Recently I attended a professional development workshop on mental health. The presenters studied and work in the field of psychology and within education and training. For me, a large foundational part of mental health is ensuring that our physical health – our bodies – are taken care of, supported and nurtured. In my experience, the two go hand-in-hand.
It seems quite strange to me when I see someone who is ‘qualified’ in a physical or mental health field or holds a position of importance or power, yet their body, movements and manner do not show signs of good health and vitality. It highlights there’s a greater problem stemming from our education on the topic, and what we have chosen to accept as true. No matter how much we ‘know’ about a subject, the body always has its own marker and gauge of whether it is working at its optimum vital level and in harmony within all other areas or not. This fact we cannot change.
On the morning of my professional development workshop I had quite a distance to drive in peak hour traffic, so I made sure that I gave myself enough time without rushing. I arrived 15 minutes early and was the first to arrive. I walked in, said hello to the two presenters and went to find a seat.
As I was choosing my seat, unpacking my belongings and setting them up just as I needed them to be for the next 8 hours – placing my drinks, pen, paper, books, computer etc. down – one of the presenters said to me, “Whoa, that’s healthy.” Immediately I knew he was referring to my vegie drink and not my herbal tea or the manner in which I set up my space, simply because it was green in colour.
Initially I felt a little awkward that my choice of drink, which was a normal for me, had been highlighted. So, at the time I smiled and replied “Mmm…” But this comment caused me to pause and got me thinking… I pondered on why his response was a “Whoa.” I recalled that I have come across this reaction quite a few times over the years with ‘healthy’ food and drink choices, either when I myself was making them or when others around me at work or in public were making them.
These types of comments are reactionary to a way of eating or drinking that is not so commonly seen or practised, thus highlighting the person who is looking after their body and consuming nutritious food as being ‘different.’ Immediately I questioned what our societal gauge is being set from. If I had come in with a sausage roll and cream bun, it is likely I would have got no comment, or perhaps one that was in favour of my food choice.
Let’s face it, making supportive food choices that nutritionally support the body is going against a current norm and way of how people commonly choose to eat in society today. We do not eat to nurture or hold our body in harmony – a fact that is shown in the continuing rise of non-communicable illness and disease rates today, such as diabetes.
If it is not common and even considered unusual for people in general to drink or eat something that is good for their bodies to a point that it stands out and gets labelled and highlighted as ‘healthy,’ then how far have we slipped away from what is true and natural for our bodies. I find it interesting that we even have this word ‘healthy’ and don’t just live as our bodies need us to live. It is a clear indicator that we base our living and vocabulary around looking after ourselves from a way that is not conducive to the true vitality of our bodies.
Why do we not seem to question the meals or food people are consuming that are clearly not supportive for the body, yet are very quick to identify those who make more supportive food choices? Imagine if people started speaking on behalf of the vitality of the body by publicly noting to other people, “Whoa, that’s really unhealthy.” I wonder if we would start to think twice about what we are putting in our bodies.
The fact is that more supportive food choices do stand out from the crowd. And this is simply because the norm, the majority, the crowd acceptably choose food that is not supportive to the body. BUT, what if the majority did eat in a way and manner that nourished and vitalised the body, allowing it to run at optimal level?
Why do we even have a perception of what ‘healthy’ is and why is it not just embedded into the way we live?
Our understanding, perception and definition of ‘being healthy’ today is actually only based on and comparable to, the very unhealthy lifestyle – the way the majority of society are choosing to live, eat, indulge in and over consume.
This to me is a type of rot when we look at the extent of the damage it does to our bodies, our perception of health, the pressure it places on our medical system and so on. The illness and disease our bodies are increasingly showing through our health statistics speak loudly of our current global choices… to the point that the definition of health in our English language dictionary is stated as “the state of being free from illness or injury.” (1) Why is health not defined as, “the body working in its true optimal and vital order, each part working in harmony and joy with all others”?
If we all naturally lived from the latter definition as being our norm, then the word ‘health’ and a definition for it would probably not exist, simply because this would just be the way it was. Caring for our bodies would be the norm.
