Responsibilities

Looking at this brought to mind the differences in the way I see the question of responsibility, regarding health matters.

I don't actually have a problem with the idea of personal responsibility with regards to health.

I doubt virtually anyone else really has either.

Our inherent desire to participate in our own healing and well being accounts for the success of complementary and alternative therapies. Even though these are much mocked by the medical establishment and scientists.

As I'm making this point, it occurs just how much we've been persuaded that we don't care just because some people wish to have a certain vision of health that sets out to deliberately exclude people. It's one of the more egregious aspects of the healthist mindwarp.

The way we've taken up the whole weight loss diet experiment, how difficult we find it to accept that there isn't much we can do to guarantee the weight adjustments we want. Shows we are so desperate to be in control, that the prospect of losing even the fantasy of control is enough to enrage us or bring us to despair or denial.

We have a profound and innate wish to be responsible and control our health, full stop.

What we however don't want is to be blamed or shamed because of any health problems we may face. We don't wish to be so burdened with feeling at fault, that it takes the energies we need to heal and becomes a sickness in itself. That instinctive common sense. We don't do well with blame at the best of times, so it's best for us to wear it as lightly as possible, unless our actions merit that burden.

Due to the heritage of beliefs that were behind the practice of medicine in the past, which dealt in all sorts of strange and darkly counterproductive ideas, such as illness and disease being one's sins manifest and so forth. It was seen as enlightened to remove all responsibility from those with illness or disability. 'Responsibility' became that of passively doing what one was told by medical professionals and receiving treatment without any fuss. This became the model of how to be ill and be a good patient. This suited both sides.

In exchange for relief of the burden of crushing negative type of 'responsibility' which was really blame. We were freed from the burden of scary hoodoo, and the professionals attained an ego flattering supremacy which they have become magnetically welded to.

Ironically the problems have been brought about by success, that of the disease model seeing off diseases of pathogenesis. This has lead to us living longer healthier lives. But what cannot be eradicated is individual genetic susceptibilities to potential chronic health issues, and for some reason, the professionals cannot seem to accept it. They have passed this non-acceptance on to us, and we now have become convinced that we can live forever if not for 'bad habits'.

Funny how ill equipped we can be when it comes to problems brought about by success, our kindergarten training that if you do good things, good things will come and if you do bad things, bad things will come, dies hard. In the kerfuffle, the professionals are trying to apply the disease model to these intrinsic susceptibilities we all have, and the results are showing the model is being overextended.

What they want is our help. They want us to participate in our own healing, but, they cannot tolerate the empowerment necessary to facilitate this exiting our agreed passivity, because it will affect their status.

What they are asking for is could be revolutionary, a personal index of our actions and thoughts, it is possible, it might even be desirable, as anyone who has gone from doctor to doctor not being able to find out what's wrong with them might know. The internet self diagnosis phenomenon, indicates our inclination on treatment. A lot of doctors resent this hugely.

People don't become fat or depressed or whatever because of an obesity or depression pathogen and trying to pretend so leads to the type of ludicrous food phobia and paranoia where people think syrup from corn is attacking their organs, not syrup for other plants though, that just creates diabetes or it is good if it is fermented bee vomit even though the component is similar or same to one another. People become those things due to innate biological or genetic susceptibility. Minimizing those requires different skills, it requires a level of self awareness that would lead us to refuse to allow a lot of liberties to be taken with us, and that won't do for those who feel it's their right to reign over us.

So what we have now is a half way house where they try to subdue us with shame and self-blame, hoping we won't notice that this isn't conducive to the awareness required of us, they want us to be clear eyed sleep walkers, obedient and yet independent and ruthlessly single minded if necessary. You see they won't get what they want. Question is, how much damage is going to be done, before this becomes to obvious to ignore?