Today's post first appeared in November, 2007, and has had a few minor revisions an additions.
During
my years of medical training, which consisted almost entirely of managing
patients with acute or chronic illnesses in a hospital setting, it was easy to
imagine that life was over run with disease and illness. It was only after entering
private practice did I appreciate that most people are not sick, and do not
have low blood counts, abnormal renal studies, or abnormal chest X-rays’. Abnormal laboratory results that were
commonplace in the hospital would “stick out like a sore thumb” in my office
practice.
I began to see the randomness of disease and illness. Yes, there are habits and behaviors that may promote well-being, but there are no guarantees; we are all vulnerable to the vagaries of genetics, circumstances, and chance. With some exceptions, there is little reason to take credit for good health or blame for poor health. Thus I have learned to appreciate my own good health, and that of my family, and not take it for granted.
I have also seen the amazing resilience of the human machine and its ability to compensate and/or overcome a variety of physical and emotional assaults. The symptoms of many illnesses are a direct result of our bodies attempt to overcome the offending insult. This has led me to believe that good health is more than the absence of disease and illness. A healthy body is one that can withstand an illness and effectively compensate for the insults of disease.
I began to see the randomness of disease and illness. Yes, there are habits and behaviors that may promote well-being, but there are no guarantees; we are all vulnerable to the vagaries of genetics, circumstances, and chance. With some exceptions, there is little reason to take credit for good health or blame for poor health. Thus I have learned to appreciate my own good health, and that of my family, and not take it for granted.
I have also seen the amazing resilience of the human machine and its ability to compensate and/or overcome a variety of physical and emotional assaults. The symptoms of many illnesses are a direct result of our bodies attempt to overcome the offending insult. This has led me to believe that good health is more than the absence of disease and illness. A healthy body is one that can withstand an illness and effectively compensate for the insults of disease.
The patients that I
found difficult to deal with were those who could not understand why they were ill
because they lived a “healthy lifestyle”, ate the right foods, and exercised. They demanded to be treated and cured
immediately. (Yes, there are
people like that.)
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