BUILD CONFIDENCE, NOT CONCERN

Photo by mali maeder on Pexels

“Thousands upon thousands of persons have studied disease. Almost no one has studied health.” —Adelle Davis

MEASURING ILLNESS BUILDS CONCERN

Measuring health begins early in life, in the delivery room, as a newborn’s birth time, weight, length, respiration, and temperature are measured and logged. When the data confirms that the baby’s off to a healthy start, parents and health providers are thrilled. This practice continues into childhood with growth and developmental milestone assessments completed during pediatrician visits.

But at some point, typically without our awareness, healthcare’s focus shifts from prioritizing wellness to scrutinizing actual or potential health issues. This sets the stage for healthcare visits to generate more concern than confidence and for the meaning of health to become associated more with illness than healthiness. The media’s focus on disease and health experts’ frequent warnings may even strengthen the association.

Unfortunately, without a balanced perception of health—one based on an objective understanding of threats and opportunities—we may over-emphasize illness and overlook opportunities for producing healthiness. As Susan Sontag writes, “Ours is an age which consciously pursues health, and yet only believes in the reality of sickness.”

While there is no easy way to remedy this imbalance, measuring health may be a good place to start.

MEASURING HEALTH BUILDS CONFIDENCE

Measuring health is complicated by the fact that as a state of being, healthiness is measured indirectly through outward signs. For example, we can assess the quantity and quality of physical and non-physical abilities that we use in daily life as indicators of health. Higher quality abilities derive from higher levels of health.

Although the idea of measuring healthiness may not be familiar to most of us, there are reliable methods for doing so. These methods range from laboratory fitness testing of VO2 max to self-assessment questionnaires adapted from psychological research protocols that measure performance of a variety of abilities.

Self-assessment questionnaires are inexpensive, easy to administer, and widely used. Participants answer a small set of multiple-choice questions; their responses are analyzed according to validated protocols; and immediate feedback is provided. Three examples of questions used to measure levels of personal energy, composure, and fitness are listed below.

1. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 means you can hardly move and 10 means you can hardly contain yourself, how much energy do you have right now? (measures energy)

2. The last time you felt “under pressure,” how easy was it to breathe normally? (measures composure)

3. Right now, what is your ability to climb 5 flights of steps at your usual walking pace? (measures fitness)

Answering targeted questions periodically, over at least 12 weeks, can generate reliable healthiness trends as the hypothetical—though realistic—graphs below illustrate for people who are learning how to build health, for more experienced practitioners, and for master builders of healthiness.

BELIEVING IN THE REALITY OF HEALTHINESS

“Belief, in my own case anyway, is the engine that makes perception operate.” —Flannery O’Connor

Our efforts to measure healthiness may have started strong in the delivery room, but after stalling they were abandoned as illness became healthcare’s primary focus. Along the way, our belief and confidence in healthiness deteriorated, and effective strategies for building higher levels of healthiness have failed to take hold.

We are now at a crossroads where a belief in healthiness is desperately needed to balance an illness-dominated health perception and spark meaningful investment in building healthiness. Using modern tools to assess whether our levels of health are high, mid-range, or low can lead to rebuilding our confidence, reducing illness-related anxiety, and boosting motivation for cultivating health.

While effective methods for measuring health exist, they are not well known or easy to access but the High Health Network—which understands the reality of healthiness—makes accessing them easy and affordable. If you or your company want to maximize your health, contact us and find out how.

Joyce M. Young, MD, MPH
Managing Director, Advanced Wellness Systems
Lead Expert for the High Health Network

 Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels

Your colleagues at Advanced Wellness Systems