As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I’ve been dealing with some minor health issues for the past 4-5 weeks. After a fairly delicious unhealthy weekend (lots of lasagna and Easter candy), and a amazing terrible dinner the day after (pulled pork nachos, a soft pretzel with cheese, and a Manhattan), I was in a world of pain immediately after eating and felt awful for the next few days. I had a lot of tests (all negative for serious issues, thank God!) and talked to a bunch of nurses/doctors, and they all seemed to land on one particular diagnosis. They prescribed a medicine that’s commonly used to treat this issue, and I was super excited to take this magic pill to feel better.
That’s what we all want, right? An easy fix or magic pill to solve our problems?
Well, as what normally happens in life – the challenges that are most worth solving usually take a lot more patience, passion, and perseverance than just a quick fix.
Fast forward 3 weeks later and I was still feeling awful – the easy fixes and magic pills weren’t working. I had dropped a lot of weight, I felt sick or in pain most of the time, I was having trouble getting enough calories, was struggling with the adjustment to a ton of food restrictions, and I was feeling anxious and frustrated that I was seeing no improvement even though I was supposedly doing everything right.
I hit a breaking point and realized that I had to do something differently because this was not sustainable for my body or mind. I decided to practice what I preach in my organization development (OD) work and apply some of those same concepts to my health and nutrition. I don’t see OD just as a particular field of work; I truly believe that it is a way of viewing the world and helping ANY human system (i.e., individual, couple, family, team, organization, city, country, etc.) navigate change, transform their lives, and reach their potential. OD is not normally needed for easy fixes – it’s for the messy, confusing, complex, transformative, or strategic challenges that require changes in human behavior. It makes perfect sense to me to apply some of the key concepts of OD to my own health and wellness.
I’m not totally better yet, but I’ve improved so much after making the following changes that I feel like a different person than I did two weeks ago. These changes have helped me understand why my body was acting the way it was, and what it needs to not only function properly, but thrive. Here’s what I did…
1. I “reframe” as much as possible: It’s easy for me to feel down when I’m sick, especially when I don’t know what’s gone wrong or what I can do to fix it. Something I often help my clients with is reframing problems and challenges in a productive way that helps them focus on the opportunity, benefit, or learning gained from a seemingly negative experience. In the spirit of Appreciative Inquiry, it’s about shifting one’s mindset from problems to potential. It has been hugely helpful for me to apply this same thinking to reframe my health situation as an opportunity to have a fresh start to my health and wellness, learn more about my body, and give my body what it truly needs.
2. I hired a coach: Although I’m not always great at admitting this, sometimes we can’t do it on our own – we need help. I had a sense that I needed to treat this condition in a more holistic way and wanted to try alternatives to conventional medicine, so I started an elimination diet and bought some supplements. But I quickly realized I didn’t really know what I was doing and while Google is amazing, it won’t make me a professional. So now I’m working with a health and wellness coach (who is also a MSN, MPH, RN) who artfully navigates a mix of “expert consulting” and coaching. She helps me understand the science behind what my body is doing and recommends holistic approaches to achieving my health goals (through food, supplements, etc.), while also employing coaching techniques and Appreciative Inquiry.
One of my favorite facilitation exercises is “Start, Stop, Continue.” I use this simple framework to help my clients identify what they need to start doing, what no longer serves them and they need to stop doing, and what they are doing well and need to continue doing in order to achieve their goals. This is very similar to the conversations I have with my coach – for example, I was so happy when she challenged me to ask myself “does this food serve me and my needs right now?” It’s definitely helping me come to terms with weeks of not being able to eat/drink some of my favorite things, like bread, cheese, tomatoes, garlic, wine (can you tell I’m Italian?).
3. I apply “systems thinking” to my own body: Systems thinking (a crucial component of organization development) means that we consider the interrelated parts that create a dynamic, complex “whole” that is influenced by its external environment. Our bodies are so complex and incredible, and it makes perfect sense to use systems thinking as part of our own health and wellness. This is easy for those in the healthcare field, but I think it’s too easy for the rest of us to think about “problems” with our body in isolation without seeing the full picture (e.g., my stomach hurts, so I take a pill that makes it not hurt anymore, without considering the impact that pill will have on dozens of other processes taking place in my body). I’ve been making smarter choices by increasing my awareness with the help of my coach, all of the research I’ve been doing, and just paying closer attention to the signals my body gives me.
What OD concepts do you apply to improve your health and wellness?
Being mindful with eating – i.e there a long term benefit to what I’m eating? Is it an impulse snack?
Seeing self as whole – every part is interrelated. I.e. I don’t “have” a body; I am a body and soul and they’re intertwined so – systems thinking is a good approach! I like your example about pill popping. For me, if I have a bad headache, I generally gravitate to Excedrin. But at the expense of my liver and the caffeine in it keeping me up!
I hope you are 100% soon!