Treating the Whole Woman

It concerns me immensely that our focus in the western world is always to treat illness as though it is a problem which can be treated in isolation from the rest of the body. 

The human body is an amazing organism - a myriad of systems and processes which make up one single unit. For all the advances made by medical science over the past 100 years, there is still so much we have to learn. We don't fully understand it, we're still discovering how it works and, in many ways, we've barely scratched the surface of full comprehension. 

In gastroenterology alone, we have so much more left to do, and that's just one example area. We could say the same about the brain: we certainly don't fully understand mental health, and our understanding of endocrinology is similarly limited. 

In fact, for women, our lack of understanding is even more pronounced. A great deal of research is conducted on men, which is fine, but the female body is far more complex in terms of cyclical hormone responses, reproductive system and general composition than our male counterparts. 

Presuming that we can take parts of the body and tinker with them without effecting the whole organism is naive in the extreme and yet, the whole of conventional medicine works in this way. 

Everything we do/eat/absorb/ingest, the amount of stress we subject ourselves to, the quality of the environment around us all have an effect. Every medicine that we take has an effect across the board, on the whole body.

To give an example, the body is not an old car where we can replace the exhaust or change the oil without causing knock-on effects for the rest of the system. The TV ads which claim that pain pills "target pain" are totally misleading. It's just not possible. 

Treating PCOS follows this principle: everything we do has an effect.

Indeed, in my research, I not only recognise this statement to be true, but also recognise that my diagnosis of PCOS was caused by me: lifestyle choices which I made unwittingly caused the imbalances which I'm battling now and lead to the development of the condition. 

It follows, then, that in trying to rehabilitate the body, restore endocrine balance and fertility  gain control of weight and androgen issues that we must treat the whole woman. 

How Do We Do This? 

• - Be Aware: everything we put in has an effect, this means diet, stress, treatments, our environment. Being aware of these issues is a great starting point. The posts on this blog address the individual areas and give tips on how to support your body to the best of your abilities.
• - Be Mindful: your body will feed back to you quickly if you're doing something which it doesn't like. Don't presume that your body will work the same way as every other. We are all individuals. 
• - Take Responsibility: Your body is YOURS. It belongs to you and no-one else. No-one is better placed to look after it than you, or to interpret the messages it gives you. Do not trust that because someone is wearing a white coat that they are better placed than you to make decisions about what is right for you. The responsibility for your treatment is yours - don't passively expect that anyone else will manage your condition on your behalf.
• - Treat your body as the asset it truly is: Got a favourite piece of jewellery or a new iPad that you adore? Think about how you treat that and try to do the same for your body every day. 

Finally

Never forget to be nice to yourself. We only get one body. It makes sense to make the most of it.