Back to my professional development workshop and the comment from one of the presenters that started this line of pondering and blog . . . if I had the moment again to respond to his “Whoa, that’s healthy”, I probably would have replied –– “only relative to how we live today.”
By Johanna Smith, Ba Education, Diploma of Counselling, Esoteric Practitioner, Perth, Western Australia
References:
1.Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2018). health | Definition of health in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/health [Accessed 1 Aug. 2018].
Further Reading:
Eating Dis-orders
To Nourish or Bludgeon – How do we Use Food?
Living your own medicine
402 Comments
“health in our English language dictionary is stated as “the state of being free from illness or injury.” (1) Why is health not defined as, “the body working in its true optimal and vital order, each part working in harmony and joy with all others”?” My feeling is what the dictionary definition allows is to feel we can live as we are and are “healthy” and able to get away with the constant self abuse and self neglect of our bodies, and then later when something shows up it can be a sense of it being random. If the 2nd definition of vital order and harmony in the body was applied we would have to then question our every choice.
We just need to visit our hospitals and look at the shocking statistics of illness and disease to know our current perception of health is warped.
‘For me, a large foundational part of mental health is ensuring that our physical health – our bodies – are taken care of, supported and nurtured. In my experience, the two go hand-in-hand.’ this is true for me also and has been known for many years and yet is not as widely accepted in society to the point that we have acted on it collectively. Doing so would allow us to take more responsibility for our wellbeing.
The extent of ill health in society and how it impacts the health sector is enormous, looking at it with a birds eye view it is pretty obvious what we are doing and how we are living as a society can not be right.
Looking at photos of people 50 years ago, their bodies in general where a lot fitter then the bodies we have now.
Part of the joy that we live is that what is reflected will be felt by others so no need to respond other than to hold True to everything that is a True Livingness then the reflection others get is all that is needed.
“Why do we even have a perception of what ‘healthy’ is and why is it not just embedded into the way we live?”
Its crazy that something that acts as such foundation for us such as food and drink can be abused in such a way that we eat for anything other than true nourishment.
Crazy that we ignore the basics, for what use is any qualification if our bodies are not healthy?
This is so true, unfortunately many people do not eat to nurture and nourish themselves and their body, ‘We do not eat to nurture or hold our body in harmony – a fact that is shown in the continuing rise of non-communicable illness and disease rates today, such as diabetes.’
In the days when I wasn’t making loving food choices for my body, I can’t remember anyone asking me why I was eating such food, food that ‘was clearly not supportive for the body’. But when I made many changes in my diet to finally honour what my body could or not eat, I was continually singled out and asked why I was eating differently. It struck me as very strange as most knew the struggles I had been having with my digestive system for many years, but because I had chosen to step out of what was the accepted normal for our diet, people seemed to be concerned that I might be harming myself; when in truth, it was the total opposite.
I think it’s great we are having this discussion because so often people are judged by what the rest of society see or feels is uncommon or odd. There is a sort of branding that occurs because you stick out from the rest of the crowd. But as you say if we were all eating sausage rolls and a cream buns no one would notice. So from this I would say the gauge that we set our food standards is very low and it is getting lower. It’s funny how it costs more to buy a salad in a restaurant in the USA than it does to get a burger and chips with a milkshake!
Populations around the world are suffering, the majority no longer look healthy, which begs us to ask the question “what is truly going on?”
I have noticed when out and about how tired people seem and not holding a general vibrancy. We have come to see this as normal and don’t give it much attention… but we should.
It is interesting what you have realised Johanna, that when you see someone who is ‘qualified’ in a physical or mental health field or holds a position of importance or power, yet their body, movements and manner do not show signs of good health and vitality, therefore it isn’t their lived experience they are teaching from. They’ve learned their subjecting their heads, but not put it into practice in their bodies.
Someone may have all the answers and know what it is to be healthy, but if they’re not living it to some degree, I know there is something big missing and what they say maybe spot on with regard to knowledge but what’s needed isn’t fully there. It’s from someone living health in all areas of life that I learn what being healthy is.
