Force of Habit vs Reason

     "By leveraging preventive medicine, we can reduce the incidence of catastrophic illness and serious disease, thereby diminishing the need for expensive interventions. As the old adage has it, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,' yet our current system focuses mostly on cure and largely overlooks the advantages of investing in prevention. Paying more attention to disease prevention and health promotion will result in a healthier population with less call for expensive medical interventions. Low-tech, cost-effective approaches to disease prevention and health promotion already exist; it is merely a matter of exploring how best to employ them for greatest impact. Strategies for health promotion and disease prevention — those that focus on self-responsibility and that support positive behavioral change — will yield the greatest long-term cost savings and are the foundation for a sustainable health-care system for the 21st century."
        McCabe Ruf, K, Mackenzie ER. The role of mindfulness in healthcare reform: a policy paper. Explore (NY) 2009; 5(6): 313-23. 

 

     The above paper logically and convincingly argues for greater implementation of mindfulness technologies within our healthcare system. But this is an uphill battle, since both the healthcare system, as well as each of us individually, are far less rational and far more 'creatures of habit' than we think. Even people who've trained in, and have had very favorable experiences with, mindfulness practices tend to neglect these in favor of their previous (less mindful) behavior patterns. No, it doesn't make sense, but old habits - no matter how dysfunctional - die hard. 

     For too many of us, the motto is: "Even if it's broke, don't fix it!" Too many of us have to crash before we make significant lifestyle changes.