When treating someone with a chronic condition, I often refer to what I call the four pillars of health.
- The first pillar is a healthy amount of daily activity.
- The second pillar is the necessary rest, including a good night’s sleep.
- The third is a healthy appetite.
- The fourth is healthy stools.
When these four pillars are in order, your body is on the path to health. For those who are ill, this serves as the foundation for recovery. For those who do not feel ill, it provides the basis for staying that way.
In patients with chronic conditions, you will always find an imbalance within these four pillars. Rather than focusing on a single aspect of the illness—often singled out as the “culprit”—the priority should be to address these four pillars first.
For the majority of people with chronic illnesses who want to get better, focusing on a single “guilty” aspect acts as a closed door, blocking the path back to health. After all, even the “guilty” are merely a pawn within the broader, complex landscape of health.