Empowerment (1984)

foreign [Music] help may be a question of balance a matter of remaining poised centered whole and controlled despite the constant pull of outside forces these influences may be the result of life challenges which tend to imperil the equilibrium requiring us to fortify our balancing skills empowering us to stay on course Health depends on the harmonious development of all aspects of our personalities our ability to have fun to find joy in our work to love and relate to others life's challenges begin early and so perhaps does The Balancing Act each of us has an innate need for play or work or social interaction simple building blocks for human growth but later in life our place in the world of work assumes increasing importance our culture of values productivity we are pushed to juggle job family and social considerations in pursuit of success the price of achievement can be high our physical mental and emotional help may be on the other side of the scale yet if a balanced approach is maintained toward work and play toward family and Community toward physical and mental Fitness the possibilities for growth are boundless no matter what age one may be foreign [Music] seminars Dr Catherine D Cramer director of prevention programs at St Louis University Medical Center addresses the challenges to health enhancement they go through life Hunters life challenges internal and external that come to bear on everyday work situations home situations and social situations and these life challenges need to be responded to we teach an empowerment program so that people can learn how to negotiate life challenges how they can in effect stay on top be in charge reach their goal of self-enhancement in terms of productivity in terms of relationships in terms of their own health and well-being empowerment goes a Step Beyond knowing the basic skills of what's important and how to take care of yourself physically or mentally or emotionally when you when you reach an empowerment process you learn a way in which you can in spite of life challenges make a shift so you can stay on the track towards self-enhancement Dr Ashley Montague internationally noted Anthropologist author and philosopher underscores the need for such approaches to the challenges of everyday life one of the most important things that we need to learn is that the way we live has a major part in the way we grow and develop as human beings and the way in which our health grows and develops so whatever goes on in your experience as a living human being will be operative upon the structure and the functions of your body all the physical and the psychological stresses to which we expose ourselves of the principle causes of the disharmony that is produced in the body for example lack of exercise we are members of an order of animals monkeys and apes who are the most active in the animal kingdom yet we have become the most sedentary creatures on this Earth and it is the lack of understanding of the abuses to which we put both our body and mind which are responsible for a great proportion of the illnesses and diseases and disorders which human beings suffer [Music] we enter the world with tiny newly made bodies perfect in design radiating health and potential and we are welcomed with joy and enthusiasm in much the same way that the shiny new accoutrements of our culture are received [Music] new possessions receive tender loving care especially when they are new but caring is a personal responsibility a lifetime concern [Music] eventually mileage the wear and tear of everyday life and years of use may cause the mechanism to break down tubes become clogged valves Jam systems fail we call upon expert hands to repair the damage restore Health to the organism highly skilled Physicians perform miraculous medical and surgical procedures returning individuals to productive light [Music] any doctor of any experience will tell you that 80 percent of the conditions with which patients come to him for advice are induced by the way of life the disharmony between oneself and the environment in which one finds oneself health care and healing have traditionally seen shifts of emphasis in earlier cultures for example native healers were sensitive to the relationship between the person and his external world Turing was a community event involving ritual and faith in the healing tradition in the 20th century emphasis has shifted to science and medicine we put our faith in a new kind of healer who backed by teamwork and complex machinery a tax disease aggressively and is equal to any calamity you ready Ben let's do it this image of the doctor as hero is part of our folklore today he and his fellow Health Care Professionals are re-examining the ideas of past cultures and with this old wisdom and new technology are moving the system toward prevention modern technology has made it possible to unlock the secrets of the cell itself and to add New Dimensions to the restoration of Health but although the doctor can observe the fetus in the womb and watch the patient's heart at work he may never get to know him one of the things that has been responsible to the direction Which medicine has taken in the last 50 years is the increase in the technology of medicine the old-fashioned doctor has disappeared from the sea [Music] because after all what do you know about technology he used to go to a home of a patient and with his interest in the patient and the family gained a great deal of knowledge which the medical man of today with all his history taking lacks about the family the environment in