The shocking truth about your health | Lissa Rankin | TEDxFiDiWomen

Summary

In this powerful talk, a physician turned wellness advocate challenges traditional health paradigms, asserting that physical care is the least important aspect of overall health. She shares her journey from a frustrated doctor to a seeker of true wellness, discovering that health is deeply interconnected with one's mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. She introduces the 'Whole Health Cairn' model, emphasizing the importance of self-healing from the core and the role of the 'Inner Pilot Light' in guiding individuals towards a more balanced and healthy life.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The speaker, a physician, challenges the traditional view that physical care is the most crucial aspect of health, suggesting that lifestyle and emotional well-being play a more significant role.
• 🌱 The body acts as a mirror, reflecting the state of one's life, and physical symptoms can be the body's way of communicating when life is out of alignment.
• 🏥 Modern medicine often fails to address the root causes of health issues, focusing on treating symptoms rather than the underlying lifestyle and emotional factors.
• 🤔 The speaker's personal journey includes a realization of her own disconnection and the need to address the non-physical aspects of health after achieving external success.
• 🎭 The concept of 'masks' is introduced, symbolizing the roles people adopt that can obscure their true selves and contribute to health issues.
• 🌪️ A 'perfect storm' of personal crises led the speaker to a pivotal moment of growth, where she chose to address the deeper issues in her life.
• 🏘️ Leaving her traditional medical practice was a significant step for the speaker in seeking a more holistic approach to health and healing.
• 📚 Research into the medical literature revealed that factors like relationships, work life, and spirituality have a profound impact on health, often more than physical care.
• 🔑 The 'Inner Pilot Light' is introduced as a metaphor for one's inner wisdom and authenticity, which is key to true health and healing.
• 💡 The 'Whole Health Cairn' model is presented as a new approach to wellness, emphasizing the interdependence of all aspects of life on physical health.
• 💌 A call to action is issued for individuals to write their own 'prescription' for health by addressing the root causes of their symptoms and imbalances.

Q & A

What does the speaker suggest is the least important part of health?

The speaker suggests that caring for the body, which includes eating a balanced diet, exercising, and getting enough sleep, is the least important part of health.

What does the speaker propose the medical profession might have misunderstood about health?

The speaker proposes that the medical profession might have it backwards, suggesting that the body is not the foundation that shapes how we live our lives, but rather a mirror reflecting how we live our lives.

How does the speaker describe the body's communication with us when we are out of alignment with our true selves?

The speaker describes the body as communicating through 'whispers' when we are out of alignment with our true selves, and if these whispers are ignored, the body will start to 'yell' louder through more severe symptoms.

What is the 'epidemic' the speaker refers to that modern medicine is unable to diagnose?

The 'epidemic' the speaker refers to is a state of being where people experience fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and various aches and pains, yet medical tests come back normal, leaving them feeling unwell without a clear diagnosis.

What significant life events led the speaker to reevaluate her life and career?

The speaker reevaluated her life and career after experiencing a series of personal tragedies and challenges, including the birth of her daughter by C-section, the death of her dog, her brother's liver failure, her father's death from a brain tumor, and her husband's severe injury.

What is the 'Inner Pilot Light' the speaker mentions, and why is it important for health?

The 'Inner Pilot Light' is the speaker's term for the authentic, deep, true part of oneself, the spiritual, divine spark that always knows what's right for you. It is important for health because it is the biggest healer one can tap into, guiding one to make choices that are in alignment with their true self.

What is the 'Whole Health Cairn' model the speaker developed, and how does it differ from traditional wellness models?

The 'Whole Health Cairn' model is a new wellness model developed by the speaker that emphasizes the interdependence of all aspects of a person's life, including relationships, work, creativity, spirituality, and more. It differs from traditional models by focusing on self-healing from the core and recognizing that the body is just one part of the whole, with the foundation being the 'Inner Pilot Light'.

How does the speaker define the 'healing bubble' in her Whole Health Cairn model?

In the speaker's Whole Health Cairn model, the 'healing bubble' consists of love, gratitude, and pleasure, which are described as the glue that holds everything together and are scientifically proven to be beneficial for health.

What challenge does the speaker issue to the audience regarding their health?

