a g a i n s t a l l o d d s
P E R S O N A L S U R V I V A L P L A N
INTRODUCTION
The Merriam-Webster’s COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY Eleventh Edition defines HEALTH, partially, as “the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; esp: freedom from physical disease or pain”. They also define SOUND as “1. a: free from injury or disease”. A search of various traditional sources for a definition of HEALTH will not encounter any definition of HEALTH that is much different. This also includes the long-standing definition used by the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION as described in the Preamble of its 1946 Constitution. It may be cited as: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
The driving theme for NATIONAL HEALTH is based on an observation that the absence of a precisely defined definition or concept of HEALTH may have contributed to the crisis within our Nation’s healthcare. The level of HEALTH throughout our nation is declining and the high cost of our Nation’s healthcare industry is progressively bankrupting our Federal government. To be precise, a high level of cognitive dissonance has occurred between the scientific and humanitarian realms of Knowledge related to our nation’s HEALTH. The influence of this cognitive dissonance has paralyzed our nation’s ability to adapt to the rapidly evolving loss of social capital within most of our nation’s communities. With a focus on the initial responsibilities of each person’s family, I offer a new definition for HEALTH.
HEALTH may be defined as
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a person’s daily expression of Well-Being during life-long survival that is:
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Endowed by the person’s individually unique Clusters of Human Capabilities and
their transformation during maternal gestation
to become sufficient for survival after birth as a Dependent person
with an innate temperament and baseline homeostasis;
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Nurtured by the Caring Relationships originating
before birth from within the Dependent person’s Family
to assist the person explore the broadest portrayal
of their reflective-cognition Cluster of Human Capabilities
for becoming an Independent person and
after birth from within the Extended Family and
the Micro-Neighborhood Network of the person’s Family
to offer kindness and respect, especially during
any encounter involving the person’s innate temperament;
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Challenged by the daily encounter with patterns of low-level disruptive processes
beginning before birth to cause variably beneficent and maleficent effects
on the developmental resilience of the person’s combined reflective-cognition
Cluster of Human Capabilities, innate temperament and baseline homeostasis
as ameliorated concurrently through the Caring Relationships originating
from among person’s Family and Extended Family;
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Matured by the episodic encounter with substantial disruptive processes
beginning before birth and occurring as interacting combinations and patterns
of multiple specific disruptive processes to cause reversible or irreversible,
usually maleficent, effects on the resilience of the person’s combined
Clusters of Human Capabilities, innate temperament and baseline homeostasis
as ameliorated by the Personal Survival Plan of the person; AND
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Sustained by the Survival Commons of the person’s community and
the Family Traditions of the person’s Family and Extended Family
until the resilience of the person’s combined
Clusters of Human Capabilities, innate temperament and baseline homeostasis
becomes insufficient for survival from the cumulative, maleficent effects
of the disruptive processes encountered throughout the person’s life-time.
Against all odds from disruptive processes, a person’s Stable HEALTH then occurs as the result of several complex social phenomena. They are the person’s Family and its Caring relationships, their Family traditions, their Family’s neighborhood network, and their community’s Common Good. What then, might bind all of this together?
The best strategy might begin by discerning the responsibilities within each Family. Among many possibilities, it may be useful to focus primarily on the responsibility within each community’s Family to promote a Personal SURVIVAL Plan for each member of their Family. For the immediate reform of our Nation’s healthcare, promoting a Personal SURVIVAL Plan for each citizen has the benefit to potentially improve our Nation’s HEALTH with a community driven effort to improve the Stability of each person’s HEALTH. By improving the resiliency of each person’s Stable HEALTH, the value of health care would become more efficient and effective. The population based utilization of hospital days by a community may be the easiest means to measure the improvement of a community’s level of Stable HEALTH.
