The “health care industry” owns you, body and soul. The irrefutable fact that health care insurance is mandatory in the United States proves the “industry” owns your body. The idea that it owns your soul, too, requires a deeper look.
The “soul” is hard to define, and there are those who claim it doesn’t exist. Various religions have their own conceptions of what the “soul” is. For the purposes of this article, I will keep things simple by claiming the soul in this physical life is affiliated with mind, the ineffable generator and receiver of thoughts and ideas, the vast processing unit some people assume is in the brain.
The health care industry’s claim on your mind, and the mass mind, can be evidenced in multiple ways, most specifically in the mass belief that health care on a grand scale is necessary. Television, with its ability to influence millions through covert and overt mental manipulation, works to consolidate and perpetuate the belief that you need doctors to look for and treat problems you didn’t know you had, to “educate” you about warning signs of potentially life-threatening conditions. Media warns about “bad” foods, and signs of cancer and other terrifying diseases, all broadcast with the stated intent of helping you live a healthier life. It promotes a philosophy that the “health care industry” works to serve you, when, in fact, the “health care industry” works to manufacture and promote disease by undermining your confidence in yourself and your body’s natural tendency toward healthy homeostasis. It sells health care the way it sells cosmetics, by leading you to doubt your own beauty and your own body, enough to buy the product that will make you feel better about yourself.
The new “normal” for blood pressure has dropped from 120/80. The new normal for cholesterol has dropped from 200. No one mentions these are only numbers, and blood pressure fluctuates naturally during the course of the day, depending on activity and stress. More people are depressed, we are told, and better pills for dealing with uncomfortable emotions are coming down the pike every day. Never mind that TV itself is depressing and probably raises blood pressure.
Fact is, the body, which is well adapted for handling specific threats, is confused by more generalized, non-immediate, ones, like those generated by the mind, its imaginings, and the information the mind feeds to the body. Worry is a bad habit that creates constant stress, keeping the body on the alert for ill defined dangers. A perpetual state of hyper-arousal takes its toll on the body. Worry is only one manifestation of fear, a chronic condition in our society, not only perpetuated through media but alive and pulsating on the streets, in traffic, in grocery stores and shopping centers. People have short tempers, are quick on the trigger, and always afraid the other guy with a short fuse has a real gun that can do real damage in real life. We live in a violent world. Just watch TV to learn that version of the truth. We have real reasons to be afraid, and we tell our bodies that, despite the lack of immediate danger.
So what does this have to do with the health care industry owning our minds? Well, the idea that we absorb all this crap as if it were gospel, without the exposure to alternatives to determine how much is true and how much is propaganda, for the purpose of selling “health care.” The illusion that there is “care” in the “health care industry” ultimately leads to a sense of having been betrayed, because the “care” was siphoned off a long time ago. The system itself is greedily vampiristic, the parasites feeding off the host, bleeding and treating them ultimately to death, one life at a time.
Of course there are exceptions, and there are the medical heroes, those who have not lost the ability to care. These are the doctors, nurses, and other “providers” patients are lucky to have. But even the best of them are stretched thin and on the verge of burnout with the excessive demands of the system itself.
There are alternatives to the one-size-fits-none proposition offered by the “health care industry,” but you won’t hear about them on television. You might hear from those who have personally benefited from alternatives like acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, herbal therapies, or folk remedies, just to name a few. Ayurvedic medicine, but these are not likely covered by your mandatory insurance, so you would have to pay out-of-pocket.
But hey, it’s the price you pay for freedom.
katharineotto 
Health-care is an oxymoron for sure, there isn’t any care. Your physician can order a procedure but it’s your insurance who dictates if it’s approved, unless you want to self pay. I’ve even had them change a physician order to another one of their choosing. Your analysis on how this effects our health holistically is spot on.
I love hearing personal examples of how the system works. The media doesn’t report all the fallout from centrally driven health care, which is so impersonal as to be laughable. Personal examples abound, but if people don’t start making lots of noise about how the system abuses the individual, things will not change. Thanks so much for your comment.
Fabulous write, Katharine. Just reminded me of why I’ve never taken drugs, legal or otherwise, and haven’t had to “consult” a “doctor” for over 40 years (and counting at 71) Case in point, I don’t do “shots” (well naturally!) and I got the “flu” last evening. I spent a somewhat uncomfortable night but still slept enough to go trim trees on a mountain side today. The symptoms were pretty much over by noon today. This is how I tune my immune system: give it something to fuss about once in a while. It works wonders in the background, quiet and efficient… 🙂
Sha’Tara,
Thanks for reading and for your support. Golly but there are so few of us like-minded souls, so it’s especially gratifying to discover them.
So right, Katharine, the health care industry care little about our health and more about making money on our ailments and fears. Where there are profits to be made, there will always be abuse.
We go alternative. The “health care” industry is ridiculous.
I wish more people would speak up about their experiences with alternative methods. They are way more popular than most people realize. Thanks for your comment.
Traditional doctors are experts in illness, not wellness. They are influenced by pharmaceutical companies and harnessed by insurance companies. People think holistic doctors are too expensive, but what better investment can you make than in your own body?
Gail, How true. I noticed that from the very beginning of medical school. Too bad that allopathic medicine focuses so heavily on what’s wrong–or looks for problems–rather than supporting what’s right and encouraging more of it.
I always wondered, does medical school require an in-depth understanding of nutrition in terms of preventive medicine? Conventional MDs don’t typically educate or even influence patients to connect dietary habits to long-term health, which may include herbs and supplements. Is it that they are not educate / have no faith in the power of nutrition as medicine or they assume patients won’t comply?
I think we would all be better served by a marriage of allopathic and homeopathic practitioners, so we are not forced to choose between doctors in or out of our insurance network. I also wonder why insurance companies don’t recognize alternative medicine; if the insurance industry ever bothered to study the success rate of reduced treatment and drug expenses incurred by patients who adhere to a regimen of natural healing and proactive care.
I am fortunate to have a functional and integrative practitioner who is also an MD. Also, my insurance carrier covers chiropractic care. But not everyone has this access, and that’s not right.
Gail, I can tell you doctors get vary little education in nutrition or alternative practices. In fact, there’s a certain snobbery about it that only tells me MDs are threatened by approaches different from the standard, allopathic ones.
Also, because of the devotion to the “scientific method,” it’s hard to do acceptable research on individualized approaches like acupuncture. How do you prove effectiveness? Just as in allopathic medicine, there are different levels of skill, and many symptoms are hard to define.
My sardonic sense of the indusrance industry is they are reluctant to pay for anything out of the ordinary, and I can’t really blame them. There are a lot of fly-by-night “healers” out there, and where do you draw the line?
You are lucky. Also, I’m hearing and reading about more and more MDs who are embracing alternative treatments, like homeopathy, having discovered through experience that these practices have merit. Thanks for your comment.