Prevention is Better Than...

Our western world is obsessed with the Medical Sickness Model. The focus of almost all talk about Health is not health but sickness. President Obama pushed through a bill on what he called health care but it was no health care it is all about paying for sickness.

I remember reading some research on this topic many years ago as a student. The author, who is long forgotten, said that 98 cents of every health care dollar was spent on fixing sickness not preventing sickness or more importantly being healthier. Only 2 cents of every dollar spent goes to being healthy.

I have been trying to teach about healthy prevention and train health care coaches for a long time. It has been an uphill battle but a lot more people are discussing it today than in the past. My approach to promoting health has arisen from my training as a Therapist and Teacher.

While meeting with individuals and couples who were struggling in marriage, family life, parenting and work or church, I saw the same kinds of issues crop up over and over again. This led me to conclude that a well developed training program that targeted these common issues would keep people from falling off the cliff of conflict, misunderstanding and family dissolution.

The most common problems that bring people to a Counselor are Depression and Anxiety. The root of these Mood Disorders is the ways people react to things that happen in the world. Most Counselors and Psychologists choose to treat these problems with Cognitive Therapy and possibly Medication.

It occurred to me that by teaching people how to think more reasonably and rationally in the first place, they might be able to avoid getting depressed and anxious. This is Prevention of a common problem. The Medical Model says little about prevention and when it does the discussion is mostly theory with no skill practice and not peer support, the two things that make prevention real and practical.

Our materials are practical. Go to the Sweeten Life web and look at the bookstore to find one that would help you prevent a bigger problem down the road. I suggest you start with Power Christian Thinking.

If you do not prevent the depression that will surely arise from Stinking Thinking, you can always find a good Counselor to help you dig out of the hole you have dug.