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When Normal Isn't Natural
By Christin Snyder, Thu Dec 8th
Many of us suffer from chronic symptoms and disease. It isn’tvery often you hear someone say they feel great and there are noproblems. Most people will complain of suffering from at leastone of a whole range of symptoms -stress, headaches, heartburn,and the list goes on and on. We are bombarded daily byadvertisements for medications for numerous symptoms likeanxiety, depression, and various physical maladies. As a societywe have begun to accept disease as being natural, and that iswhere many of us unknowingly tolerate unacceptable conditionsunder the guise of “normalcy”. This concept permeates many areasof our lives, not merely physical health. Just because somethingis widespread, does not make it natural or normal. As a Naturopath, I advocate, “whole being wellness”. I believeall parts work together to make us whole, and that each aspectdirectly affects the others. The whole being consists of several“bodies”, the mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.When we suffer from depression or chronic anger, the effects ofthat stress will also manifest in the physical body throughvarious symptoms. The reverse is also true. When toxins aretaken into the body; it must work overtime to rid itself ofthese poisons. The resulting fatigue may affect the ability tothink clearly and concentrate, or cause depression orirritability. Although Allopathic medicine does recognize many of thesecorrelations, physical symptoms still continue to be treated asstand-alone disorders. The underlying factors are not usuallytaken into consideration. These diseases are lumped together andtreated in “textbook” fashion. As individuals, each of us willhave numerous combinations of different variables thatcontribute to the state of our health. How can it be effectiveto lump everyone with a particular group of symptoms into thesame general category? Naturopathy recognizes this, and seeks totreat the whole person, considering all aspects of theindividual’s lifestyle and habits, not only the physicalmanifestations of illness.
It is my belief through my studies and my own life experiencethat the majority of diseases are merely the symptoms of adeeper underlying problem. For example, in my teens I wasdiagnosed with and Clinical Depression. I was angry alot, always tired, and irritable. I was sent to a psychiatristto talk about my feelings and receive medication. The pills Iwas given not only didn’t help; they made me feel even moreworn-out, which in turn increased my anger and depression. I wasnever asked any extensive questions regarding my diet; sleephabits, activity level, or anything else that directly affectedmy lifestyle. In typical textbook fashion I was labeled andgiven the standard, across the board treatment for depression. Iwas led to believe that depression was “normal” and for whateverreason I must be less than normal if I did not respond to thestandard treatment. I felt destined to live a life where I wouldalways feel unhealthy, and that very belief system itself wasproblematic. My was very much the same. I was given a slew of chemicalinhalants and put on pills to “control” my asthma. I wasconvinced it was natural for some people to not be able tobreathe without the aid of manmade chemical devices. As theyears went by, my worsened as my body began to develop atolerance for the various drugs I was given. It wasn’t until Ibegan to study holistic health and naturopathy that I learnedsome interesting facts about the lungs. When there are
high acidlevels in the body, the body works hard to rid itself of theexcess by secreting it through the lungs to be exhaled out ofthe body. I had been told for years that aerobic exercise wouldstrengthen my lungs, and every time I would try to run or engagein strenuous physical activity I would end up having severeasthma attacks. It turns out the body produces more acid duringextreme physical exertion. An already saturated body will thenhave that much more toxin to deal with. The better choice for mewas diet modification and light to moderate activity. I spentyears not knowing this because the accepted scientific “norm”doesn’t recognize this particular correlation. Upon learning this, I began to incorporate many morealkaline-based foods into my diet. I started drinking sufficientamounts of water, enabling my body to cleanse more toxinsthrough the kidneys. I ate less of the prepackaged junk food andcut red meat completely out of my diet. I learned Easternmethods of breath control and enhancement. The result? My asthmaand synthetic drugs no longer run my life; I manage my breathingby balancing the Ph level of my body. I no longer take pillsbecause I don’t need them. I use an inhaler a few times a monthat worst, as opposed to a few times per day, which was the“norm” when I was only treating myself through conventionalmethods. Empowering myself was perhaps the best medicine of all.I no longer felt victimized by illness, for the first time Ifelt in control of my own health and not at the mercy ofmedicine. Doctors don’t tell us a lot of these things, because it is not apart of the “normal” treatment plan. This is not a condemnationof allopathic medicine. It certainly has its place. It also hasits restrictions based on the judgments of insurance companiesand what they deem as acceptable treatments. My biggest concernhowever comes when one branch of treatment insists its methodsare the only right way. We are not all born the same, so how canit follow that all treatment be the same? It makes no sense, andI believe fully and will always advocate the need for balancebetween nature and science. My life was enhanced on many levelsthrough the introduction of natural methods of prevention andtreatment in addition to allopathic medicines. When my health was at its worst, it’s not a real surprise thatso was my diet. In my teens, my daily diet consisted of a lot ofpackaged foods, fast food, soda and candy. I never drank water.Fresh fruits and vegetables were a rare shock to my system. Iwas feeding myself a never-ending supply of poisons and thenwondering why I felt bad almost all the time. I didn’t realizethat I was chronically malnourished and dehydrated, and that wasthe underlying root cause of my other conditions. The best offense against disease, depression, and otherlife-robbing conditions is a good defense. Education andawareness are essential to whole-being wellness. Build the body,mind, and soul through conscious awareness of your choices andactions and how they affect you on all levels. Empower yourselfand trust your intuition. Understand that not all symptoms arediseases, and that disease is not a natural state. Health is ournatural state and many of us may have to reverse years ofchronic abuse through misinformation to return our natural stateback to the “normal“one.
About the author:Christin Snyder is an author and “whole being wellness” advocatewhose mission is helping others reach their fullest potential.Visit her website today for empowerment exercises and healingactivities designed to help you live a life of joy and peace.http://www.dailypowerwords.com
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