PERSONAL SURVIVAL PLAN – conceptual format beginning in 2019
It is possible that a brief set of fundamental concepts could be defined to focus a community’s Knowledge about the basic needs for any person’s Stable HEALTH. By augmenting a community’s shared KNOWLEDGE base with an annually revised educational campaign involving a broad range of “Civil Life” sectors, a multi-year strategy could promote a community’s needs with a focus on each citizen’s Personal SURVIVAL Plan. The annual revisions could then be used by all the sectors contributing to the affairs of a community’s civil life to mold their own participation in the needs of their community’s HEALTH. The reduction of cognitive dissonance among these sectors with a core set of definitions would also potentiate the benefits from each citizen’s use of health care, as potentially assessed by the community’s hospital utilization. Eventually, community surveys could be structure to gauge the effectiveness of the fundamental concepts and the annual revisions for the campaign. Most importantly, the intent of the community education plan would support a family based focus on the Personal SURVIVAL Plan of each citizen.
A. Restful SLEEP
— Definition – “the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored” cited from the same MERRIAM-WEBSTER Dictionary referenced above.
— Annual Theme –
— — — Primary: Bedtime schedule
— — — Secondary: “Getting to sleep”
B. Good FOOD
— Definition – “the husbandry of plants and animals that are processed in a safe manner to assure that their consumption by each person will supply the ingredients necessary for the person’s Stable HEALTH.” Good FOOD represents a component of a community’s Survival Commons. This connection would assure that its Regional Food System is affordable, sustainable and functions with a high level of Social Capital among is component institutions. (See www.goodfoodla.org ).
This category should also include the social context of food consumption.
— Annual Theme –
— — — Primary: Combining fruit, milk and cereal for Breakfast
— — — Secondary: Selecting fruit
C. Dedicated EXERCISE
— Definition – Activity requiring a special effort to sustain or improve a person’s HEALTH resilience represents a need for commitment. This commitment includes physical, reflective-cognition and spiritual levels of exercise. The benefits of Dedicated EXERCISE improve the stability of a person’s HEALTH, especially when combined with Restful SLEEP and Good FOOD.
Much like Good Food, exercise that is dominated by unrelated social or cultural goals instead of HEALTH may not be as beneficial. Conversely, exercise involves other dimensions than solely physical exertion.
— Annual Theme
— — — Primary: Walk daily
— — — Secondary: Enjoy music, read for 1/2 an hour daily
D. Caring RELATIONSHIPS
— Definition – This is a very large category. It could include the following themes:
— — — Family Traditions – [ family identity, spiritual community, micro neighborhood network, celebration rituals, vacations, extended family transitions, home-life transitions, chemical dependency, Advance Directive with medical Power of Attorney defined, a WILL with legal Power of Attorney defined ];
— — — Primary Healthcare – [ medical Triage, preferred attributes of Primary Physician, Routine Checkups (birth month), immunization (annual flu shot), Over-the-counter Product use, Comprehensive Care Plan (especially, when >4 medications are taken at least once a day), Family Safety Precautions (Adolescent Driving Restrictions) ];
— — — Emergency Health Conditions – [ 1) Sudden Trouble Breathing; 2) Loss of consciousness; 3) Severe Pain that interferes with breathing or walking; 4) Unexpected Active Bleeding; OR 5) Inability to sleep, walk or eat after a possibly severe physical or emotional injury ];
— — — Vocational [ educational spectrum, professional development plan, employer transitions, accountability transitions, income expectations, health and disability insurance, retirement living ]; and
— — — Avocational ( Hobbies ) [ vacations, home repair, creative projects, volunteer commitments, music appreciation, games, spectator events ].
— Annual Theme –
— — — Primary: choice of Primary Physician
— — — Secondary: trustworthy medical TRIAGE
PERSONAL SURVIVAL PLAN – [ individual expression format ]
name _________________________________________________ date Month__ __ Day__ __ Year__ __
family __ Single __ Nuclear __ Generational neighborhood _____________________________________
A. Restful SLEEP
— Current Conditions
— — — Usual Bedtime
— — — Planned duration
— — — Distractions
— Plan
B. Good FOOD
— Current Conditions
— — — Regular meals
— — — No snacks
— — — Family sharing
— Plan
C. Dedicated EXERCISE
— Current Conditions
— — — Daily walk
— — — Strenuous weekly
— — — Distractions
— Plan
D. Caring Relationships
— Current Conditions
— — — Family traditions
— — — Primary Healthcare
— — — Job stability
— Plan
signature and date ___________________________________________________________________________
Primary Physician ___________________________________________________________________________
phone number __ __ __-__ __ __-__ __ __ __ answered 24/7, weekends and holidays____
