Who Can You Trust?
Who can you believe will actually work to help you find a solution toward healing or prevention of further dysfunction or illness?
Many of us have medical insurance provided to us through your workplace or our spouse’s workplace. Therefore, there is seemingly no real choice of who your providers will be. Sometimes we are afraid to change our provider due to historically maintaining care with one and then having to coordinate transfer of information to a new provider.
How can we know that a provider will actually seek a solution rather than a Band-Aid. Meaning, they are actually more focused on healing and reversal (where possible) rather than just “containing a problem”.
Likewise, building a new relationship with a provider or practitioner can take a little bit of time and may require you to repeat your story.
Sometimes that feels like more than you are capable of. It can feel defeating and feel like there has been no real solution provided and that the practitioners are not really listening as you (the patient) feel that progress is not occurring.
It can benefit you to research the practitioner a little and maybe read reviews or rely on a trusted source for recommendations (a friend or neighbor).
If you feel that progress is not occurring, and you feel that your medical team should be able to provide more care, education, or guidance for you … Make a change. Your only obligation is to yourself and your healing and wellness. You should feel heard and seen and provided with real education on how the progression of your treatment should theoretically impact you. Likewise, what the next steps in your plan will potentially be, dependent upon the impact of first interventions.
Sometimes it really does take coordination of care and a team of different practitioners to help you get your wellness plan on the right track. For instance, your MD can do labs and diagnose, plus potentially prescribe a pharmaceutical medication (if needed). Then you may significantly benefit from a healing practitioner that provides Clinical Nutrition, Acupuncture, Therapeutic Massage, etc. With specialties and different healthcare professionals’ focus being on different modalities of healing, it can require a team of practitioners to help you achieve your wellness goals.
Start somewhere where you feel you may benefit from a practitioner’s specialties or focuses and then ask for recommendations to other services that may complement. Likewise, if you are with a practitioner that is new to you and you feel comfortable with this person, see if they have recommendations for other practitioners or services that may benefit your current treatment plan.
An example of coordinated care would be if you saw an MD, DO or NMD and they have started you on a plan with a medication that treats Insulin Resistance or Type II Diabetes Mellitus, it behooves you to link up with a Clinical Nutritionist or RD Nutritionist who can help you make lifestyle changes to prevent the progression of T2DM or reverse it. Likewise, you may also be experiencing general life stress, dealing with past trauma, or recent trauma, etc. it may behoove you to also seek a referral to a therapist or counselor to assist you with the mental health stressors occurring during your healing journey.
Healing and wellness is multifaceted in that it is not only physical, but it is impacted greatly by mental health and wellness.
Link up with a trusted source that can help you find a practitioner or several practitioners that will align with your health goals or do some research before initially seeing a practitioner (i.e. reviews, specialties, focus). You may then begin to finally feel that someone is on your side and truly looking to help you achieve optimal wellness.
~The Alena K