Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, And This Seemingly Unrelated Childhood Danger

I have been noticing a game played by my grandchild and friends, influenced by TV kiddie shows. I call it the "stuck" game. Whenever something needs doing, instead of attempting to do it, the cartoon characters get "stuck", and they say "stuck". It becomes a game for the toddlers. I think it is OK for toddlers and there is nothing wrong with it. But, I see another game being played by adults, who ought to know better. They have this game called "illness' or "disease". Their friends and family get it, so they play along, expecting it and embracing it, and it seems to me, subconsciously looking forward to it. I say subconsciously, because nobody would possibly put themselves through all that on a conscious level. Nobody is that much of a masochist! We all want the best for ourselves!

It is an adult version of the "stuck' game, and it bothers me enough to point it out. Upon speaking about this with friends, it was nice to see that others feel the "stuck" game is the wrong message for toddlers too. After all, it is in early childhood that we form our beliefs about the world and ourselves. The "stuck" game can be a way to learn helplessness, and that helplessness is desirable.

Thinking back to our generation, we could see where the adults got the "stuck" game from. They could easily have gotten it from seemingly innocent but dis-empowering games they played as children. For example, even before the cartoon, where they get stuck and wait for others to rescue them, children have played similar games, such as playing doctor. It usually goes something like this... One child plays sick. They go to the doctor to make them well. The little doctor eagerly does a quick examination, writes a quick prescription, gives a pill (a sweet) and instantly, the little patient is up and playing happily again. The patient gives away all the power to the doctor, abdicating any responsibility for health, as they had seen their fathers, mothers, aunties, uncles, and grandparents do. Forward 40 years later, this kid, now grown up, gets out of bed with aches and pains. Their heart, lungs, back, or whatever, hurts. They go to the doctor to quickly give them a pill, potion, lotion, or machine to make them better. The doctor, equally conditioned, writes a prescription or refers to a "specialist" for the symptoms. Neither realize that the childhood game is still playing on a rewind loop, over and over again.

So, the "stuck" game in adults changes to arthritis, cancer, the need for glasses, type 2 diabetes, chronic back pain, and various other manifestations playing out of that same old childhood game of sickness and stuckness.

All I can say is start to take responsibility, empower yourself with knowledge and learning, seek out alternative opinions, and take control of your health. Nobody is going to do it for you as well as you can. You do have that power to investigate and make informed choices. You are not stuck.