What's your (cultural) story? The brainwashing of the human race

Not a day goes by anymore when I don't hear a television or radio commercial promoting the use of drugs. Of course, I mean prescription drugs. They certainly wouldn't allow commercials promoting the “bad” drugs. Yes, I know I have a bit of a sarcastic streak.

So, the commercial goes on to say how the drug they're marketing can take care of whatever symptoms you're having whether it be migraine headaches, allergies or acid reflux, depending on the brand. Oh, and let's not forget the “social disorders” like depression, anger and anxiety disorders. Psychotropic drugs are amongst the most popularly prescribed meds.

Near the end of the commercial, if listen real hard, you will hear a monotone voice list the possible side effects, many of which would concern me more than the original symptom. Headaches, back pain and dry mouth are seemingly harmless compared with constipation, abdominal bleeding and possible liver failure. There's something I believe, at least on some level, is even more harmful than the physical side effects of these prescription medications.

The cultural parameters of society tend to dictate the belief systems and behavior of its people. To put it another way, truth is whatever the cultural story says it is. For instance, there's was a time when it was culturally accepted that the world was flat. Based on current knowledge, that may seem a bit ridiculous, but at the time that was the belief. This concept still holds true today.

Society's belief about health and the body's expression of symptoms is dominated by a cultural story called the medical model. In this model, any symptom the body displays is judged as wrong, then named and treated. Some people reading this might be thinking, “of course, who wants to have symptoms, and what's wrong with treating them?” Let's look at an example of this story.

Jane falls in love, gets married at a young age and has a couple of kids. Eventually things don't work out and she finds herself divorced, working a job she doesn't like and running the kids around to all their activities. There is little time left for her own needs, including the things that make her soul sing. At the end of the day she usually has a headache which can be dulled with an over the counter pain killer. Sometimes, when the stress is really bad, she gets migraines. But she has a prescription for that. It doesn't work too well. The only good thing about the headaches is that they keep her mind off her discontent and depression about her life. Her doctor put her on a happy pill that effectively numbs and keeps her from feeling, pretty much, anything. As the stress builds she experiences tension and pain in her neck and shoulders. She goes to the chiropractor, gets “manipulated”, and feels almost totally better. After a while the chiropractic doesn't seem to work anymore. Ironically her annual physical results in a clean bill of health, yet she just doesn't feel as good as she'd like.

I could go on with this story but I think you get the point. Unfortunately, for most people, this story continues with no change in direction. Why? It is because they unknowingly bought into what is currently the predominant cultural story. One in which we are victims of the bad symptoms which are a result of bad luck or bad genetics. We go to the medical doctor, who is the high priest of this story. He diagnoses the symptom, prescribes the cure and helps numb us from the feeling of our life. And we are under the illusion that if we don't feel it we'll be better off. The only problem is that the symptoms keep coming; only they get louder and harder to quell. Meanwhile we live our life steeped in fear, anxiety and the vigilance of survival.

Somehow we have been brainwashed and misled. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, one of five teens has abused prescription medications. Is it because they're bad kids or is it because they've been bombarded with the cultural message that says we should use medications to numb ourselves?

There is another, albeit less popular, cultural story that is beginning to emerge. It is called the story of the wellness. In this model we look at symptoms a little differently. They are not just something that's wrong and needs to be fixed, rather they are an expression of an amazing intelligence we call life. They are a way in which our body can alert us to the need for change. Maybe that change is in our diet, or in our relationships, or in how we respond to our environment, or maybe even in our life's purpose.

We, as Network practitioners and SRI facilitators, present to our clients as the storytellers of an emerging culture. We tell the cultural story of wellness and provide them with the tools to support it. In this story we do not fear our bodies and our symptoms; rather we use their wisdom to guide us in the choices of life. We become empowered in our own process. Our practitioners are facilitators, not fixers. It is a story that can help us evolve as individuals and a society. Sounds like a pretty good story to me. It kind of makes you wonder why it hasn't caught on.