The Sick Business — What They Don't Want You to Know!

As a wellness coach, reshaping how people think about health in a society that has never prioritized prevention is like swimming upstream in a flood – I’m moving against two powerful currents: the profit-driven medical community and consumers plagued with decades of habits that have normalized the very behaviors that make them sick.

Not only do both cultures resist wellness messages — they often undermine them. So this week I’m appealing to you for help. Here’s why.

When we’re ill, we seek the quick fix and the medical community delivers – making it impossible to compete:

·         Pharmaceutical ads promise fast relief for every symptom.

·         Hospitals advertise surgery and treatment, not wellness.

·         TV medical dramas highlight dramatic life-saving rescues, not prevention.

·         Insurance typically covers treatment more comprehensively than preventive care.

·         Doctors get paid for procedures, not lifestyle advice.

·         And the system feeds itself - treatments lead to more treatments and more medications - it’s an ongoing cycle of dependency.

Deeply ingrained consumer habits are equally as hard to change:

·         We wait for the doctor’s permission or a diagnosis before we take our health seriously.

·         We believe it’s the doctor’s job to fix us, and "good doctors” offer quick solutions.

·         We think disease is a genetic matter - it just runs in the family - and has nothing to do with lifestyle choices.

·         We don’t understand our bodies' functions, so we react to illness rather than prevent it.

Here’s the bottom line: Consumer thinking aligns perfectly with the medical shot callers. The industry profits from keeping us in the dark, and a portion of those profits flows directly to legislators to push their agendas and ensure the system never changes. Consider these numbers: Nearly 90% of the $4.1 trillion spent on healthcare each year is attributable to chronic disease treatment, leaving a mere 10% for prevention. Clearly, treatment rules.

So how do I keep swimming against powerful waves that appear to be swelling into a tsunami?  I take one stroke at a time.

But I could use your help, so I’m making a small change request: please share my message with one person this week and invite them to subscribe to my Weekly Wellness Tips at https://www.myrtlerussell.com/contact-us.

Thank you; Be Well!

If you need help managing a chronic condition, reach out to me at: smallchange@myrtlerussell.com.