Health without Fear                                                                                           How to Develop a Big-Picture View of Your Health

 Don’t Be a Slave to Scary Headlines

Fears about health sell headlines, and for anyone interested in the benefits or risks of a particular diet, nutrient, or personal-health practice, news outlets and websites abound with information — and misinformation. As we peruse the newsstand or scan our Twitter feed, we can start to recognize the way these primal survival fears are used to get our attention and influence our choices.

“When you say ‘fear,’ people think that means the big, strong emotion of fear, and that if they don’t experience the big, strong emotion, they’re not influenced by it,” says Dan Gardner, journalist and author of Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear. But, the actions of fear can be subtle and insidious.

“You can feel cool as a cucumber and you can think that you are being perfectly rational and objective while being manipulated by psychological biases and subtle emotion,” he explains. This doesn’t mean you need to ditch all media. Just be mindful about where your health information comes from. Is your concern based on something you read in a reasonably well-supported source, or is it just one blogger’s personal story?

Choose your media influences consciously and your fear level will drop.

 Listen to Your Body

When we focus on enjoyment and moderation (as I do with my occasional wine and cheese parties), we can comfortably loosen our rules about the perfect diet and lifestyle and follow our instincts instead.

“Forget about vegetarian, forget about paleo, forget all of it,” advises Marc David of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. He believes that adhering too strictly to a set of guidelines can interfere with the connection between mind and body.

Instead, he suggests choosing simple, whole foods that have been produced with care, and noticing how our food affects us. When we’re aware of how certain choices make us feel, David says, we can make decisions from a place of relaxed confidence, balancing expert opinions with our own experience.

If you are confused about which ever-changing trend and advice to follow, David suggests looking inward.

“I think we simply need to ask ourselves if we’re choosing joy and choosing life with a capital L, or choosing fear that’s packaged to look like good habits,” he says.

 Build a Solid Support System

In shifting away from a fear-based relationship to health, observe whether the people you choose to spend time with have a life-embracing worldview, or if you gravitate to fellow worrywarts. “Be with those who help your being,” suggests a poem by 13th-century Persian poet and mystic Rumi.

This doesn’t mean you need to abandon friends who are health obsessed or tend to worry a lot. Only that you might want to seek out a few other role models to show you how to live with more ease. My yoga teacher suggests we look for people whose approach to wellness is different enough to balance our own.

Someone who’s able to discipline himself physically and is able to get out running or to the club five times a week — that person’s got some serious wisdom, but, so does the person who favors spontaneity and ease, and doesn’t put quite so much pressure on himself to stick to a routine. These two can help each other.

 Meditate on Goodness

Any kind of meditation is a good antidote to reactivity, but mindfulness meditation is a particularly helpful way to notice thoughts in action. This practice is the foundation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a program used around the world to help medical patients manage stress and pain.

Research on MBSR has demonstrated impressive results, including relieving stress in breast-cancer survivors, lowering blood pressure, and increasing immune function.

When practicing mindfulness meditation train your attention on the moment. Sit quietly, and patiently “watch” your breath. As thoughts or impulses arise (which they will, a lot), mentally acknowledge them and return to the sensation of breathing.

I once had a meditation teacher who said that meditation where the mantras focus on goodwill, such as “May all beings have happiness and health, and the causes for happiness and health.” You can always direct these mantras toward yourself, too. Silently repeat, “May I have happiness and health.”

I’ve found that on the days I meditate, I am less reactive. The elusive space between fear and panic opens up so I can think clearly again.

 Yoga Your Way to Well-Being

Seated meditation isn’t the only activity that can help you downshift health anxiety. For many, the physical practice of yoga is a surefire way to quiet inner chatter and reconnect mind and body. Different kinds of yoga suit different kinds of stress. Any yoga practice is great for developing a more holistic notion of health — as opposed to a strictly physical one — because the poses address both physical and emotional needs. Warrior poses build strength but also connect us with our sense of bravery. Back-bending poses like wheel or camel are physically challenging but also open the heart. Inversions like headstand help build balance and equanimity.

 Practice Gratitude                                                                                                                      

When we focus on gratitude, we can better appreciate whatever degree of health we have, as well as the things our health affords us now — whether that’s physical strength, mobility, or the energy to enjoy our loved ones and pursue our interests.

Gratitude keeps us grounded and helps us make choices that support what we have today, rather than focusing on what we could lose tomorrow. Even if you’re currently suffering from an illness or physical setback, consider all the ways your body is still operating productively. What aspects of your health and happiness can you count as blessings?

Writing a short list of appreciations in a gratitude journal a few times a week can be a great tool for shifting your thinking from anxiety to appreciation.

 Accept Vulnerability

Embracing our inherent vulnerability is one of the best ways to break the cycle of fear and self-preoccupation. This can be as simple as accepting help from others when we need it and praying for Divine assistance for things that are out of our control.

As we accept the fact that there are forces beyond our control, we quit bracing ourselves against everything. We think we should be in charge all the time and that we should always be in control. It’s just not true.

 Be of Service

Endless studies have shown that volunteering supports good health and can even extend life span. Dan Buettner’s 2008 book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from People Who’ve Lived the Longest, a study of the world’s healthy centenarians, finds that almost all people who thrive past 100 are routinely involved in helping others.

Perhaps this positive effect comes from the knowledge that when we’re engaged in service, our time on Earth is not wasted.

In search of wise and articulate words on this subject, I turned to my spiritual leader. He said to me, “When something rocks your world, we often come to those big questions about the ultimate meaning of existence.” For a lot of people, he says, “the answer is not just to keep ourselves happy and healthy, but to pour our lives out in the service of others.

Community service and charity can be very healing. It’s a great antidote to fear and self-protection.

For me being a Chiropractor for 33 years has been a privilege to serve the people of my community. I have a little something to offer that could enhance their lives and health. A Chiropractic Spinal Adjustment which reduces stress to their nervous system helps to alleviate their pain and enhances well-being by allowing the inner homeostasis of the body to regain better balance.

In return, I received the reminder of how much of the beauty of life exists precisely because we are so fragile.