The speaker challenges the audience to write their own prescription for health by identifying what is out of balance in their 'whole health cairn' and taking steps to address it, emphasizing the importance of being transparent, honest, and vulnerable with oneself.

Why does the speaker believe that vulnerability and transparency are important for healing?

The speaker believes that vulnerability and transparency are important for healing because they generate love and intimacy, which in turn increase oxytocin and endorphins and reduce harmful stress hormones, leading to an inside-out healing process that is more powerful than external medical interventions.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍⚕️ Rethinking Health Priorities

The speaker, a physician, challenges the audience to consider that physical care might not be the most crucial aspect of health. Traditional health factors like diet, exercise, and medical check-ups are important, but the speaker suggests that the body is a reflection of one's lifestyle rather than the foundation. The speaker shares personal experiences and professional observations, indicating that physical symptoms often arise from deeper, unaddressed issues in one's life, such as being in an unhealthy relationship or a hostile work environment. The speaker emphasizes that the body sends subtle signals, which, if ignored, can escalate into severe health problems. The speaker's frustration with the medical profession's inability to address these underlying causes is palpable, as is the realization of their own complicity in the same issues they see in their patients.

05:03

🎭 The Struggle with Multiple Identities

The speaker describes her journey of self-discovery and the shedding of various 'masks' she had been wearing in her life, including those of a doctor, an artist, a wife, and a mother. She recounts a period of intense personal turmoil, marked by a series of tragic and life-altering events, which ultimately led her to reevaluate her life and priorities. This period, referred to as her 'perfect storm,' included the birth of her daughter, the death of her dog, her brother's liver failure, her father's death, and her husband's severe injury. These events catalyzed a profound transformation, prompting her to quit her job as a doctor, sell her house, and embark on a path of self-healing and rediscovery of her true calling.

10:06

🔍 The Quest for True Health

The speaker delves into her quest to understand the true determinants of health and illness. She critically examines the medical literature and discovers that factors beyond physical health, such as relationships, professional life, creativity, spirituality, and financial health, play a significant role in overall well-being. She shares her frustration with the medical system's focus on symptom management rather than addressing root causes. The speaker's exploration leads her to integrate various healing modalities, from allopathic to alternative and complementary approaches. However, she still encounters the same issue of symptoms resurfacing unless the underlying causes are addressed. This realization propels her to develop a new model of wellness that considers the whole person, not just the physical body.

15:08

🌟 The Whole Health Cairn Model

The speaker introduces her 'Whole Health Cairn' model, which is based on the interdependence of various aspects of a person's life, much like the balanced stones found in cairns. She emphasizes that the body is the most visible part, but it is the least stable and most affected by imbalances in other areas of life. The foundation of this model is the 'Inner Pilot Light,' a person's true essence and spiritual core, which provides guidance and healing. The speaker encourages the audience to look beyond physical symptoms and to seek the underlying causes of their health issues. She challenges the audience to write their own prescriptions for health by addressing the imbalances in their lives and by tapping into their Inner Pilot Light, which she believes is the most potent healer available.

Keywords

💡Inner Pilot Light

The 'Inner Pilot Light' is a term used to describe the authentic, deep, and true part of an individual, often associated with one's spiritual or divine essence. It is the inner voice or intuition that guides a person towards what is right for them. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of tapping into this Inner Pilot Light for healing and overall health, suggesting that it is the biggest healer one can access, surpassing traditional medical treatments.

💡Health Epitome

The 'Health Epitome' refers to the commonly held beliefs about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, such as eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. The speaker challenges these notions by suggesting that while these factors are important, they are not the most critical aspects of health. Instead, the speaker argues for a more holistic approach that includes mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

💡Masks

In the context of the video, 'Masks' symbolize the various roles and identities that people adopt to fulfill societal expectations, such as being a doctor, an artist, a spouse, or a parent. The speaker uses the metaphor of masks to illustrate how these roles can obscure one's true self, leading to a disconnection from one's Inner Pilot Light and potentially causing physical symptoms or illness.

