Symptom vs. Root Cause: Changing Perspective

Olympic National Park - Solo Backpacking Trip

In order to heal, we must first change our mindset and framework of how we think about what comes up in our bodies. A symptom is defined as "a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient." It's unfortunately easy to forget the basic meaning of words these days.

Many times I get approached with questions like:

What can I do for my blood pressure?

I have a tendency to get UTI's, what can I do?

I cannot seem to lose weight, what herb can I take to do so?

I'm in so much pain, what herb will get rid of the pain?

What herb can help with hair thinning?

Etc., etc., etc.

I cannot give them a clear answer, because it depends. It depends on the individual, and it depends what is causing these symptoms in the first place.

So, what is wrong with this? We all want natural help with things in our body. It is important to remember a few really important things:

1) There is a difference between a symptom and a root problem/issue.

2) Symptoms show up after the root issue has been going on for some time.

3) Many symptoms can have the same root cause.

4) Some times the symptom goes away quickly, other times it takes a while, and that is normal.

We must get away from looking at every symptom that comes up as being the problem, and expecting the symptom to be gone so quickly. When we are looking for some natural herb or remedy for a symptom, it is just another band-aid, and it will come back or a different system will manifest because we aren't dealing with the root cause. The key here is to wonder what is going on in your body that is causing these multiple symptoms to appear. This is part of the magic of Ayurveda. Ayurveda looks at your rupas (symptoms) and is able to see the root cause and address it. Frequently, when an individual begins an Ayurvedic protocol multiple rupas start to get better because the root issue is being addressed.

For some reason as a society we have created the habit of identifying a symptom (which we call a problem) and wanting a fix, and usually a quick fix. Whole body deep healing cannot happen this way. Healing takes time. If we cannot shift or mental perspective that a presenting symptom is a sign of an underlying cause, then healing will not happen. We will simply continue to have more symptoms appear. We must begin to see that by managing the root issue the symptom may take longer to go away, but the root issue can be resolved. Then, it become lifestyle management to prevent the root issue from happening again. Frequently, it is repeated lifestyle choices that are causing the root issue in the first place.

Long story short, I invite you to change the narrative. Change your narrative of wanting a fix for all the varying symptoms that come up to that of understanding there is a root issue in your body trying to get your attention.