For most women, the concept of Women’s Health is as follows: I live my life and do many things to myself (or allow them to be done to me); then, there is a place I go for evaluation and treatment—where I go for help when I am having trouble. Often, these are seen as two separate and disparate processes, when in fact, the one informs the other.
Women frequently mistreat themselves and/or are mistreated; then they may go to a medical center, doctor, or other treatment facility where they may well continue the process of mis-treatment. The healthcare system may actually intentionally mistreat the woman, based on her insurance limitations, social status, education, or lack thereof.
Education in healthcare is fundamental to a woman’s understanding of her own needs. “The majority of primary care physicians concur with the preventive care guidelines issued by the 1996 United States Preventive Services Task Force, and agree that it is their responsibility to deliver preventive care services. However, actual adoption of the guidelines into practice has been slow and inadequate” ((Mirand, Beehler, Kuo, & Mahoney, 2003). While Yarnell, Pollak, Ostbye, Krause, and Michener (2003) determined that 7.4 hours of preventive education should be performed per day in the average medical practice, this is not being done because of insurance costs and time constraints. Do you have a healthcare provider who will take the time to teach? Do you take the time to learn?
A Woman’s Health Depends On Herself
We are all unfinished selves, in the process of self-discovery and self-creation. Our physical, spiritual, and psychological aspects all need growth, nurturing, and self-care. Our obligation is to build ourselves, and this means, with no equivocation, that we are responsible for what happens to us, based upon our own choices.
Each of us chooses to acknowledge our needs and wants within the framework of our own lives and lifestyles. We choose the lives we build, no matter what others do to influence that choice. So, with our health, we choose to be responsible for our bodies, our mental, spiritual, and emotional health, what we ingest, how we live….or, we act blindly and stumble into a healthcare center/office and submit to medical interventions when we are no longer well.
At Discovery, we offer:
- Well Woman’s Care
- Psychoneuroimmunology for Infertility and High Risk Pregnancies
- Adjunctive and Natural Treatment for Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancers, Obesity
- Treatment for Women through the LifeSpan
- Education for Healthy Sexuality
- Therapies for Menopause
