Prevention is hard
What I’m thinking about this weekend…
We don’t do prevention. We do crisis reaction. We don’t do moderation. We do excess.
The pandemic made this incredibly clear. We've come to learn about the severe fragility of our healthcare system and public health infrastructure these last 3 years. Our healthcare system is designed around who gets paid and how — not how to keep people well. Hospitals and clinics in the U.S. are crumbling because of the loss of hyper-inflated fees for procedures and recurring visits. Where is this most acutely being felt is by our rural hospital system. Since 2005, 193 rural hospitals have been shuttered.
Our system of care needs you to be broken; to be sick.
But what happens if the population experiences a mass illness that penetrates communities and is prolonged?
A new balance must be struck between the desire for a sophisticated, high quality, and personalized healthcare system, and sense of collective responsibility that my ill health — that can be prevented — can have a devastating impact on my family, neighbors, and community.
But, prevention is hard. It requires thought. It requires sacrifice — at least at first. It requires commitment to new habits and change.
Here’s one action to think about that could have incredible personal and collective impact for the greater good.
The Japanese, specifically, Okinawans, have a common saying, “Hara hachi bu,” or “fill your belly to 80 percent.”
When we overeat — guilty — we actually make our body work harder than it should when processing or digesting food. This actually wears down our body and shortens our life.
How do you know when you’re 80% full? It’s trial and error to feel that. But one thing you can do, is fill you plate with your “normal” serving then remove about 20% of your helping. Then, put that smaller serving on a smaller plate.
Do this over and over and over … and now you have a new normal and you’ll have an innate sense of your 80% full.
That's just one behavioral example individuals can make. But what is often stated by economists and climate experts, is that theses individually meaningful changes are hard to capitalize into mass-scale impact necessary to save a system.
That's a pretty dire view. I'd like to not be that cynical, but I understand the math a little to recognize that unless systems are re-oriented, people will be people and go where they are guided.
So, this is what I'm musing on this weekend.
Until next time ... Be Well.