There are many fads around food, and as people are becoming more aware of what they are eating, it is becoming fashionable to be gluten free, so gluten free products are now much more readily available in the shops. But a lot of these products are overfilled with sugar, and so unless we really discern what we are eating, we bounce from one food category to another in pursuit of health without ever eating foods that the body knows to be healthy for it at any one moment
I have received comments from colleagues about the food I take to work or the ways in which I may support myself while at work and it highlights how society has normalised a way of living in which there is an absence of any true self care / self love and as a result coffee, energy drinks and sugary foods are seen as a normal part of the diet in order to get through the day.
Well observed – what is accepter as ‘normal’ is all too often toxic to the body.
‘It seems quite strange to me when I see someone who is ‘qualified’ in a physical or mental health field or holds a position of importance or power, yet their body, movements and manner do not show signs of good health and vitality.’ very true and this can be expanded on to cover our entire systems of education. Even if what is being presented is not directly related to health and wellbeing, if it comes from a body which is not healthy and enjoying life then we are instantly deterred as it not being a way we wish to go. True teaching and education come from a way of living which means that we enjoy every day of life, are fit and healthy and live mainly free of issues. This are the people we can truly listen to and be inspired by.
‘If I had come in with a sausage roll and cream bun, it is likely I would have got no comment, or perhaps one that was in favour of my food choice.’ we go further than this and accept blatant abuse of each other and ourselves and yet being more healthy and truly loving in life is noticed and often ridiculed because it exposes the fact that this is not considered normal.
True health is our natural way of being, the fact that we are surprised when others make such choices just exposes that was has become normal is not natural for us.
When people understand that choices surrounding food and drink are not made from set of rules or a diet but rather from one’s own understanding of their own body suddenly it does not seem so strange as we all do this to some degree already. It’s just that over time, with ongoing refinement this can mean that it can appear very different to those who have not begun to live their life this way yet.
Why does it take illness or disease to evoke food advice from a medical practitioner before we heed their advice? Why don’t we listen to our bodies before medical intervention is required?
This is so awesome, the barometer of health needs to be looked at and re-assessed.
What should be normal is the ab-normal but looked up to and respected.
Yesterday I was listening to a discussion where it was stated that children have a freer life and are better off than they have ever been but the first thing that came to me is that if this is the case then why are we getting higher rates of suicide amongst the young.
True Julie, there’s something here that does not make sense… we are given so much information on health, but the guidance and structure is often conflicting what’s healthy and what’s not. Research shows that there are more people who have mental health issues than ever before.
Any judgement whether ‘nice’ or ‘mean’ is a judgement and judgement keeps us from taking responsibility for our choices. It also almost always leads to either jealousy, comparison or competition – some of the greatest ills for humanity.
Judgement helps keep us separate; bringing in more and more appreciation for self and others is a wiser choice.
Children know very early what they do and do not like to eat and yet it is easy to observe how it is adults who get them into habits of eating unhealthy food, even if ‘only as a treat’ which the children themselves would not choose.
I have met the yo-yo people who believe they are living and eating healthy and then go off the rails and gorge themselves with unhealthy food that requires them to abuse their body at the gym. Is this how we have evolved and think we are living a healthy lifestyle?
Marketing plays a huge part in what we think is healthy but all the hidden sugar in foods and misdirection would not be in place if we did not turn a blind eye.
Great questions – why is it that doing what ‘should’ be everyone’s normal, stands out in the crowd these days? Could it be that we have been on a sliding scale of self care and self love and what used to be a normal level of care has now become the ‘top of the line’ way to live, an exception and difficult to achieve by most? This is a scary thought, especially whilst we consider ourselves to be advancing as a society with all the technological inventions etc, and yet our self care has slipped so many notches and we have forgotten some basics to sustain us. Perhaps it is time revise what advance actually means in society?
Health is a word that has so many meanings and as you have so beautifully shared here Johanna, in our current world, it will mean whatever you are speaking in relation to such as a healthy green drink being one person’s marker of health, where your marker of healthy was the care and love you had taken to prepare yourself for the day. No wonder there is so much mis-communication and mis-understandings in our world when the words we use have lost their true meaning.