which the illness or disorder is going on the family doctor had more in his black bag than simple medications through intimate knowledge of the individual and her surroundings he was able to advise to console and to establish an atmosphere of trust that encouraged the patient to participate in the healing process [Music] but as scientific devices assume a larger role in medical treatment they make their own demands on the position deflecting attention from aspects of a person's behavior that cause disease we must remember that in this development of Technology the doctor himself has become Technologies the instruments are there and they of course must be used and yet the doctor should be chiefly interested in recognizing that there is a human being there a product of a human environment yeah Harry the environments in which we exist are to a large degree products of choices that we make concerning habits work situations and personal relationships when we have deadlines to meet projects to complete goals to achieve we may find that our challenges exceed our coping skills well we do have a couple of things a slight problem we sense the balance slipping away especially when crucial life situations head for Collision oh hi do you have a minute listen I have to talk to you about something Sharon's teacher called today she's been missing classes and we have to talk to look ask Gramps to get over to the school yeah give them something to do will ya well grandpa is no help I need you I don't have time he's trying to make a living I got things to do what time will you be home you'll be home whenever he can make it I have a lot of files to go over so I don't think we have a lot of time this this evening either you have to get involved with this I just can't do it right now I just don't have time okay all right let's just skip it foreign told you not to bother him at the office [Music] what we should mean by help is a balance of the ability to love the ability to work the ability to play and the ability to think soundly now those are all words and the important thing about a word we must always remember is the action it produces that's the meaning of a word so what do we mean by love love is the communication to the other by demonstrative acts of your profound interest in their growth and development and fulfillment bringing out the best that is in the other and giving the best that is in you the family should be the area in which this is all recognized this is where human beings are created or destroyed it demands from our spouses from our children from our siblings from those people to whom we're attached connected for whom we have responsibility those kinds of Demands can prevent us sometimes from reaching our goals for instance they can actually step in our way create a roadblock and these are the kind of challenges that we want to circumvent that we want to be able to adapt to and change to so that we can stay on the road towards self-enhancement and the right dealer for the Cardinals would you please help me set the table honey would be nice if you listen to me good job Sean come back here Sharon Sharon what's going on I could tell you what's going on they've been at each other's throats all day so what's dinner dinner that's a good question look I can't do everything at the same time is it Sharon in school again yes it's Sharon in the school that's only part of the problem in my day children went to school and there was no mistake about it dad let me talk to my husband for a few minutes alone she doesn't like school she's not doing her homework I can't control her it needs a good friend take care of her I wish you two wouldn't just bicker Dad when you get in the middle I just came home why are you hitting me with this as soon as I walk into the door honey I've been trying to talk to you about these things for months now look you know I got a new job you know how difficult it is Sharon the family which should be a source of strength and support has become instead another source of tension conflicting demands and commitments take a heavy toll on the individual especially if he doesn't know what to do about them are you feeling all right Mr Tyson I feel all right a little time he tries simply to get through okay okay we'll see you later on that perhaps ignoring warning signs of deteriorating health Joyce hi honey listen Sharon didn't go to school today you want me to go now you want me to leave now right I can't well it's impossible what do you think I own this place oh oh no ask Gramps to go for her okay well grandpa is no helps all he does is criticize me all day long yeah you're losing control over the child [Music] I feel very well so I can't really talk right now okay why don't you talk to him when he gets home no it's important that I talk about this now look honey I don't feel very good okay I don't know I haven't been feeling good for days well I know that but yeah just ignoring everything I'm saying foreign [Music] what's going on over there Jim what's wrong is anybody there [Music] [Music] the tragedy is that individuals can be overpowered by unmet challenges often at the peak of their productive years when their families and their employers need the most [Music] the position in such cases salvages what he can knowing that unless the person is empowered to Prevail over life challenges he will continue to be vulnerable what we do is incomplete we see patients in whom we've done technical Feats of Marvel we put them back together knowing they're going back to the same routine that will get them back in the hospital