Diagnosed with Type II diabetes and high blood pressure, Joe was a hard-charging construction supervisor in his late fifties. Joe listened carefully to his doctor’s diagnosis and agreed that yes, he understood that he was being diagnosed with two serious conditions. Joe’s doctor prescribed medications for both his diabetes and high blood pressure, and her nurse instructed Joe on how to check his own blood sugar twice each day. He was told that his medications needed to be taken at specific times, scheduled with regular meals, and that he must now adhere to a strict diet. But Joe had a Flight reaction to his diagnosis, and this led him to an unproven herbal treatment that promised to cure his diabetes – without changing his diet.
As it turned out, a month after the diagnosis, Joe wasn’t feeling so well, and his doctor called to see why he had missed his last appointment. True to form for someone in Flight response, Joe answered “I want to give it time to work so I can show her the evidence. Otherwise, she’s only going to try to talk me out of it.”
In other words, I thought to myself, what Joe was really saying was, “Don’t confuse me with the facts. I like my friend’s version of reality better.”
On subsequent meetings, I asked Joe what he really knew about this ‘miracle’ herbal medicine. If it really worked so well, why would he be afraid to mention it to the doctor? And, how would he know if it was working if he didn’t go back and have his blood pressure and blood sugar monitored? I explained to Joe that I didn’t have anything against alternative medicine, but asked him to consider why this option was so attractive. “Only your doctor can tell you if this treatment plan is working. You need to know if you are on the right path,” I said, seeing clearly that Joe was fleeing from the reality of his condition. It was so much easier to pop a harmless pill and tell himself that he would be just fine.
Joe returned a week later, deeply disappointed. While his blood sugar level was still elevated but no worse, his blood pressure had skyrocketed. After a discussion of his options, and a more forthright examination of his concerns, he decided to start on his medications the next day. Soon after that, he met with an exercise physiologist who showed Joe how to exercise in a way that would help him to lose weight safely, and to build up his cardiovascular system. And Joe and Marie signed up to take a class together on how to prepare healthier meals. Joe had finally stopped fleeing. He had turned around and faced the reality of his condition… fortunately, before it got any worse.
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