If it's so Easy, Then Why is it so Hard?

In my job in a physician, as well as my job as a health counsellor, I try to get people to change. Those people who are uninitiated in the medical world think that the Emergency Department is mainly a place of gunshot wounds, car accidents, and other major life threatening illnesses. In reality, these make up a minority of people who come through the doors of virtually any ED. These days, most of the patients we see are victims of what I like to call "diseases of lifestyle." These diseases are malfunctions of the brain and body caused by various voluntary activities that are not healthful. These diseases include:

Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
Obesity
Heart attack
Stroke
Gallstones (some cases)
Depression/ Anxiety (some cases)
Fibromyalgia or chronic pain syndrome
Cancer (some types and many cases)
Trauma (many types)

The activities that cause these diseases are as follows, in order of importance
Poor diet and lack of exercise
Poor diet and lack of exercise
Poor diet and lack of exercise (this is not a misprint. It is just that important)
Smoking
Excessive alcohol intake
Drug abuse

As such, I spend a lot of time speaking with people about how and what to change. The things that I am asking them to do seem so simple when I say them or write them out: Quit smoking, eat better, exercise a few times a week, pay attention to their health and follow through with routine medical exams. Despite how easy these changes seem, a surprisingly low percentage of people are able to change, even temporarily. Why?

As my wife reminded me yesterday when we were talking about this subject: "change is hard, even if it is from something you don't like." She is correct. Even if I can get someone to recognize that there is a problem with the choices they are making, and that they are responsible to change it (a very difficult proposition), habit is powerful. Even a habit that you don't want, and know is bad, like smoking or poor eating is difficult to change. We as human beings resist change, whether good or bad.

In order to create change once and for all, we must overcome that resistence. Fortunately, we were given one weapon to help us change. It is not our intellect. I can reason with a patient all day long about how smoking is going to kill them, and they will nod, say they understand, and light up the minute they leave the ER. The weapon that we have to aid us is our emotion. Strong emotions, like fear and guilt, can push us to act when we are faced with the necessity of change. Fear can be supplied by a medical scare, like a heart attack or a tumor, or by social consequences. That is why you often hear of people quitting smoking or beginning a diet and exercise plan after being diagnosed with cancer or a heart attack. Similarly, the alcoholic quits drinking when they experience enough pain or fear that they don't want things to get worse (rock bottom). The power of our rational mind is that we can create the fear without the bad consequences. Visualization in the brain is as real to us as reality is. If you explore your uncomfortable emotions and visualize the negative consequences of the decisions you make, it will be far easier to overcome them.

This is how I finally managed to change. I was forced by my circumstances to visualize the fact that my children would have to grow up without their father, and that I would not be around to see the important events in their lives if I did not change. In the span of a second, the change that had eluded me my entire life became simple. So to Christy and everyone else, I submit my version of her quote:

"Change is easy if you have the right reason." Find your reason.