
Reasons for choosing to be a NATUROPATH | No. 2
SURGERY SCARES ME
One of my life goals is to avoid major medical interventions. This is not because I think they are unnecessary, it’s because I’m straight up phobic about it. I’m actually a recovering needle-phobe as well. Truthfully, part of my secret reasoning for avoiding medical school is because I didn’t think I could handle the gory hospital rounds. Little did I know that in naturopathic medical school not only do you have to give and get needles, but you have to do so in intense practical exam situations… by someone just learning to do it themselves! The good news is that exposure therapy does work, and you just get over yourself and get through it. Now I take myself for blood work regularly… just for fun 😉
Naturopathic medicine, or functional medicine, helps us really understand the body and how to really stay healthy. It also teaches us how to listen to the body. I can pick up on cues from my body that there is a functional disruption long before it develops into a structural disruption that will require a surgical intervention. And I want all of my parts! I think they matter! I don’t want to lose my gallbladder, or tonsils, or appendix, or even a portion of my bowel! Those parts are doing important things for me.
Who knows what will come, but I am trying my best to give my body the best chance of staying healthy into my old age. That being said, I’m not a robot, nor am I trying to be perfect. I do all of the most healthy things 80% of the time. I’m sure 100% would be better, but I don’t want to live that way. I want to indulge in delicious food on occasion. I want to sacrifice sleep sometimes. But my baseline is pretty great and I think that’s what we can all manage.
Want to figure out what your healthy baseline looks like? We can help.