How do you approach the care of your health? Do YOU take care of it at all, or do you let others take care of it for you? Do you even care about your health? There are three separate ways in how to deal with your health and the questions surrounding its care. They are Reactive, Preventative, or Proactive in nature. I chose these three words, because they all end with the suffix ‘-ive’, which means to “express a tendency”. A tendency, or habit, becomes interwoven into our life, no matter the circumstance. We have lost the natural habit of health in our modern society, and we have to relearn this vital intelligence.
Before you answer the question “How do you take care of your health?”, it is important to know the definition of ‘health’ in order to know what you should be attentive to. I’ve expanded on this idea of defining ‘health’ in other writings, but will summarize the World Health Organization’s definition of health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” It is important to realize that ‘being well’ is more than a tangible disease or infirmity; no matter if it is physical, mental or social in the cause. Health is more than the sum of its parts.
The first approach is ‘reactive healthcare’. Reactive healthcare’s intention, or plan, is only expressed as an offensive action against sickness, symptoms, and/or disease. Another way I like to call it is “idle survival”. With this approach, it ignores sickness and disease completely until it happens and then tries to react against it. This is not considered healthcare, but is considered ‘sickcare.’ With this approach, you wait until you get sick or can’t put up with the disease any longer, then you try and search for a cure. The modern American “healthcare” system is based on this approach. This makes sickness the starting point and disease the entity.
The second approach is ‘preventative healthcare’. Its intention is expressed as a defensive action against sickness, symptoms and/or disease. Another way to phrase it is “dynamic survival”. This approach knows that sickness will happen, but doesn’t know when. This is a pushback against sickcare, and it could be considered a step in the right direction. Certain aspects of the American healthcare system are starting to move into this realm. Some of the interventions though are reactive approaches disguised as preventative. Some examples include prescription drug use for blood pressure, cholesterol, or depression. These are promoted as “preventive medicine” or “drugs to keep you well” when in actuality they are still masking symptoms and not getting to the root cause of the problem.
The third approach, and the most beneficial, is ‘proactive healthcare’. The intention of proactive healthcare is expressed as an offensive action of wellness to sustain health. Other names for it are “dynamic thrival” and Salutogenesis. This approach creates good before any bad occurs. This flips the American healthcare system, or reactive healthcare on its head. Just as darkness is the absence of light; disease is the absence of health. Health is our entity and starting point. If we wanted to sustain a fire and the light and warmth it produces, we must continually activate it; giving to it the right fuel to reap its benefits. If we want to sustain vitality and the health and happiness it produces, we must continually activate it; giving to it the right fuel to reap its benefits.
This is the apex of the Chiropractic health model. The health of our body is controlled by how well our Nerve System functions. It is my goal to make sure your Nerve System can express at its greatest potential. If we are not starting with a fully expressive Nerve System, our functional potential of health cannot be maximized. The Nerve System is that initial “spark” in the fire analogy. We could saturate dry wood in gasoline on a windy day; but if our wet matches can’t ignite the spark, we will not produce a fire. No combustion, no energy. No energy, no motion; and motion is life. Chiropractic helps you express more life. Take the action to express your potential.
Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.
