S.O.S

This stands for "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship".

It's an emergency call. One sailors used to use when they were in distress.

In our current day we have buttons on our phones to signal SOS.

In this weeks journal we aren't talking about an emergency call. Although one could argue that it's what people are really looking for.

This week it's about Shiny Object Syndrome.

Bouncing around to different "things". Trying to find a solution. Trying to find help.

When I sat down to write this I realized the acronym was SOS.

Kinda interesting really, that they both signify people looking for help.

Shiny object syndrome in health looks like hoping around to different health trends.

Never finding an answer or a strategic plan.

We have hope that if we hop around enough we will eventually find a solution.

But, that solution never seems to come. We find ourselves spinning in circles, wasting money & time.

This hoping around from trend to trend prevents us from seeing progress.

Most healing takes time, it's not a quick fix. And often we aren't sticking to things long enough to see results because were already onto the next.

If we do stick to it, it doesn't work because it's only surface level. Not getting to the deep aspect of what needs to change.

Now sure, there are some that work, it's not that they aren't helpful.

The problem is people don't know what they need. They're guessing based on what their symptoms are.

The challenge with that is symptoms overlap a lot between different conditions & problems.

People are overwhelmed and confused about what area of their health needs focus.

Even myself as a person who is trained in an area of healing struggles with this. It's not always easy to find your own solutions.

So we look to people or things to help us, which is awesome. It can help us tremendously.

The issue I see with this is that people aren't having 1:1 session with professionals to know what they need. And if they do, they don't commit and stick to the plan to see results.

On the flip side, professionals don't always look at the big picture either and chase symptoms.

I have clients that come to see me and sure, I can treat them and try to help them get rid of their symptoms. But, if I know they have digestive issues I need to tell them to seek nutritional support as well. Otherwise, I'm doing them a disservice.

I have told clients before that I can only do so much. You as the client also need to make changes to see the big result you want.

True health requires changes in all areas of our lives.

Often, people deep down know they need to change. They need to change what they eat, move more, be in better supportive environments. But they see those change as overwhelming and choose to turn away from it.

They choose to go back into what they always do. Which is stay with what is easy & comfortable instead of facing that challenge head on.

This is why we hop around and cave to shiny object syndrome.

We are unwilling to look the real challenge in the face. Or we aren't even aware that what were doing is creating a challenging in the first place.

“Shiny Object Syndrome is the enemy of progress. Your goal is a destination. Once you know where you want to go, if you keep changing destinations, you will never arrive.” - LeAura Alderson

The Negative Impact of Shiny Object Syndrome in Health:

• Lack of improvement in your overall health journey.

• Spending lots of money on different tools/therapies/supplements.

• Inability to find a strategy that works.

• Feeling frustrated or wanting to give up trying to fix your health.

• Lack of trust in self to make a change.

“Part of recovering your health is to break long-term toxic habits”. - Steven Magee

Jumping on the next health trend allows us to make excuses that things don't work or that there is no solution.

We as a society fail to see the bigger picture in our health. Rather than looking for the next quick fix we need to look at areas of our lives that need to change.

Create lifestyle changes in areas of life that are suffering. This will allow you to focus on the bigger picture and make small changes that yield big results.

A Method For Creating Long Term Health Changes:

1. Consult someone who can help you identify the area in which you need to focus on. This could be a practitioner who can help in the area of your symptoms (ie. digestive symptoms, see a naturopath) - I am working on a new offer to support people in this area :)

2. Look at the different areas of your life that might need support. What area is currently suffering? This is an area that probably needs more focus at this time. Examples of areas of life are; mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social, environment, etc.

3. Focus on making lifestyle changes before adding in extra things. We always look external to make changes like adding supplements or trying a new gadget. Instead of jumping to those first focus on the basics. Some examples of basics are;

   1. Getting outside,

   2. Drinking more water,

   3. Less alcohol,

   4. Less refined sugars,

   5. Getting better sleep, etc.

When we can focus on a long term goal, we can see the small things we need to do to get there.

When we stop looking at shiny objects as our solution we can find REAL solutions.

We can stop wasting money on things that aren't working. We will waste less time trying to find something that works.

Real health is about improving your overall baseline of health (in all areas of life). It's not hoping our symptoms go away so we can get back to our bad habits.

Our symptoms tell us that our lifestyle is no longer working and that something needs to change.

Focus on creating lifestyle changes to improve your health & you won't have to hop from one shiny health trend to another.

I hope you found this useful and insightful.

Have a wonderful weekend!

All the best on your health journey.

-Jo

If you're needing support along your health journey, here's how you can work with me:

1:1 Manual Osteopathic Treatment (in person): We will go through an assessment and treatment based on your needs & goals.