A straightforward, no nonsense guide to ultimate health

Guest post by Lauren Breau, L.Ac, acupuncturist at Wildwood Community Acupuncture 

So, an acupuncturist walks into a bar …

Actually, just kidding. This acupuncturist isn’t walking into any bar, seeing as I’m on my 3^rd day of Zithromax for a nasty cold that turned into a sinus infection and sent me running into the arms of biomedicine. 

Yes, I get sick occasionally. And yes, I see my doctor when I have no more tricks to pull from my hat, and in this particular situation, I needed the help of my stethoscoped, lung-listening doctor who said “Hmmm” when he shone his light into one nostril and “Ahhhh” when he shone it into the other.

Health is an endlessly fascinating topic — and my relationship with it is constantly evolving, both as a practitioner and a regular ol’ human. Since I work in a community clinic that treats all patients regardless of income or insurance status, I see about 100 people a week. My patients are a decent cross-section of the population, which means I’m reminded daily that people have vastly different ways of conceptualizing health.

This also means that about a dozen times a day I’m asked very challenging questions about health and illness. Patients ask me about what they should eat, they ask me about what they should do for exercise — they want to know if they should take specific vitamins or herbs or whether or not they should eat meat. They occasionally ask the most loaded question of all: Do you think acupuncture can fix me?

Like my nostril-gazing biomedical doctor, my first response is to want to say “Hmmm.”

I can say this — I do believe that we have an inherent capacity for maintaining personal health. Of course, everyone needs extra help when his or her health takes a dive or continues to dip in the form of a chronic disease. The only homogenized answer I can give, when it comes down to the question of how to embody health, is something like this: There are many ways to maintain your personal health and if anyone ever tells you that their way is the only way … RUN!

I can already hear cries of contention, so let me explain in more detail. Of course, there are some general pieces of advice that we’d all be keen to follow and I’m sure you’re familiar with them. You know, the basic stuff: eat fiber, move your body, don’t stay in crappy relationships. There are basic building blocks to healthy living — but these aren’t the kinds of answers for which my patients are looking. People want cold hard specific advice, unwavering guidelines by which to live. In other words, if you know the rules of the game, your chances of winning are increased. So, tell me … how can I live forever?

Here’s the tricky part. It’s an essential tenet of Traditional Chinese Medicine to recognize difference. In other words, an acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist would never in a million years expect to give two patients the same treatment or the same dietary advice or the same exercise regimen. There is no “one size fits all” concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is, however, a fundamental belief that we arrive at the playing board with a host of strengths and weaknesses that are highly individualized. Combine that with the thousands of smaller choices we make on a daily basis and suddenly you’ve got an awesomely complex puzzle standing in front of you, wondering if he/she should consume 10 pounds of kale a week because this one website said (insert inflated claims).

Since I’m completely incapable of writing one of those awful generic lists you’ll so often stumble across (e.g., 10 Things You Can Do To Stay Healthier, Skinnier and Richer Than Your Neighbor), I’ve created a list of some of the patterns and roadblocks I’ve observed in the community clinic setting — the kinds of unhealthy thinking that seem to interfere with my patients’ ability to get well.

I will say that the most common roadblock is a relatively simple one. I’ve observed that health suffers most when patients lose their ability to trust themselves and forget the fact that they know their body best. Their ability to tune in to that small, quiet voice within — that inherent capacity to answer their own basic questions of how to embody wellness — is often slowly, yet incessantly drowned out by a culture that too often breeds shame, judgment and unreal expectations. Combine that with a barrage of conflicting information on health and you’ve got one seriously discouraged patient — understandably so. They stop listening to everything, including their own internal healing capacity.

Figuring out what it is that your body needs and advocating accordingly (seeking help that best suits your needs) is the first thing to do if you’re not feeling well. That being said — I understand that finding help can be incredibly difficult since the state of our health care system is abysmally unfair to many (most). But try not to shrink away from finding health — instead, make a clamor! Speak loud and proud about the fact that you are looking for help and be specific. The more honest you are about your needs, the more likely it is that someone who can help you will hear your grievances and extend a hand.

Now — some real life examples about what I’m talking about since everyone loves an anecdote!

COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED BY MY PATIENTS

What should I eat?

Check out this scenario!

Patient: “I am craving orange things — tangerines, sweet potatoes and carrots — but my extreme