again we need the patient with us and if we don't engage the patient psychologically we're fighting two diseases we're fighting the disease that the patient has and then the patient's attitude and that's too much of a battle to be very successful with what is needed is a restoration of the health professionals time-honored role as advisor and educator partnership for health helping individuals learn how best to influence their own well-being what you should be taught to do is to become a carer a steward of your own health who shares that stewardship with Specialists of various kinds so that it becomes interactive relationship the medical center should be the place where all this is going on where the teaching continues to focus on the human being fear of the brain a new vision of the mission of health professionals is now taking shape one that is not limited to combating disease but will teach people how to take control of their own health Dr David C Munns Senior Health Administration officials St Louis University Medical Center the Health Care system is more expansive than the way we currently are thinking about it we've restricted our our our opportunities by focusing in on one aspect of health illness and we don't realize how health is intertwined in everything that is part of of life most of us don't really feel that we have any control over disease over our symptoms over our illnesses and so we relinquish that control and put it in the hands of someone else that is a misconception not only in the minds of the public but I think in the minds of the health care provider many times the health care provider is not ready to see themselves as useful until the individual presents themselves with the signs and symptoms of illness and what the health care provider might want to do is think of themselves as more a a teacher and a motivator of the people to take care of themselves to prevent a lot of the problems that have been traditionally treated by the medical system and so these are the programs that are pushing the system to realize what is possible and what is possible it's enormous the Health Care system has an opportunity provide people with the knowledge and the skills in how to negotiate life challenges how to stay on top how to use the resources that are available to everyone [Music] the potential for health and personal enhancement exists for everyone regardless of age aging itself is an example of a life challenge we all would hope to encounter how we deal with personal aging is likely to be affected by the way we have been conditioned to think about it old age is a myth that we've created and what is most dangerous about our ideas is a self-fulfilling prophecy that we're going to grow rigid and no use biodegradable objects unemployable on the very periphery of a society the important thing is that this doesn't have to happen What should happen is that you should die young as late as possible by preserving that youthful Spirit which should be inhabiting your body I'll tell you what if I ever have to go the best place to go is right on the slopes at first in the morning I can even wait to get on the slopes and once I had my 10 or 15 runs I go home and then I sleep like a baby we have good evidence now that if you retain that youthful Spirit your body is much less likely to become inefficient and break down I'm 70 years old and I've been skiing since I was quite young I keep very active and I've been very interested in nutrition and exercising and hardly everything County may never win I don't know I don't get sick I mowed out in the open you don't get sick when you're out in the open I know a scare who is uh 98 and a scale who is 107. Smith Johansson of Canada he is now 107 years old he doesn't ski as much as he did but he still gets out there on cross-country skiing and here a few years ago he got married so far as I can tell those of us who are in our 40s 50s and even 60s are a lot healthier than many of the people I know in their 30s we can do more last year when I went for a checkup box that come back next year he said you're in better shape than I am he's a young man I think he just got to keep busy to keep from good health and good shape you just can't uh sit on your Duff let's say and see people do things you must do it it just makes you feel gorgeous optimism playful spirit enjoyment of activity and a balanced perspective in weighing our pursuit of personal goals against the needs of others these are the qualities that promote growth health and well-being and they are qualities we possess from the beginning the secret lies in understanding the child because there is with all these potentialities ready to go to become a warm loving healthy human being and adult is nothing more no less than a deteriorated child and the tragedy for most people lies in the difference between what they were capable of becoming and what they're being caused to become that doesn't relieve you for a moment of the responsibility Hereafter for making yourself over into the loving person that you are not okay Dad I'm going to the hospital to see Jim yeah well you better get going visiting hours will start pretty soon foreign you haven't been going to school have you no care to tell me why well all the kids in school they don't really even understand me or neither does Dad or anybody sweetie I understand how could you understand remember when your grandmother died I felt so lost and alone I felt something like you feel now when you thought your father was going to die and it wasn't easy it was an awful lot of adjusting to do but I did