TCM and Feeling Good

#TCMTuesday blogs, for me, are where I get to be candid about Traditional Chinese Medicine, health, wellness, and how a medicine that has its origins several millenia in the past can help you reach your full potential right now.  I strive to give you interesting and relevant information to think about, and I can't think of a better time than a New Year to encourage you to act positively for yourself within your own health journey.

In my blog about , I encouraged you to set a reasonable goal that you can actually meet instead of continuing the endless cycle of misplaced realism (bordering on lofty idealism) which quickly turns to disappointment and frustration with yourself when you couldn't reach that bar that you placed so very high.  We've all done it.  You don't need to be so hard on yourself.  It's time to move forward!

TCM, in plain and simple terms, is a support structure of wellness.  It is founded on the principles of Preventative Medicine.  Now we've all heard this term tossed around in the media, but what does it really mean? 

On my Facebook business page back on October 21, I posted a story relating how medicine was practiced before the adoption of Western Medicine in China.  In short, practitioners were paid to keep people well.  If a patient became ill despite taking all medicines and following all health advice of their physician, the physician worked for free until the person recovered.  In today's society, there is a huge contrast from the "barefoot doctor" days of old, in that we don't go to the doctor unless there is something wrong, and by then it's usually way too late to prevent, so the doctor has to work to heal a severe condition. 

Most of the time the severe condition could have been prevented with just a forethought, behavior modification, and positive action.

So why do we so brazenly ignore our own well-being now?  The indomitable human spirit and our ability to ignore pain and other warning signs of disease as insignificant when there is something else we "need" to be doing does work against us in this regard.  Just for a moment, though, I would like you to think about this: without your health, are you able to do everything that needs to be done?  Can you take care of the people who rely on you adequately when you yourself are ailing?

A song performed by Michael Jackson comes to mind: 

"I'm starting with the Man in the Mirror.  I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer: If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change." 

I realize that quoting song lyrics isn't necessarily something that one expects from a physician, but this song hums along in my head every time I think of New Year's Resolutions.  Mr. Jackson was speaking about more political topics, but on a personal level, I think of his song as a wake up call to the listener - if there's something that needs to be changed, it starts from within, and only you can change yourself.  For me, I know that I have the responsibility to be there for the people that rely on me, and the only way I can be there for them is if I am well, whole, and healthy.  Taking necessary steps to prevent downtime from illness, disease, and injury is the best way to get done everything that needs to be done in life.  And TCM is a great way to help promote your overall wellness, because we support and give counseling for the many things that get you and keep you well, such as food, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, stress management, addiction, and so much more.

I hope that the information I give in these blogs is helpful, and presented in a thought-provoking and conversation-starting way.  Feel free to start a conversation with me and/or with others in the comments area below, I look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to chat.  

Here is to a gloriously successful and healthy 2012 to all of you!  I am here to help, as always.

--Marissa Byrum, AP, DOM, Dipl. Ac., is an associate at Ideal  Balance Center for Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine in Temple  Terrace, FL.