Henry came in to see me today. To keep compliance with HIPAA I have changed his name but his circumstances are real. Henry is like most others. He lives a busy, active life that brings along its fair share of stress. He cares for his family, his work and is genuine and kind. Over time, while he has cared for other responsibilities, he has let his health go. He eats and drinks whatever he wants when he wants. He sits all day for work and sits all night at home. His activity level is minimal. His obesity has been accompanied by diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and heart disease. Beyond his carefree diet, he has a plethora of medications to combat the wide array of symptoms. Unfortunately, he has not reached his health breaking point.
Do you know your health breaking point? When it comes to your health, every decision you make will either help improve your health or will harm your health. Your health breaking point is the point where you decide from this point forward you will make decisions that will improve your health.
Henry, like all of us, makes decisions all day long that either take him toward health or away from it. Living a life that is carefree and solely based on fulfilling momentary pleasures rarely brings us closer to health.
Let’s think about a different scenario which is similar. Suppose you have a loved one that you see making decision after decision that leads them into drugs and criminal activity. You can see the destructive behavior and the direction their life is taking. With each poor decision it brings them closer to death or prison. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes one or the other to wake them out of the fog of bad decisions. That is the breaking point.
When you’ve reached your health breaking point, you live your life knowing every decision has to be weighed. Does this action lead you more towards healing and health or towards sickness and disease? Living your life through this filter can help to reduce your dependency on medications, improve your quality of life on a daily basis and help improve the chances of a longer life.
When you are in your later years you might find yourself active and playing with your grandchildren or bed stricken and sick with comorbidities. Sometimes, even when you have tried to do it all right, life hands you a surprise bad diagnosis. For many, though, disease is provoked by poor life choices.
The best chance of having a great quality of life and a long healthy life is by living a proactive health-conscious life. Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Lower your risk of future health problems by taking a proactive stance toward your health. Don’t let your health breaking point be death. I hope Henry will start turning his life around by making choices that lead him towards a healthier future. Take action now and try to weigh every decision in favor of your health. Your future you will thank you for it.
-by Dr. Brandon Crouch
About the author: Dr. Brandon Crouch is a Chiropractor with Crouch Family Chiropractic. Dr. Crouch is an advocate for being proactive when it comes to your health and encourages people to make healthy informed decisions. For more information or questions you can contact him online at: www.crouchfamilychiro.com or find him on facebook at: www.facebook.com/CrouchFamilyChiropractic.