💡Whispers of the Body

The 'Whispers of the Body' is a metaphor for the subtle signs or symptoms that the body sends to indicate imbalance or disharmony in one's life. The speaker suggests that these whispers are often ignored, leading to more severe health issues. The video encourages listeners to pay attention to these early warnings and to address the underlying causes of their health problems rather than just treating the symptoms.

💡Whole Health Cairn

The 'Whole Health Cairn' is a model introduced by the speaker to represent a holistic approach to health. It is a visual metaphor, inspired by the stacks of balanced stones found in nature, where each stone represents different aspects of a person's well-being, such as relationships, work life, spirituality, and physical health. The model emphasizes the interdependence of these aspects, suggesting that a balance in all areas is necessary for optimal health.

💡Self-Healing

Self-healing, as discussed in the video, is the process of initiating and managing one's own path to recovery and health. The speaker argues that while doctors can provide treatments and medications, true healing comes from within, through acknowledging and addressing the root causes of illness. This concept is central to the speaker's message, encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their health and well-being.

💡Vulnerability

Vulnerability in the video is presented as a strength rather than a weakness. It refers to the willingness to show one's true self, including fears, insecurities, and emotions, which can lead to deeper connections and improved mental health. The speaker connects vulnerability with the concept of the Inner Pilot Light, suggesting that embracing one's vulnerability can facilitate healing and improve overall health.

💡Managed Care

Managed care is a type of healthcare system where medical costs are controlled through various means, such as limiting the number of service providers or setting a fixed budget for healthcare services. In the video, the speaker criticizes managed care for potentially compromising the quality of care by encouraging doctors to see a high volume of patients in a short amount of time, which can lead to a lack of personalized attention and忽视 the importance of addressing the whole person's needs.

💡Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine is an approach that combines conventional medical treatments with alternative therapies to address the whole person. The speaker mentions joining an integrative medicine practice as a step towards a more holistic approach to healthcare. However, she still found limitations in this model, as it often still relied on external treatments rather than addressing the root causes of illness.

💡Randomized Controlled Trials

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a type of scientific experiment that is considered the gold standard for determining the effectiveness of medical treatments. The speaker mentions conducting research and reviewing RCTs as part of her quest to understand what truly contributes to health and illness. This highlights the importance of evidence-based practices in the speaker's approach to healthcare.

💡Spiritual Disconnection

Spiritual disconnection refers to a lack of connection with one's inner self or a sense of purpose and meaning in life. The speaker identifies spiritual disconnection as a significant factor that can contribute to physical symptoms and overall ill health. The video suggests that reconnecting with one's spirituality is a crucial aspect of achieving whole health.

Highlights

The traditional view of health focuses on physical care, but the speaker suggests that this is the least important part of health.

The speaker, a physician, challenges the medical profession's approach by proposing that the body is a mirror of our lifestyle rather than the foundation.

Physical symptoms can be the body's way of communicating dissatisfaction with one's life situation.

Modern medicine is often at a loss to treat patients who feel unwell but have no diagnosable conditions.

The speaker shares her personal journey of burnout and illness, despite outward signs of success.

A pivotal moment in the speaker's life led to a radical change, quitting her job, and reevaluating her life's direction.

The realization that the body's health is deeply connected to one's emotional and spiritual well-being.

The speaker's exploration of integrative medicine and its limitations in addressing the root causes of illness.

The importance of addressing all aspects of a person's life for true health, not just physical symptoms.

Research findings indicate that factors like relationships, work life, and spirituality are as crucial as physical health.

The introduction of the 'Whole Health Cairn' model, emphasizing the interdependence of all aspects of well-being.

The concept of the 'Inner Pilot Light' as a source of intuition and healing.

The speaker's challenge to the audience to write their own health prescription by addressing the root causes of their symptoms.

The power of vulnerability and authenticity in healing, supported by scientific research on oxytocin and stress hormones.

The call to action for individuals to take responsibility for their health by tapping into their Inner Pilot Light.

The potential for miracles in health when one is authentic and true to their inner self.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Robert Tucker Reviewer: Capa Girl

What's the most important part of your health?

What do you think?

Is it eating a balanced, mostly plant-based diet,

balancing your hormones, daily exercise, getting enough sleep -

What do you guys think?

Taking your vitamins, seeing your doctor for regular check ups?

