Redefining Power
I began writing my book, I’m Sick, Not Crazy: How I Took Control of My Health When Western Medicine Told Me it Was All In My Head, as a way to take my power back after an incredibly disempowering experience. It seemed to me that if I could understand the story of my own debilitating physical illness, then I could reclaim the control over my body and mind that the medical system had taken from me. Even better, I could help others to reclaim power and control over their own bodies.
When I became ill, I did what most people do. I went to my doctor and explained my symptoms, expecting to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Instead, what I received was a long series of dismissals from medical professionals. They minimized my symptoms, insinuated that I was exaggerating, and told me that I was “probably just anxious.”
By the end of a year and a half of severe illness, my energy to ask Western Medicine for help was utterly depleted. I realized that I was just one small person, and that the medical system was vast and powerful, and my voice was simply too tiny to be heard.
Instead of giving up, however, I gathered my energy back to myself and began to find other ways to heal. By taking my power back and seeking my own wellness, my own way, I saved my own life.
Unfortunately, many people going through similar situations don’t realize that they even have the option of reclaiming their own power, which is what I want to talk about today.
For centuries, power has been defined as having power over others; the might makes right philosophy. Kingdoms were created where one person had ultimate power over others. People with physical strength, or with superior weaponry or technology have subdued others in order to take resources from them.
Hierarchy can be found today in all areas of life. In the corporations that we work for, where labor is underpaid in order to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, and in governments that take from the people they govern, and give little back. And, of course, in the medical system, which over-charges for care that is questionably helpful, and often leaves people bankrupt.
These hierarchies don’t work. They concentrate wealth, resources, and authority in the hands of the few. They define power as having power over others.
Yet, I believe that power is something very different. I believe that power is found in all of the ways that people take control of themselves and their own futures. And I believe that power is found in communities of equals who work together towards a common goal that is helpful and enriching to everyone.
When I realized that asking Western Medicine to save me wasn’t working, I had to re-evaluate. I had to practice radical acceptance of the fact that my body was likely never going to be the same, and that mainstream sources of medical assistance weren’t going to help me. I had to start researching other ways to get what I needed in order to get well, and I had to trust my own intuitive knowing that there are many ways to heal — not just the one that capitalism says is right. I had to take my power back to myself and take charge of my own life and health.
There could be many ways that you are giving your power away. You could be staying in a relationship that doesn’t serve you and will never give you the future that you want. Possibly you’re working in a job that makes you feel unimportant and pays you less than you’re worth. Perhaps you’re relying on a person, or a bureaucracy, to take care of you, your health, or your safety, and you’re finding that it isn’t actually working out the way you’d hoped.
Consider, are there ways that I could take my power back? Are there ways that I’ve been giving my power away that aren’t serving me? Is it possible to move away from hierarchy and toward equality and community?
After asking myself these questions about my interactions with Western Medicine, I decided that there were ways that I could take control, take my power back, and make myself whole again.
The first thing that I did was join a yoga studio, and I will forever maintain that this move saved my life. By joining a community of wellness seekers that accepted my body in all of its brokenness and make me feel acceptable, and then showed me how I could still move my body in ways that felt good, I began the process of taking my power back and moving toward healing.
As I slowly began to regain my physical strength, the strength of my mind and heart began to grow as well. I became a seeker of wellness in my own right, and the doors slowly opened. After yoga, massage became part of my healthcare routine, and the stuck and stagnant parts of my body began to move and soften. Then acupuncture and craniosacral therapy became pieces of my healthcare puzzle.
I know that my body will never be like it was before my illness, and that I will always need to work to maintain my health. However, I am thrilled to be able to tell you that by taking back my power over my own body and healing, I succeeded in creating a body that works.
Not only am I well enough to function, but I thrive. People laugh at how much energy I have to be productive, and they joke that I accomplish as much as two or three people usually do. They’re right, and it’s because I embody my own power now. I don’t wait for permission. I decide what is right for me, and I go after it. I trust myself.
If you’ve given away your power, taking it back is a process, but awareness is the first step. Once you’re aware, you can start to make moves away from the old definition of power-over, and towards the new definition of power-within-yourself, and power-in-community.
Rather than calling you out, I’m calling you in to a new way of being with yourself and those around you, and I support you in every step of the journey.