Have you ever noticed that the language of modern medicine is the language of war? Western medicine wants to fight the infection, kill the virus, defeat the disease, and wage war on obesity. This causes us to regard our bodies as a battle ground. What happened to treating our body as a temple? In war there are always casualties, whether the battle is won or lost. The warfare approach leads to collateral damage to our body because there are no drugs without side effects, no surgery without risks, and no radiation without injury to surrounding tissues. This is not about rejecting what modern medicine has to offer. It’s about recognising the power of how we talk about it.
Our words are our wand. Our self talk can make or break us. Words can harm or heal, soothe or scar, comfort or criticise, relieve or deceive. Nowhere is the power of language more important than in the practice of medicine. Click here to watch my hour-long presentation at the Essential Health Summit in Adelaide, July 2024, about changing the language of medicine so that it promotes, rather than impedes, health and healing.
Please share this Health-e-Byte with anyone who has a chronic illness, dementia or cancer.