At my work place my healthy lifestyle which includes the way I eat, going to bed by 9pm and getting up early is part of an ongoing questioning from other staff with a perspective that ‘there is something wrong ‘ with me. I live in a way that is loving of my body and still know I can be healthier yet the world sees me as ‘odd’. We have drifted so far from what is natural and caring of our body, our physical and mental wellness and the statistics of illness and disease are reflecting this with increasing obesity and multi-symptoms of ill-health. I am reflecting the norm but it is not accepted as that and this brings up so many questions. Why do people need to be shown or instructed on health when all they need to do is listen to and respond to what their own body is asking for – great blog, thanks Johanna.
We don’t get taught to be led by our heart, instead it is accepted that we run with being led by our mouth. This is seen by most as fully acceptable. We have a global obesity crisis because of this.
“The fact is that more supportive food choices do stand out from the crowd. And this is simply because the norm, the majority, the crowd acceptably choose food that is not supportive to the body” Super sad that as a society so many of us choose to harm ourselves with food.
I feel amazing and look pretty hot too and I know its because I look after myself and eat well, I aint perfect and sometimes I eat not for nutrition but overall I am consistent and with that comes a vitality and love for life that I would never want to give up.
So beautifully shared, I agree that the way we see health is upside down. And that we have really lost the marker of what it is to be healthy and what it is to have a glowing glorious body full of health.
As awareness of smoking and its ill effects has been more widely absorbed I am sure that collectively, at some point in the future, our awareness of eating junk food, prepared meals and sugary foods will also take hold as we will also accept that they too damage our health, and that taste and convenience does not outweigh how we make our body feel.
Yes this will happen and then like with smoking we will try and sort it out without going to the heart of the matter… which looks something like learning to embrace the responsibility we have to love and take care of ourselves like we never have before.
It never ceases to amaze me how we as a humanity can promote all sorts of things without looking in our own backyard to see if we are in fact doing what we are promoting – or not.
To be truly healthy, we need a consistency of honesty, transparency, openness and humility, a way of life throughout the day and night, 24/7, where we look at the constant reflections we receive and are constantly working on ourselves to evolve to the best of our ability.
It seems we have got into a situation where by we define health by an absence of serious illness and disease and as long as we can get out of bed in the morning and make it through the day we consider ourselves healthy, irrespective of how we felt in that day or how many pills or other treatments we needed to take to get through the day or the quality of life or work we experienced. We need to have another look at this and re-evaluate our definition and our relationship with health and wellbeing.
Well said Andrew – the meaning of health and wellbeing has shifted so far from the truth that we are accepting so much less.
I am always inspired by the loving movements/choices of another and not what another says. Words are empty without a livingness of truth behind them.
So well said Caroline. Words are empty unless they are lived.
If words are not lived in actions and movements they can only carry the energetic intention, imprint and its source.
One’s livingness is felt before it is seen or heard.
I read in the newspapers today on the front page how the ‘horrific rise in obesity surgery threatens the NHS,’ and they performed 41,000 operations on obese patients last year for hip and knee replacements. Some doctors are now trying to class obesity as a disease, rather than a lifestyle choice, that we take rather than look at the result of our lack of responsibility for our own health. Obviously, obesity is a complex issue and there is no blame attached here, but there are often underlying causes and it is interesting how we can duck what is staring us in the face if we choose to.
Why do we fool ourselves about trying to live a healthy lifestyle by having a skinny cappuccino or eating a whole bag of salt-free snacks or a glutton and dairy free muffin that is full of sugar?
Avoiding responsbility.
Because we try to fool ourselves into thinking that we are really improving ourselves and getting better when in reality we are motivated by the same need to avoid living who we are in truth.
You highlight the point very well here, Steve. I was one of those people a few years ago. I kidded myself that because I had veggies or salad with my lunch and dinner I had a healthy diet. I conveniently ignored the copious amount of chocolate, crisps, cake and sugar I ate in between. At the time, I would have insisted that I was fine! It was only when my body showed signs of a problem (hypoglycaemia) that I had to get more honest.