Until you’re diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening illness you may have never craved health? Until your diagnosis, health was something you had and some of you worked to preserve it while others just let health ride its own wave. Cravings are funny things because they come on unexpectedly and are often of a bizarre nature. A health challenge shifts the craving from bizarre to one of essential desire. It removes the oddity of the craving from a whim to something tangible, measurable, and priceless.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that in this day of cost cutting, many are disappointed with their healthcare provider because of the parameters placed on them by their healthcare insurer. We hunger for the days when care was more personalized. Having a personal physician, someone who knows you only happens in small towns or as a result of the new field of practitioners called concierge doctors. So what is it that we’re craving from healthcare??? CARE.
It’s a sad state of affairs when we crave care from our health”care” provider. This isn’t to say that medical providers are negligent, but it has become the responsibility of the patient to not only create the relationship, but maintain the relationship with their providers. If a provider is expected to see 30+ patients in a day, how personal can they be? Aside from getting the negative attention of the provider by being a nuisance, how will you become memorable? Sometimes I think they should put our pictures in our chart so the process of name/face recognition begins to take hold.
Patients yearn for their doctor’s attention because at times of crisis, and a diagnosis of any kind sparks a crisis, we want to know that we’re a priority for the provider. Creating open and honest dialogues with your provider is one way to soothe the craving. It’s important that if you have the craving for greater care that you make that craving known to your provider. The “care” doesn’t have to be from them, but maybe a nurse, social worker or someone else on the team who can be a point of contact for those moments when you crave “care”.
Cravings get stronger the longer they are ignored or unfulfilled. It’s important that you identify your craving for care and then take steps to soothe the craving. You’ll enjoy peace of mind and that’s a big deal when facing a health challenge.
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 