Is being disease-free the same as being truly healthy? Some people seem to think so but let’s take a closer look.

A person can suffer from symptoms like migraine headaches, chronic constipation, one cold after another, digestive problems and feel tired most of the time and still get a clean bill of health from the doctor.

How is that possible? Within the accepted parameters of his profession and according to his training no disease or chronic problem is discernable.

Does that mean the doctor is incompetent? No, he is simply doing as much as his training and education equip him to do. If the tests results say everything is OK and his examination does not prove otherwise then you must be fine.

The truth is that allopathic doctors are trained to detect and fight disease in very specific ways. They are not trained to help you maintain optimal health. Doctors generally do not get involved until a patient’s health has been seriously compromised or tests indicate an impending health risk.

For some reason our culture has confused fighting disease with being healthy. They even call it “health care.” Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it “lack of health care.” Real health care implies that a healthy person is taking steps to maintain or care for their healthy condition. While we’re at it, the term health insurance is also misleading. The real truth is we don’t need it as long as we are healthy.

Being healthy obviously includes the absence of disease. But a truly healthy person does not suffer from symptoms like migraine headaches, constipation, catching one cold after another, persistent digestive problems or feeling tired all the time.

These types of symptoms may or may not indicate the presence of disease but they certainly do indicate a health problem. Our body is telling us we need to care for our health and if we refuse to listen that’s when “lack of health care” comes in.

When we are blessed with good health we feel good. That is because health is not limited to our physical condition. Our mental emotional and physical conditions all come under the general category of personal health.

Good physical health has a positive impact on our emotions and outlook just as poor health has a negative impact on these same areas.

Think back to a time when you were sick for several days or even weeks. How did you feel emotionally? After awhile did you start to feel depressed wondering if you would ever feel good again?

Most people can remember such an experience and would prefer to avoid repeating it. That memory is not based solely on the physical discomfort they experienced but the mental and emotional discomfort as well.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that the opposite is also true? When we feel vibrantly healthy and energetic we also feel happy and mentally alert.

The memories of good health usually do not stand out because when we feel good we tend to keep busy with activities that capture our attention. It’s only when we feel poorly and are forced to abandon those activities that we focus on our health.

Now let’s imagine how easily we could elevate the quality of our everyday life with genuine health care. That means taking steps on a daily basis to appreciate and care for our personal health instead of ignoring it until there is a problem to be fixed.

In reality, the responsibility for our personal health is our own. If we try to push that responsibility off on a doctor who is trained to fight disease we will probably be disappointed with the results.

If we are willing to accept that responsibility ourselves, then satisfying results are much more likely.

Yes, this will require that we put forth some additional effort. First we need to acquire the knowledge necessary to make competent decisions about our own health. Then we must be willing to take positive action based on our newly acquired knowledge.

Is the effort worthwhile? That really depends on whether you want to enjoy your life or just suffer through it. When someone asks you, “how do you feel?” will you to be able to say with all honesty “I feel great” or will you be satisfied with the reply “well, I have not been diagnosed with any disease so I guess I am healthy enough.” As always, it’s up to you.