and and you will too maybe you do understand if I'll tell you something in order to be understood and in order to be liked you have to give of yourself and want to be liked you know maybe I ordered yeah I ought to take some of my own advice too but tell you what if you promise to go to school and make friends I'll promise not to be so grouchy that car the friends say that it means agreed foreign what the empowerment process does is to help people learn how to make those shifts during more dramatic times of life challenges during times when we're not as familiar with what to do in order to stay on course Bob Bob listen to me Jim all right the difficult task of changing may be brought about by a crisis sometimes we are tempted to avoid coming to grips with a critical situation we want to carry on as if nothing has happened this afternoon yet it is just such a circumstance if recognized and accepted that can be a turning point hi doctor how you doing fine I'm fine what am I doing how am I don't know that's what I want to ask you you're doing all right so far of course you know you're a very lucky man it could have been fatal that's what they tell me but I feel much much better and I feel with a pocket full of pills I'll be out of my office and I'll be much better because you wouldn't believe the way these guys are messing up it's incredible but at a time like this I realize I have to do everything myself yep hello he's doing quite well yeah why don't you call back a little bit later please thank you is that my office yes now wait a minute I have to be tuned in here the way you're speaking now yes this is exactly the reason why you're here you're not here because you're unlucky you're here because you don't exercise you're not concerned about your nutrition according to your wife you haven't relaxed or taken a day off in months exercise relax I I don't have time for any of those things tell me do you know how to play the hall what kind of question is that but if you continue living the same lifestyle that you have been showing me here that's exactly what you'll be doing look dark you've got a great bedside manner but I gotta get the heck out of here because I got a mortgage to pay you have a decision to make don't you what decision you have to decide whether this new project is worth your life you have to put some balance back into your life think about it I have rounds I have to make and I'll be back later I want that commitment before I leave the hospital foreign stage of empowerment we need to be able to look forward to taking our first step a transition from where we are now to where we want to be this dedication I gotta tell you I love it I like it too you know I'm going to do this every morning before work it doesn't really matter what the weather is I noticed there's nobody else out here but that's great they said Dempsey over there a friend of mine from the city hi Jen how are you hey Ed you smoking cigarettes why come on straighten up exercise pal I just haven't got the time take it easy Ed there's craps over there there he is he's into it hi Gramps hi sweetie all the kids okay grass is really happy now that he has something to do yeah I know and I'm happy because he's not on he's not happy he's not at home all the time that's right but his attitude has changed well actually my attitude has changed also and I'm going to run a marathon in Boston perhaps in two years from now look right now let's keep to the exercise program well I'm going to do it slowly I can't just do it all at once it takes time [Music] we have a lot to be thankful for I know I do I have the most beautiful family in the entire world ah good job and I have my health back I wasn't more can a man want man could want some of that turkey good idea the act of restoring equilibrium to our lives requires a thoughtful assessment of how the things that truly matter can be brought together in harmony a recognition that the challenges of life met with confidence and Equanimity enhance rather than diminish us and gradually our newly restored regard for ourselves is reflected in the ways we relate to those who are important to us how's the crossing guard job going that corner really needed organizing do you believe that those cars didn't want to come to a Full Stop well they do now I got to take care of my little honey here Sharon how's school going school's great I'm playing an Indian princess in the play Let's eat it's Thanksgiving maybe we should say something can I I memorize this Indian saying from my school play that I'm joining that goes like this the life cycle of the creation it's endless life into life forever a child becomes a parent who soon becomes a respected Elder life is so sacred it is good to be a part of all of this let's eat beautiful foreign [Music] as we Engage The empowerment process in a systematic way we find that everything comes back into line that our mind our bodies Our behavior all seem to work in Harmony and synchrony and that we have a spirit of commitment we have a spirit of moving towards something when we're on target when we're moving towards our goals of self-enhancement towards productivity towards Health towards firm strong relationships we find that we can release tension we're able to roll with the punches we are decisive we can think very clearly we can feel motivated we want to do things in addition to that we have endurance stamina flexibility the strength that it takes to physically get through our day we're able to dance with life challenges we say yes to our new way of acting and being [Music] thank you [Music]