The Body's Innate Power to Heal | #THINKINGHUES
A reflection on the body's inherent ability to heal itself and the paradox of modern illness.
I’ve always been fascinated by how wounds can heal itself. This basic trust in our bodies is one that I celebrate. At the core of this simple truth is the underappreciated miracle of the human body’s infinite intelligence, as given the right environment and resources your body has the capacity to heal from within.
Of course, the degree of care a wound needs will vary with its severity. But, since I was a child, if I suffered a cut, there was an understanding that my body will take care of itself.
Maybe a bandaid or a touch of iodine to help, but I knew, that with time, the wound will mend. Even with a more severe injury, which might require professional intervention, I had faith in my body’s recovery mechanisms.
One of my most visceral learning experiences was when I was around eight or nine.
I was playing with a pair of stilts in my cousin’s living room, unsupervised and as mischievous as ever in selecting the various obstacles I assigned myself to. Emboldened with excitement, I quickly found myself wedged in a narrow passage between a glass coffee table and a sofa. Though initially hesitant, the thrill of conquering overpowered my initial instincts.
As I manoeuvred through, the moment of thrill was short-lived— an unfortunate misstep with the stilt against the table’s leg caught me by surprise. With the loud snares of adult voices haunting me, I was now, mid-fall, caught in between my immediate sense of regret and the beautiful dark marble floor. I plummeted, as if in slow motion, head first, to my oh-so-very bloody fall.
The excruciating pain and immediate tears collided with a pool of my own blood. Dripped in crimson red, I was rushed to the emergency room with sticky residue all over me. Hours later as I left the hospital with fourteen stitches to the left side of my forehead, my eyebrows now had a new friend, a scar that miraculously missed my left eye. Nearly two and half decades since that fall, my ‘harry potter’ like scar, is thankfully, by nature’s brilliance and a doctor’s helpful hand, barely visible with skin intact.
Two lessons were crystalised that day. First, how even as a child my instincts were sharper than my reasoning. Second, how mighty my body truly is in its ability to heal itself.
Invisible to the naked eye, my skin cells orchestrated a commendable reunion. What I learnt that day was how our skin can compose an intricate dance of cellular activity that’s invisible to the naked eye. Somehow my skin cells had the knowledge to mend themselves.
Yes, although this process was aided with the help of a little vitamin E and bright blue stitches, I do believe that my wound would have healed on its own regardless, with or without assistance— although likely aesthetically compromised.
This was the spark to my initial fascination with the human body’s intelligence.
Week after week, as the stitches dissolved and my skin healed, my curiosity expanded. How did my skin know how to heal itself? If my skin knows how to heal itself, with the right help, would this principle also apply to the rest of my body?
Such investigations have spanned my lifetime, and now, as science continues to uncover the wonderful marvels around the mysteries of the human body’s potential, a persistent question remains: with the evidence of the body’s power to heal, why are we still suffering from a rise in chronic illnesses and diseases? What are we still not doing to tap into this innate capacity?
With the advent of technologies and wisdom across health and well-being, most developed nations can celebrate longer lives. Yet, the unfortunate truth is that while life expectancy has blossomed, people are also living through poorer states of health.
So, why are we experiencing record-breaking numbers of chronic illnesses, mental health issues, and an increase in premature deaths globally, while humanity is also living through a period of greatest abundance? Something doesn’t add up.
As a species, while we’ve adapted through some of the darkest of winters, harshest of climates, and periods of serious calamities over the generations, why are so many of us still suffering in our health?
If evolution has been on our side for so many generations, why is it backfiring on a lot of us now? What have we been doing that has propelled us into the current health crisis we’re experiencing now? Why, with so much progress, are we seeing a trend of a more dramatic decline in overall health?
If for generations, the human body has evolved to optimise for its survival, then disease can be defined as the body’s state of malfunctioning. Any disease, is, therefore, the body failing and attacking itself— and currently, globally, we’re experiencing an explosion of illness and disease on an epidemic scale. So, where have we gone wrong?
Stay tuned for next week’s #THINKINGHUES post, next Tuesday, where I explore these questions further.
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