How to Make Health Decisions with Peace and Clarity

Health is such an overwhelming topic. Sometimes we get to make decisions slowly and methodically about our health care and sometimes we have to make them very quickly. The amount of information and opinions can cause confusion and doubt.

But there is a way to make decisions based on your values and an understanding of the healthcare system. Keep reading to learn more 🙂

Create a set of filters for all decisions to flow through.

I was first introduced to the concept of filtering questions from an episode of The Kate and Mike Show called “The Focus Formula.” It is simple, but requires some thought and reflection. The idea is to come up with 3-5 “yes or no” questions based on your values to filter all of your decisions through. Once these filters are in place, any decision you make (not just health related) becomes easier, because you don’t have to think about it so much.

My filtering questions:

Does it support my overall health and vitality?
Does it support my marriage?
Does it promote healthy living (for my patients, clients, general population) following the World Health Organization’s definition of health?
Is it sustainable/environmentally friendly/not as bad as what we’re currently doing to the planet?

You can change your mind.

Your questions and answers to your questions will evolve with time. That is ok. As long as you are living in alignment with your values, peace and clarity will come.

Consider the source.

“When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
Abraham Maslow

This saying is attributed to Abraham Maslow and his work on cognitive bias. The topic has come up in continuing education I have attended. The instructors urge us not to over-rely on any one treatment or evaluation philosophy.

Recognizing that each health care provider is inherently biased by their training can bring immense clarity in your decision making.

As a physical therapist, I am always going to look at the body in terms of its structures, alignment, and movement patterns. It is what I was trained to do.

Physicians are going to look at labs, imaging, and a physical exam of vital organs. They, by and large, will offer medication and surgery. Because that is what they are trained to do.

Nutritionists and naturopaths are going to offer dietary changes and supplements.

Acupuncturists are going to offer acupuncture and herbs.

Chiropractors will offer spinal adjustments.

Etcetera, etcetera.

I think it is important to have grace and understanding with these providers. They are often working in compressed time windows and are treating us in the best way that they know how.

Understand the role and value of research. And its limitations.

Health research is a very important thing. Whenever possible, I believe we should follow where the research is leading us.

There are, however, a few things to consider:

The more individualized the care, the harder it is to perform a robust study.

A few years ago, I performed a literature review to update our staff on physical therapy management of Parkinson’s Disease. I found several randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews (the highest level of research) on Tai Chi, treadmill walking, and even the Argentine Tango showing benefits, but very little high quality evidence for physical therapy management. I was surprised, because I often see dramatic improvements in my patients with Parkinson’s. But I realized that I treat each patient individually. No two patients actually get the same course of care, so how could it be studied in a controlled, systematic way?

Drugs, surgeries, and strict protocols are easiest to study in this sense, because you can clearly compare two groups of people – those who got the intervention and those who didn’t. Holistic, integrative care is more complicated and nuanced, making it harder to put into protocol form for a study.

I’ll often hear, “there is no evidence to support _________,” especially when people are skeptical of holistic approaches to health. That statement is often intended to close a conversation, but it could actually mean a few different things.

This is no evidence because the thing in question has been disproven. (What most people assume.) Or,
There is no evidence because the thing in question has not been adequately studied. Or,
They are not aware of the evidence that does exist.

In my 8th grade Science class, we did a whole trimester on the Chesapeake Bay. One day my teacher asked us if there were any crocodiles in the Chesapeake Bay. Most of the class said “No!” He pushed us, “How do you know? Are you constantly observing every part of the bay?” The point he was making is that you only have to observe one crocodile one time to prove that there are crocodiles in the bay. But you can never completely disprove the existence of crocodiles in the bay. You can only collect enough observations of no crocodiles to make an educated guess that there are no crocodiles.

Disproving is hard. It happens sometimes, but not very frequently.

More often than not, it is really a question of inadequate study or lack of awareness of evidence. Research is expensive and relies on grant money or funding from industry. Keeping up with the research as a provider is also challenging. Time, energy, access to journals, and thinking outside of one’s own discipline are always barriers.

I hope you’ll think twice the next time someone tells you “there’s no evidence…”

Healing vs. cure.

I think I heard it first from Caroline Myss. There can be healing without a cure. Our bodies age and break down. Sometimes there is no cure. It is the most inevitable thing in life, but it is so hard for us to accept.

To me, healing is often slower, but more complete and robust. It impacts our physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Healing one thing does not adversely impact another.

Pursuing a cure, on the other hand, can be more unidimensional and short-sighted.

Much of the current health care (or “sick care”) system is focused on cures as opposed to healing. In general I favor healing. I’m tired of putting band-aids on things and only addressing physical disease and dysfunction. But there may be times when a cure mindset is appropriate.

It may be helpful to ask yourself, “Do I want to be healed or cured?” The answer will likely be different depending on the scenario. Refer back to your filtering questions for guidance.

For our first anniversary we planned a trip to Nice, France. We were scheduled to leave on a Friday evening. That Tuesday I came down hard with a cold and muddled through the next few days hoping it would go away. By Friday morning, I was really worried that I wasn’t going to make the trip. I didn’t care about deep healing, I just needed to make the flight. I went to urgent care and gladly accepted the drug cocktail they recommended for me.

At that moment, I decided it was best for my overall health and for my marriage to go on vacation than to work through the underlying causes as to why I was getting sick in the first place.