(Laughter)

These things might all seem like important, even critical, factors

to living a healthy life, but what if I told you

that caring for your body was the least important part of your health?

What do you think?

I'm a physician, so if you'd told me that five years ago,

that would have been total sacrilege.

I mean, I spent 12 years training,

because the body is supposed to be the foundation for everything in life.

But what if I told you that the medical profession had it all backwards,

if the body doesn't shape how we live our lives?

What if the body is actually a mirror of how we live our lives?

Think about it for a minute. Think about a time in your life

where you weren't living the life you were supposed to be living.

Maybe you were in the wrong relationship;

or you were in some hostile work environment

doing what you thought you should do;

or you were creatively thwarted, you felt spiritually disconnected.

And what if you started getting little inklings from the body,

little physical symptoms?

You know, the body's trying to tell you something and you ignore it,

because you're supposed to do what you're doing.

And then the body totally decompensates.

Can you think about a time in your life where something like that has happened?

Yeah, I see a lot of noddings.

Yeah, me too. Same thing happened to me.

So this is what the body does, the body is brilliant this way,

the body speaks to us in whispers.

And if we ignore the whispers of the body, the body starts to yell.

Millions of people in this country are ignoring the whispers of the body.

We are suffering from an epidemic

that modern medicine has no idea what to do with.

People suffering from this epidemic are fatigued,

they're anxious and depressed, they toss and turn at night,

they've lost their libido.

They suffer from a whole variety of aches and pains,

so they go to the doctor, 'cause something is wrong.

And the doctor runs a whole battery of tests,

and the tests all come back normal, so the patient gets diagnosed as "well".

Only the patient does not feel well.

So she goes to another doctor and she starts the whole process over again,

because something is clearly wrong.

And it is wrong, it's just not what she thinks.

I used to work in a really busy managed care practice,

I was seeing 40 patients a day.

And I would get so freaking frustrated with these patients.

They would come in and it was so obvious they were really suffering.

And I'd run the tests, everything would come back normal,

I'd diagnose them well, and they'd look at me like:

No, I'm not well, something's wrong.

And I felt so frustrated because I couldn't come up with a diagnosis.

And they just wanted, please God, give me a pill.

And there was no pill, there's no pill to treat it,

there's no lab test to diagnose this epidemic,

there's no vaccine to prevent it, no surgery to cut it out.

It wasn't until years later that I realized I was suffering

from the same epidemic my patients were.

By the time I was 33 years old,

I was your typical physician.

I had succeeded in everything I ever wanted to achieve in my life, I thought.

I had all the trappings of success, the ocean front house in San Diego,

the vacation home, the boat, the big fat retirement account,

so I could be happy one day in the future.

I was twice divorced by that point.

I had been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

I was taking three medications that failed to control my blood pressure

and I had just been diagnosed

with precancerous cells of my cervix that needed surgery.

Even more importantly I was so disconnected from who I was,

so totally disillusioned with my job, so completely spiritually tapped out,

that I didn't even know who I was any more.

I'd covered myself up with a whole series of masks.

I had the doctor mask, like when you put on the white coat,

stand up on a pedestal, pretend you got it all together,

you know it all.

And I am also a professional artist, so I had the artist mask,

where you've got to be, you know, dark and brooding,

mysterious - starving, that wasn't me either.

And then I had gotten married a third time,

you know, third time is a charm.

So now I've got this dutiful wife mask I've gotta wear,

where I've got to get dinner on the table

and make sure that I've got the right sexy lingerie on.

And then I got pregnant and all of sudden

there's this huge mummy mask you're supposed to wear, right?

You guys know the mummy mask.

You're supposed to instantly inherit the gene

that makes you capable of baking the perfect cupcake.

That's where I was, wearing all those masks,

when my perfect storm hit.

And at this point in my life, it was January 2006,

and I gave birth to my daughter by C-section,

my sixteen-year-old dog died,

my healthy young brother wound up in full-blown liver failure

from the antibiotic Zithromax,

and my beloved father passed away from a brain tumor, all in two weeks.

I had just started to take a breath, when my husband,

who was the stay home for my newborn,

cut two fingers off his left hand with the table saw.

