Self-Care is Healthcare: The Power of Prevention
Self-Care is Healthcare: Part 1 of 3
Over the last 20 years, I’ve heard stories from thousands of families—stories about late-night emergency room visits and the heartbreak of watching a loved one struggle with chronic illness. Stories about aging parents being cared for by exhausted children. About a mother battling anxiety while trying to keep her kids healthy, or a father juggling three jobs while managing high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. I’ve heard about teenagers overwhelmed by screen time and poor sleep, and elders who found healing through daily walks, gardening, or simply reconnecting with nature. I’ve listened to people who beat cancer through lifestyle changes, and others who lost their health not because of lack of access, but because they were never taught the basics of prevention. There were tales of resilience, like a couple who reversed prediabetes with small daily habits, and also of frustration, where families felt trapped in a system that treated symptoms but ignored the root causes.
These deeply human stories—across age, income, culture, and circumstance—have shaped my perspective on a truth that’s both simple and revolutionary: self-care is healthcare. It begins with us. Not in hospitals or with prescriptions, but in small daily choices that add up in a big way.
The U.S. spends nearly 25% of its GDP on healthcare. While much of that spending is essential, a significant portion could be reduced if we took more control of our personal health. When we treat healthcare like the environment, something we all share and all effect, it changes the conversation. Just like no one wants polluted air or oceans, no one truly wants to be unhealthy. So why not prioritize health before we get sick?
If we focused more on prevention and on caring for ourselves, the healthcare system wouldn’t need to be so big and so costly. In fact, a healthier population could shrink healthcare’s share of GDP from 25% to 10%. That extra money could be reinvested into education, community, and quality of life.
So why isn’t this shift toward self-care happening? Because deep down, many of us believe that taking care of ourselves is expensive, painful, or unnecessary. We've absorbed a cultural narrative that makes health feel like a burden, a chore best left to professionals and pharmaceutical companies. We think eating healthy means paying triple for organic food, or that being fit requires a gym membership, trendy workout clothes, and hours of free time. We associate wellness with privilege, spa retreats, or routines that feel out of reach for everyday people.
There are hidden forces that contribute to our perspective of health. There is no "Health Industry"—only "Healthcare." And this industry thrives when people are sick. From sugar in yogurt to the size of water cups in hospitals, every system around us encourages unhealthy behaviors. And while we like to think we are in control, the truth is that our minds are being hijacked—by marketing, technology, and our own biology's pursuit of pleasure. Just like alcohol took hold of American society in the early 20th century, sugar and junk food are doing the same today. And no one is incentivized to stop it—not the food industry, not government, not healthcare.
So why do I care? Why am I asking you to change? Because I want us—me included—to be better. Healthier people mean a healthier earth. And yes, it’s selfish. