After working with patients and clients over many years, I have discovered there are often a ‘handful’ or ‘H.A.N.D.F.U.L’ of reasons people do not get well or fully heal. If you currently have chronic health challenges, read through the list without judgement. Be open to learning and what may need to be changed to help improve your health, instead of feeling bad, guilty, or shameful that you have failed.

Awareness precedes change. The whole point of this list is to improve awareness that can lead to beneficial transformations in health. 

The H.A.N.D.F.U.L of reasons are:

Habit- We are a product of our habits. Good or bad, habits help define our health. Habits are simply the choices you make and the actions you take each day. Once established, habits are hard to change. The good news is that ‘all habits are hard to break’, not just the bad ones. Establishing good health habits will lead to healthy outcomes and results. How do you establish any habit? Practice. You will do whatever you practice. Therefore, if you practice good health habits, that’s what you will achieve. Overall, it’s not really about time, but rather repetition that forms habits. It’s not ‘how long’ will it take (time), but ‘how many’ repetitions it takes. The more you practice, the faster the habit will form. 

Addiction- Addictions often occur because there is a ‘void’ trying to be filled. I have found that this void is often love (or a lack of it — ‘feeling loved’ on some level). When love is missing, many things are used to try and fill this void (food; gambling; sex; drugs; conflict; etc.), but they don’t work. The greatest love to cultivate is ‘self love’. Nobody can or should love you more than you love yourself. How do you love yourself more? You practice (by forming the habit of) loving yourself. This should be the real addiction — the addiction to loving yourself more each day. Purpose can also be related to addictions. When there is a lack of purpose, addictions are more likely to form to fill in this void. As such, it’s important to live with purpose each day. Overall, when self-love and a sense of purpose exist, there is ‘no time’ for addictions. 

Neglect- This often comes down to ‘not paying attention to’ or ‘doing’ what needs to be done. When something is neglected it’s being ignored. However, ignoring something does not make it automatically go away. This pertains to ‘poor health’ as well — as it will not magically disappear because of a lack of attention. The longer one waits, the harder it often is to address one’s health adequately. Bottom line: Good health requires daily attention. If something is deemed important and/or valuable, it’s often not neglected. Health is the most important and valuable asset a person owns. Without it, there is no quality of life. When viewed from this perspective, it’s much harder to ignore it Here’s a great use of neglect —  neglect the things that don’t build good health. 

Denial / Doubt- Having doubt or denial can often prevent necessary health changes from being made. If a potential health solution or answer is not something a person ‘wants to hear’, a defense mode is often activated leading to the doubt that such a solution would work; and/or that a health change is even needed. Sometimes, people go into denial as a coping strategy to deal with the reality of a situation or health diagnosis. It’s okay to question things and opinions of others, as well as, take enough time and do enough research to make a decision that is best for your own health. However, pretending everything is great, and/or refusing help, when clear health challenges exit is not wise. 

Fear- People often fear what they don’t fully understand. Some fears are legitimate, but many fears are not as serious as they appear to be. Unfortunately, fear is often used to sell things, including so-called health products or remedies. Many commercials use fear to even control how people think about or live their lives. Fear itself can be very destructive to health if it becomes chronic (ex: worrying about what’s always wrong with your health all the time). However, fear can also be a protective response and even help us survive. Fear can also serve as a motivating factor to stay healthy (ex: Knowing what the alternative will be if not staying healthy — such as chronic pain and sickness). If you suffer from chronic fear about your health, acquiring more education regarding how to properly care for yourself can be helpful. Consulting with a qualified health professional (therapist, health coach, or doctor) may also be beneficial to resolve your fears.

Unawareness- Being unaware may come in different forms. It may just be ‘not knowing’. This could be from a lack of basic health knowledge (ex: not knowing that improper diets and lifestyles are largely responsible for most health challenges people face.) Improving this type of awareness (knowledge) may require some time and energy in becoming more ‘informed’ about how to maintain good health. Unawareness may also come from being out of touch with one’s surroundings and/or their own body-mind-spirit. This lack of awareness often comes from not being fully present. Improving this type of awareness (sensing, feeling, or ‘somatic intelligence’) will also require some time and energy invested — in becoming more ‘in tune’ and present each day. 

Laziness- Health is an investment of time, money, and energy. Vibrant health is not something that is achieved, and then forgotten about. It requires ongoing effort. It must be earned each day. Some modern-day ‘conveniences’ have bread a certain level of laziness. “Push-a-button and I get what I want” has become a cultural norm for many. However, this is not how health works. It can’t be outsourced or delegated; or just push-a-button and presto... ‘vibrant health’ appears! Your health, your responsibility — and responsibility and laziness do not work well together. It’s also important to distinguish resting from laziness. It’s wise to take time to rest each day. This is not laziness or a ‘waste of time’. Rest is a vital ingredient of good health, and therefore, a good investment of time and energy