9 Causes of Health and Illness

Health is a measure of our wholeness, which is why the root word of heal is the Old English word hael, meaning “to make whole”. Our wholeness is not only our inner wholeness and integrity, but also our outer collective wholeness and integrity defined by the web of social, ecological, and spiritual interconnectedness. Our wholeness can be recovered through authentic living when we become centred in our true self, which can be assisted with mindfulness and meditation.

We have become accustomed to thinking that the treatment of illness is done in hospitals and with drugs (many of which have harmful side-effects that make us ill), but this is simply an attempt to deal with symptoms. While hospitals and drugs do have a role to play and can save lives, it is important to look at root causes to see why illness occurs in the first place. If the root cause of an illness is not addressed—even if the symptoms are treated—the illness will perpetuate in one form or another, and the masking of symptoms will only deprive us of crucial feedback about the effect of our life choices and our degree of wholeness, integrity, and presence.

Causes of Health and Illness

Wholeness and authenticity in all aspects of our individual and collective lives are the key measures of our health and wellness. While it is true that illness can be inherited, the new field of epigenetics is showing that our inner state of being and our environment help determine whether genetic tendencies for ill health are actualised or not. Indeed, DNA has even been shown to change in response to our state of being and environment. For more on this, see for example the research done at the Institute of HeartMath.

Here are 9 causes of health and illness:

1. The most fundamental cause of illness is our dissociation from our true self and the greater whole that comprises the social, ecological, and spiritual dimensions of life: our authenticity, wholeness, and presence determines our health.
2. When we are not fully present in our body and are caught up on the reactivity of our mind, we can dishonour our body by not hearing its messages, not attending to its needs, and not experiencing its being, and vital energy is lost along with the wisdom of our body’s guidance system for our healthy journey through life; we can also have accidents.
3. We are sustained by the ecological matrix of the Earth, whose health is measured by its biodiversity, integrity, and vitality: when we destroy or do not honour the Earth and its web of relationships, we destroy ourselves—not only because our needs are less able to be met, but also because we and the Earth are one continuum of life, realised through our true self.
4. We are supported by the web of social relations that flourish as a heart-based community: when community breaks down or is not present, we lose not only social support, but also our vital need to give and receive love and to experience social integration; social exclusion, social divisiveness, community breakdown, antisocial behaviour, crime, and war are all symptoms of social illness.
5. Healthy relationships consist of people honouring each other’s authentic needs, which only becomes possible when these authentic needs are identified, communicated, and respected, and protected with appropriate boundaries.
6. What we eat, drink, and ingest we become: do we wish to eat fresh, living, organic wholefoods that are rich in nutrients and vitality, or do we wish to eat junk food that is toxic, disintegrated, depleted of nutrients, or dead?
7. Growth of self is the freedom to fulfil our authentic needs, thrive healthily, and become self-realised, and is contrasted with the stunting or stagnation of self that occurs when we become trapped in dissociation, fear, negative thinking, illusions, and false identities.
8. Stress is a well-known precursor to illness, and occurs most often when we are not living authentically, when we lack mindfulness, and when our inner and outer integrity is under threat: this is why mindfulness, meditation, and authentic living can lower stress and in turn restore health.
9. A toxic environment, whether consisting of chemical or electromagnetic pollution, or of an unhealthy society or culture, stresses our individual systems when our boundaries do not protect us, and stresses the greater whole by undermining its integrity.

Next step: book an Inner Wellness Guidance Call to dive deeper into what has been discussed and how it relates to you overcoming your life challenges and turning the corner of your life.