Be Healthy and Caring for Self, Others and the Planet

On the call to reimagining healthcare in the Next Economy

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

“For the next generation, and the next economy, we are like the midwife, helping them come into this world. We must give them the freedom to reimagine and recreate the system, to ask good questions and learn from the wisdom and the mistakes of the past. The new economy is not about rejecting the old. It is about addressing the unintended consequences. It is about the ephemeral nature of things, and our responsibility to improve what’s been handed to us. It is about nourishing humanity and looking after the planet. It is about everyone’s right to happiness. It is about love.” ~ Danny Almagor, The Midwife and the Hospice Worker

Every time when people ask me this ice breaker question: If you don’t have to worry about money for the rest of your life, what would you like to do?

My answer is always the same: I’ve always dreamed of becoming a writer or an editor.

So, what is stopping me from going after my dream?

Standing between me and my dream were many self-limiting beliefs stemmed from familial and societal narratives I received and subsequently internalised when I was young. I thought I did not have the skills and eloquence to write. I thought I did not have any original or smart ideas to share. I thought I would be disowned from my family if I rebelled. I thought I would not be able to “survive” in the West if I pursue a career in art and literature.

Redirecting my path from art to science was an unwilling choice, leaving a wound that I covered up with workaholism, one that my body has always remembered.

For two decades, while having a seemingly successful career in pharmacy, I was stuck in this vicious cycle, oscillating between burnout and temporary relief. Each time my body screamed louder, desperate for my attention to look deeper within.

The awakening moment came after I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2018. When neither the doctors nor medical textbooks could explain the diagnosis. When strict compliance with evidence-based treatment did not seem to improve the condition, but instead created other issues. As if my body was playing tricks and directing me to look beyond the traditional system and constructs. So, I went down the rabbit hole^¹ to search for the “real” cause behind my diagnosis.

In the quest to reclaim my health, I have discovered a world of knowledge and concepts that are seldomly discussed in mainstream practice. Mind-body-gut connection. Psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology. Epigenetics. Adverse childhood experiences. The biology of beliefs. Heart-brain coherence. Functional medicine. Medical intuitive. The political and corporate influence on the healthcare system. Health inequities based on gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability.

All the pieces started to come together and form the big picture when I did the Mastery of Business and Empathy (MBE) program last year.

Photo by Gabriel Crismariu on Unsplash

It turns out that many diseases and disorders arise through a complex interplay of physical, mental, emotional, nutritional, relational, environmental, and societal factors – disrupting the homeostasis among all the body systems needed for survival and keeping it stuck in the chronically imbalanced cycle. Modern medicine, while pivotal in saving lives and improving the quality of life, is one small part of the bigger whole in good health and good care.

The healthcare challenges we faced personally and collectively were the manifestation of broader and deeper systemic issues driven by the current economy. The endless pursuit of more wealth, more power, and more speed is destroying the planet, separating communities, and making people stressed, disconnected, and sick. Our health and wellbeing as individuals are intimately interconnected with the health and wellbeing of our communities, societies, and mostly importantly, the planet. We depend on each other.

Since completing the MBE program, I have been asking myself: What is the biggest thing I can do to contribute to good health and good care in the Next Economy?

It turns out my detour from art to science holds the key. For over two decades, I have had the opportunity to interact with the healthcare system through diverse perspectives. Not only as a pharmacist, a manager, a patient, a caregiver, and a consultant, but also as a woman of colour who lives with a disability and a “progressive chronic disease”. I have witnessed and experienced the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beauty of the system. I have also tried many different conventional and alternative treatments practised in the West and the East.

Everything is coming full circle. The call to action is right here, right now. This is why I am starting a new series Be Healthy and Caring here on Substack.

Different from my personal musings on Let’s Just Be, I will write about my lived experiences and learnings in healthcare, get curious with why we do what we do now, and dream up and weave alternative systems and narratives – with an intention to have brave conversations and take bold actions toward good health and sustainable care in the Next Economy. I imagine one day that all humans can live a nourished, purposeful and connected life in a caring community on a healthy planet.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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Thank you for reading the first post of the Be Healthy and Caring series! It feels scary to step outside of the comfort zone to write more about broader systemic issues, but I am doing it anyway. It is time to be, as Theodore Roosevelt said in 1910, “the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

1. A short (but not limited to) list of people whose researches, books and ideas have changed my life: Dr Tim Spector, Dr Michael Mosley, Dr David Unwin, Dr Roy Taylor, Sarah Wilson, Dr Jason Fong, Dr Bessel van der Kolk, Dr Gabor Mate, Fiona Murphy, Dr Deepak Chopra, Mark Wolynn, Dr Gregg Bradden, Dr Bruce Lipton, Dr Robert Lustig, Johann Hari, Dr Mark Hyman, Wendy Coulter, and Jeffrey Allen.