Yeah -

They say when your life falls apart, you either grow, or you grow a tumor.

Fortunately for me I decided to grow, there was something in me.

SARK called it my "Inner Wise Self", which I call your Inner Pilot Light.

It said, "It's time to take the masks off. It's time to stop the madness.

It's time to stop doing what you should, and start doing what you feel."

And in that moment I knew I had to quit my job.

Now, this was a huge deal, right? I spent 12 years training to be a doctor

and hundreds of thousands of dollars

and we had all the trappings, you know, the house, the mortgage,

all the doctor stuff, right?

My husband was not employed and I had a newborn.

I also had to pay a malpractice tail to buy my freedom,

a six-figure malpractice tail, in case I ever got sued in the future.

So I decided to do it, and God bless my husband, who said let's jump together.

And I quit my job and I had to sell my house

and liquidate my retirement account and move to the country;

and I spent a few months painting and writing and licking my wounds.

(Laughter) (Applause)

It wasn't until about nine months later, everybody was like - nine months!

I'm an OB/GYN!

Nine months later I realized you can quit your job but you can't quit your calling.

And I had been called at a very young age, I was seven years old,

to the service, the practice, the spiritual practice of medicine;

and that calling hadn't gone away.

I had gotten so wounded by the system that I didn't even notice it anymore;

but it came back after I had rested and healed after a little while.

But I knew I couldn't go back, I couldn't be seeing 40 patients a day,

7,5 minutes with my patients, that wasn't why I went to medical school.

So it began this quest, that turned into an almost five-year quest now,

to rediscover what I loved about medicine.

So that also meant I had to figure out what I hated about medicine.

So I started by blaming everybody:

it was the ambulance chasing malpractice attorneys;

it's big pharma; it's managed care medicine;

it's the insurance company's fault.

Then I thought, oh no, it's the reductionist medical system,

we're so, so sub-specialized, you know?

I'm an OB/GYN, so I was seeing these patients that had pelvic problems.

But I knew that there was something bigger than the pelvis

that was causing their issues.

But I hadn't been trained to really look at that.

So I thought that's the problem, like you go to your doctor,

your pinky finger hurts and he says, "I'm sorry, I'm a thumb doctor."

(Laughter)

Nobody's looking at the whole picture.

So I thought integrative medicine was the answer.

And so I joined an integrative medicine practice,

and it was so much better; I got a whole hour with my patients.

I really got to listen to my patients,

we didn't accept managed care medical insurance,

so it was really so much better.

And then I still kept bumping up against something though,

because now if you came in and you were depressed

we were giving you herbs and amino acids instead of Prozac.

If you had other physical symptoms -

but it was still this allopathic model,

where the answer was outside of you,

and I had to give you something that you could take.

So I thought maybe that's not the problem, maybe I need to look outside of that

and find new tools for my healing toolbox.

So I started working with all these complementary

and alternative health care providers,

whom I love, acupuncturists, naturopaths and nutritionists.

And I started treating my patients with needles in their energy meridians

and raw foods, and that was great.

But I kept bumping up against the same thing:

patients would get better from one symptom

and if we didn't treat the root cause

of why they had that physical symptom in first place,

they just wound up getting a new symptom.

So at this point I was both really frustrated and really curious,

and I started down this path of trying to figure out

what really makes a body healthy,

and what really makes us sick.

And I dug into the medical literature and spent a year researching

all of the randomized controlled clinical trials out there.

And I decided this is it, I'm going to figure it out,

I'm going to find the answer.

And I spent hours in the library, researching, reading, studying.

What I found blew my frigging mind,

stuff nobody ever taught me in medical school.

All the things we think of as health, all the things we think matter, they do.

It matters that you exercise, it matters that you eat well,

it matters that you see the doctor.

But nobody taught me that what really matters is healthy relationships,

having a healthy professional life,

expressing yourself creatively,

being spiritually connected,

having a healthy sex life,

being healthy financially,

living in a healthy environment,

being mentally healthy,

and of course all the things we traditionally associate with health,

also matter, all the things that nurture the body.

The data on this is unbelievable.

Lots of it is not in the traditional journals that you read,

that doctors read, a lot of it's in the psychological literature,

the sociological literature.

