere from six to twelve medications at once in an attempt to manage their symptoms and treat their disease.

The progression of disease and the symptoms involved are really evidence of the body’s attempt at resolution. When our health degenerates to the level of disability, it indicates that the body has lost much of its vitality, and unless a major shift in perspective occurs, the body is unlikely to recover. Whether the body is expressing a single symptom or a group of symptoms that comprise a syndrome, disability represents unresolved functional problems in the body.

Living on the illness side of the continuum is unfulfilling, dangerous, and
extremely expensive. If you find yourself present there, for whatever reason, it is important that you move across the neutral point as quickly as possible into the realm of health. On the wellness side of the continuum, awareness is the starting point; however, awareness is usually excluded in our current understanding of health.

The wellness paradigm is not meant to replace the illness paradigm, but to work in conjunction with it. If we are ill, then our priority must be to correct the cause of our functional problems and return to the wellness side of the continuum. You alone have the ability to move in the direction of vibrant health by implementing the principles and practices of wholeness. Your body is simply waiting for you to
lead the way.

The next step on the road to health involves education. With so much to learn about your body, mind, heart, and spirit, hopefully this stage of development remains active for the rest of your life. I have been in
the health field for over thirty years and I still find each day a new learning experience.

If you are paying attention and looking in the right direction for health, you will find your education coming from many different sources. Classes and courses, offered through your local community, frequently offer help understanding how your body works and how you can work along with it. Remember: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This
whole process is much like charting one’s course on a sailing ship: To determine where you are and where you are headed , you want to use the stars, the land, the wind, the weather, your instruments, your senses, and your gut feelings.

MAY = The Wellness Continuum - Part 3

Make Practical Use of Your Education

This brings us to the last stage on the Wellness Continuum: growth. Growth is the ability to put into practice what you have learned through awareness and education.

Check back for more after May 1. See you then!