Questioning Leadership
HOW'S YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM?
I know plenty of people celebrated as the calendar year changed from 2020 to 2021. As we are all aware, COVID-19 decimated our lives and routines. I will not recap all the challenges people faced — and are still facing — as they are different for each individual and family. While there is room for recent optimism, I believe that our leadership could have communicated a different, more proactive message — from the beginning.
This writing is not about the mystery and inconsistencies about COVID-19’s origin, and whether some guy in China got sick from eating a bat and then infected half the population. This writing is not about positivity rates and false positives, or how we define "essential" workers. I’m not going to question why last March, when the world went into lockdown, Chicagoans were still expected to leave their houses and go vote. I’m not qualified to explain why a technological takeover might have been in the works for years, and is finally here. This writing is also not about the media’s representation of COVID-19 numbers, or a lack of focus on the survival rate. We're not going to "follow the science" or talk about whose science we should be following. This writing is not about preexisting conditions, or the declining state of American health. This is about something else, something simpler.
Experts can agree that COVID-19 is an attack on our immune system. The Prescription for Natural Cures, A Self-Care Guide for Treating Health Problems with Natural Remedies Including Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Bodywork, and More, written by James F. Balch and Mark Stengler, is one of my favorite reference books. There is excellent information on pretty much every health ailment, as well as natural, easy-to-follow remedies. The authors define the immune system as:
"The body's complex defense system, which recognizes and protects against disease."
The immune system is what this writing is about. To recap: a strong immune system means a stronger defense against COVID-19 or any disease; and conversely, a weak immune system means a weaker defense against COVID-19 or any disease. Simply, the stronger our immune systems, the stronger our health. This overall message has been lacking or nonexistent. How often have your favorite news outlets relayed the importance of having a strong immune system?
The majority of our political leaders and other medical experts have advised that due to this pandemic, we should all social distance, wear a mask, and work/school from home until Big Pharma creates a vaccine to “save us.” Basically, we're being told to stay away from humans in order to protect ourselves and others, until science can inject a chemical cocktail into our bodies. Although isolation goes against human nature, I'm all for protecting ourselves and others — but for much different reasons.
Right away, I felt that attempting to hide from the virus seemed unrealistic, as asking Chicagoans to constantly stay home and avoid each other was not an effective long-term solution. Now, in month 11 of these same guidelines, very few have gone back to work and even fewer have gone back to school. People have lost their jobs, businesses are suffering, the economy is collapsing. On the street, eye contact with strangers is avoided, as if COVID-19 could shoot out of our eyelids like Superman's heat vision. Like a sick behavioral experiment, people cross the street to avoid each other. Poor mental health and feelings of loneliness have become the norm, and social judgments have compounded people's stress levels. Individual preferences have divided those that "are doing it right" from those that "can't follow directions."
Did our leadership succeed with their mass messaging? Has the sacrifice of the past year changed anything? Are we better now than we were then? Was the plan effective? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe, we should accept that we can't stay inside forever and, like the flu, we will all probably encounter some version of COVID-19.
Often, football coaches will spend countless hours diligently preparing a game plan for the upcoming opponent. They will dissect film, evaluating potential strengths and weaknesses in order to create favorable matchups to put their team in the best position to win. The coordinator may even script specific plays to immediately set the tone on the first offensive possession. But what happens when those pre-planned plays have poor, potentially disastrous results? What happens if those pre-planned plays lose yardage, result in a turnover, or an avoidable injury to a key player? Coaches generally have two choices: (1) stick with the ineffective game plan; or (2) make adjustments due to the realities of the game itself.
As champion heavyweight boxer Iron Mike Tyson famously said, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” COVID-19 has punched us all in the mouth; have we made the necessary adjustments or have we repeated an ineffective plan and expected a different result? (The definition of insanity is to repeat an action and expect a different result.)
Last March, Dr. Jason Godo — one of my most trusted resources — released a video explaining that we would all get COVID-19 at some point but how our bodies reacted to it was what really mattered. Contracting COVID-19 might be out of our control, but our response to it is directly under our control. He suggested nutrition, exercise, and supplementation as ways to strengthen the immune system; lifestyle changes to become healthier and happier. Under any circumstances, Dr. Godo's suggestions are the right directions to follow. Now, in a pandemic, they are even more crucial.
Everyone should take an honest health self-assessment and do something better: eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods; drink less alcohol; exercise more frequently; lose 5 pounds; focus on more positive relationships; be mindful about how social media impacts our mood; breathe fresh air.
If we turn off the news and think a little deeper, some coping strategies do exist. We can take charge of our health. We can choose to engage in activities that strengthen our immune systems. We can be mindful of the noise that exists within our screens. We can choose to do the work, make necessary changes, and inspire others to do the same.
Being healthy takes a consistent commitment and we have become a society reliant on ease. We can push a button on our phone and be rewarded with a GrubHub delivery, an Uber pickup, or a Tinder partner. We don't have to go anywhere or do anything. Through technology, we have become accustomed to intoxicating instant gratification. Our health and relationships have suffered because of it. Now, during the greatest public health scare of our lifetimes, we need to be extra disciplined about our habits and take accountability for our current health situation.
Those that are doing a good job, awesome, keep it up. Those that aren't, start by making small improvements in areas of weakness.
Maybe it's eating a less inflammatory diet.
Or maybe it's looking at adding/subtracting specific foods.
Or maybe it's better understanding how stress impacts our bodies.
We all have areas for improvement.
I am asking for a new message, a message of proactivity instead of reactivity. Instead of waiting around for a vaccine to save us, we should be taking daily measures to naturally improve our immune systems. "Magic pills" are not long-term solutions; they are equivalent to putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Yes, the Band-Aid may temporarily stop the bleeding, but the real cause of the bleeding — the bullet — has not been addressed or removed.
It takes consistent effort and a paradigm shift in our definition of health and wellness to beat COVID-19. The recipe for good health is, and always has been, simple: good nutrition, consistent exercise, positive relationships, regular sleep.
We can take the power back by using these strategies and doing the best we can, where we are, with what we have.
Sometimes, common sense solutions are the best solutions.