02 May Why Medical Coaching is The Answer to Lifestlye Disease

The unintended consequences of a modern life are diseases caused by modern conveniences.

People outwardly acknowledge medical treatment alone will not cure these lifestyle diseases.  Their actions tell a different story.

We have assumed that medical science would always provide quick and easy solutions.  The results are as follows:

1. The incidence of Diabetes increased 217% from 1990 to 2009.
2. The rate of obesity increased 383% from 1980 to 2005.
3. Depression rates increased 200% from 1991 and 2013.

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Our assumptions have failed us!

A new medical coaching model begins by encouraging people to realize their potential for change and their responsibility to do so.  Stephen Covey explains this as having a Proactive vs. a Reactive mindset.

Each person has the power and the freedom to choose how he will respond to any given situation.  The key is the choice.  That is where a good coach can transform a frustrated life.

Advancements in medical science have been miraculous.  Polio is no longer a threat.  Many cancers have been transformed from death sentences to manageable chronic diseases like Hypertension and Diabetes.  Incredible imaging techniques allow us to precisely see into the inner body.

We look to science to provide us with a cure.  Medical advancements are failing us on a new battlefront.  Lifestyle diseases are growing at an alarming pace.

They require a new treatment model.  The solution does not rely on new technologies alone.  We must combine the worlds of science and motivation.  Primary care providers trained in the science of medicine and the art of coaching will give us a fighting chance to win the battle.

This “lifestyle disease epidemic causes a much greater public health threat than any other epidemic known to man,” said Shanthi Mendis, the lead author of the World Health Organization’s  Chronic Diseases Prevention and Management report.  Non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, lung disease and a range of cancers, killed 38 million people around the globe in 2012.

Three Principles of a Medical Coaching Model

1. Focus on how behavior affects health and illness – Eating habits, physical activity, social connections, and spiritual clarity.
2. Look at life as a collection of accounts that constantly need deposits. These Life Accounts are interrelated.   Behavior changes in any account affects the health of all the other accounts.   (My Life Accounts are Spiritual Health, Physical Health, Emotional Health, Intellectual Health, Relationship with Spouse, Relationships with Children, Friendships, Career, Personal Finances.)
3. Health Care Providers must adopt a coaching mentality.  People need more than knowledge.  They need a guide.  Primary care providers are in a unique position to meld the benefits of a passionate skillful coach and the benefits of modern medical science.

Personal Action Steps

1.  Define the main areas of your life in which you want to see success.  Write down your most important Life Accounts.  Usually 5-7 is a good number.  Too many can be difficult to manage.

2.  Visualize yourself as an older version of you in the later stages of life.  What wisdom would your older version share?  How do you want to be remembered in each Life Account?  Develop a vision and a purpose for each account.

3.  Develop and write down SMART Actions Steps (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound) to make the visions of each Life Account become reality.

4.  Review this document daily for the first 90 days then weekly after that.  This is a living document that will change as you change and mature.

Here’s to the Journey!

(David W. Ball, MD, an Internal Medicine physician, founder of NuVitality Health – a wellness education company, and co-founder of Life Changing Fitness – where your goal is our mission)