But if you look deep, this is in The New England Journal of Medicine,

it's in The Journal of the American Medical Association,

it's coming out of Harvard and Yale and Johns Hopkins.

This is real data proving that these things are just as important,

if not more.

I had this patient, she's a raw vegan,

she runs marathons, she takes 20 supplements a day,

she sleeps eight hours a night, she does everything her doctor tells her,

she's got a chart this fat, and she's still got multiple health problems.

So she had heard about my philosophy, I had started practicing with my patients,

and I had an intake form that's about 20 pages long

and it asks about all those things, relationships, work life, spiritual life,

creative life, sex life, all of these things that make you whole.

So she came and she filled out her form and she said,

"Doctor, what's my diagnosis?"

And I said, "Honey, your diagnosis is you're in a freaking abusive marriage.

You hate your job, you feel creatively thwarted,

you're spiritually disconnected,

and you haven't let go of that resentment you have against your father

who molested you as a child.

Your body is never gonna get well until you heal that."

So if taking care of the body isn't the most important part of being healthy,

what is?

It's caring for the mind, caring for the heart,

caring for the soul,

tapping into what I call your Inner Pilot Light.

Now your pilot light is that part of you, that essence,

that authentic, deep, true part of you, that spiritual, divine spark

that always knows what's right for you.

You're born with it, it goes with you when you die,

and it always knows the truth about you and your body.

It comes to you in whispers; it's your intuition;

it's that beautiful part of you that is your biggest fan;

the part that writes you love letters.

And that is the biggest healer you can tap into,

better than any medicine, better than any doctor.

So based on everything that I learned, I developed a new wellness model.

And it was based, not on the pie charts and pyramids

that many of the wellness models I had studied were based on.

I based it on the cairn.

Have you guys seen these things around San Francisco?

These stacks of balanced stones, I love them, I've always loved them.

I'm an artist, so it appeals to me visually.

But I love the interdependence. Every stone is dependent on the other;

you can't just pull one stone out without the whole thing crumbling.

And the stone that's most precarious is the one on top.

That's the body, that's where I think of the body.

The body is the stone on top.

When any of the facets of what makes you whole get out of balance,

the body is the first to start whispering,

and the foundation stone is your Inner Pilot Light,

that true essence of you, that vulnerable, transparent part of you.

So based on that, I created this model, that I call the Whole Health Cairn.

And this is what my next book is about.

An it's taking all of the facets of what makes you whole;

it's about self-healing from the core, and once you recognize this,

then you have all the tools you need to start your own healing journey.

So all of the facets of what makes you whole are surrounded

by what I call the healing bubble.

This is love and gratitude and pleasure.

And science proves that all of those things

are good for your health as well; they are the glue that hold everything together.

So I challenge you. If you have any physical symptom,

if you're suffering from the epidemic that plagues the developed world,

I want you to ask yourself, "What's the real reason I'm sick

or suffering, what's out of balance in my whole health cairn?"

What's the real diagnosis and what can you do about it?

How can you be more transparent?

How can you open yourself up to more possibility?

How can you be more honest with yourself about what you need and who you are?

If any of you were lucky enough to see Brene Brown's awesome TEDTalk

about the power of vulnerability -

I see a lot of nodding heads, I love it -

it's so fabulous, but it talks about the science behind being true,

being vulnerable, being transparent.

It generates love and intimacy which increases oxytocin and endorphins,

and reduces harmful stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

When we let our true self be seen, when we let our Inner Pilot Light radiate,

we heal from the inside out

and it's more powerful than anything medicine can give you from the outside.

So I challenge you to write the prescription for yourself.

No doctor can do this for you. We can give you drugs,

we can give you surgery, and sometimes you need that,

that's the jump-start of the self-healing process.

But to heal to the core, so that you don't develop new symptoms,

so you don't need another surgery -- you gotta write your own prescription.

So I ask you, "What is it that you need, what does your body need to get healthy?

What is it that you need to change, What needs to be tweaked in your life?"

If you knew that stripping off all of your masks

and letting us see that beautiful light within you,

was the solution to your health problems, would you be willing to do it?

I dare you.

It just might make your body ripe for miracles.

Thank you.

(Applause)