Focussing on the Grey Areas

Proactively keeping your health on track

I read a great article the other day that got me thinking – a diagnosis is very black or white – we are sick or we are not - but we nearly always have shades of grey in between health and sickness that have got us to that point.  On reflection, it is these shades that are signals that we are moving away from optimal health, and should be our focus for maintaining good health.

How often do we not feel ‘right’, only to be told that our blood tests are ‘normal’?  This is because our markers are not yet bad enough to be within the black or white of diagnosis.  However, this does not mean that we are not experiencing dysfunction, and our markers may be within this grey area.  That is why a naturopathic analysis of blood tests will often be looking for optimal ranges, and may pick up dysfunction earlier than that required for a traditional diagnosis.

By maintaining our focus on these grey areas, we can be empowered to look after our own health.  There are indicators that we can keep an eye on to check our position within the shades of health. Noticing changes to digestion, weight, sleep patterns, along with our skin, tongue, hair and nails are all obvious signs that can be monitored.  Regularly checking in on your stool and urine is also part of this.  If aches and pains are becoming more regular, what is your body trying to tell you?

Take, for example, the development of varicose veins.  Maybe we noticed heavy, aching legs, or swollen ankles but did not act on them.  We then move further along the continuum of shades of health, and varicose veins develop.  We may pass the varicose veins off as a nuisance and pain, and not recognise that this is another sign from our body that things are not in balance.  Without focussing our attention at this point, and correcting underlying factors for the varicose veins, we may then continue to move away from optimal health.  The factors that contribute to varicose veins are often also present in cardiovascular disease.  We must decide when we take action along this journey. 

When we are first noticing changes within these shades of health, it can be easier to shift our health back to right.  The further we progress along the continuum of health, the more work is required to return to good health, along with more drastic treatments required.  Therefore, if we can learn to tune in early to signs of dysfunction, and act on them, our bodies will only need gentle readjustment to get us back on track. 

However, there is a caveat to this – we also need to moderate our attention to all our aches and ills.  Hyperfocus on our health can also become a stressor which can further influence our health.  Therefore, be kind to yourself and only tune in to those things that persist for more than would seem normal for you.   

At Headfirst Health, we can offer gentle, natural support when you are noticing changes into these grey areas of health.  Sometimes, correcting nutritional imbalances or supporting digestion, for example, may be enough to set you back on the right path.  Our Neuro Integration treatments can also check the nervous system controls of all body systems, getting answers direct from the body rather than relying on testing or guesswork.

So, I encourage you to keep an eye on the grey areas of health. You may not be 'officially' sick, but is your body sending messages that you are moving away from optimal health? Taking action early can make the path back to health much easier.