For most of us, the anticipation of the coming months is a time to gather with family, share in the blessings of the year and celebrate the traditions of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yet for some, this time of year brings added stress and the “inevitable” coughing, sneezing, fever ridden nights and blah’s that have become so much of the expectation of this time of year.
How is it that the joys of the holiday season have become saddled with the expectation of illness in what has now become “sick season?”
Well - first we have to look at the terms “wellness” and “sickness” and maybe shift our paradigm a bit.
Let me ask you this... say you went out for dinner last night and ate a piece of fish, noticing that it didn’t really taste quite right. You finish your meal, but it isn’t long and your stomach starts to gurgle and churn. You decide to skip the movie and go straight home and by the time you get there, you are feeling really queasy and looking a little green in the face. Moments later, you find yourself vomiting, you have a fever, and your body is achy... ARE YOU SICK???
Lets consider another scenario. A woman in her early 30’s is in the best shape of her life. She has been training and running every day for over a year and a half. The big day arrives, the gun goes off and it’s official, she’s running her first ever marathon. She feels great throughout the run and even finishes 5 minutes ahead of her projected goal. She is elated and feels on top of the world, even the next morning, her stiffness is minimal and she decides that this will become an annual event. She basks in the glow, realizing that she has set a goal and accomplished something few others could even think of doing. 10 days later she goes in to see her doctor for her annual checkup and leaves feeling better than ever. Only later that day, her phone rings and the doctor is calling with the results of her mammogram... CANCER.
Which of these two people is sick??
The second woman is in her peak physical condition, never has pain, and appears to be a living example of good health. The first person, is clearly distraught. They are spending the night hunched over the toilet in obvious misery... how can that be healthy?
The trouble with these scenarios is that our culture, and even modern medicine has convinced us that if you “feel bad” you are sick, and if you “feel good” or are absent of any obvious symptoms, you must be well. Nothing could be further from the truth!
According to Dorland’s medical dictionary, Health is ‘a condition of optimum physical, social, mental, and spiritual well being - not merely the absence of disease or infirmities’.
You see, the first person feels terrible but is actually doing the healthiest thing possible in that moment. They ate a piece of fish that likely contained a bacteria that is not congruent with our being able to live and thrive... so the body mounted a defense and got rid of it. The vomiting is the quickest way to get it out of the system without letting it even go through the complete digestive process. The fever is the body’s way of raising the temperature above where the bacterial organism is able to live, thus rendering it destroyed.
The second person feels great, yet there is a destructive disease process that is rearing up inside of her, despite her obvious attempts to stay in shape. There is a disconnect between what is happening in her body and what her brain is able to recognize as harmful.
So what does this all have to do with “sick season?”
It’s really pretty easy. In order to be truly healthy, we must think of Dorland’s medical dictionary and the true definition of health. Optimum physical, social, mental and spiritual wellbeing. We must exercise and eat or supplement correctly, we must maintain our social and mental wellbeing by getting a good mix of interaction and rest. We must also take time to focus on our own spiritual wellbeing. A lack of any of these will lead to a disruption in the internal environment in the body and lead to sickness or a loss of health.
Now consider the term “sick season”. Why is it that this time of year we see such a prevalence of cold and flu? Is it because the viruses go away in the summer time? Do you really believe that viruses are sown like seeds only to be fruitful in the fall of the year?? REALLY??
The truth is that sick season begins with Halloween. That’s right... that little childhood tradition that you’ve been participating in your whole life. What happens at Halloween time? The sun starts going down earlier and for longer periods of time meaning the northern hemisphere gets cold. In accordance, we spend much more time inside and less time out being active, getting lots of fresh air, exercise and sunlight. Those long walks in the evening are replaced by dinner in front of the television and our beautiful suntan begins to fade to a chalky white. On top of that, our favorite Halloween tradition rears its ugly head... CANDY. What is candy made of? SUGAR. What is the one food that bacteria needs to stay alive in our bodies?? That’s right - it’s also the singularly most important food that fuels CANCER - SUGAR.
So we go from Halloween right into Thanksgiving and the increased calories, treats, and sugar high continue until it’s time to start making (and partaking in) our favorite Christmas traditions... cookies, fudge, caramel, sugar, sugar, sugar!!
By this point, we’ve gained that 7 lbs. it took all summer to get rid of and our exercise routine is failing at best because we’re just too busy...
I think we can all connect the dots from here and I don’t need to belabor the point any further. The truth is that we need to remember, “it’s the soil, not the seed”. If two people come into contact with the same virus (thanks co-worker) during the course of a day, why is it that one can get “sick” and the other seems un-phased? Viruses and Bacteria are like seeds, they need a nourishing environment in order to grow. They need to be left alone...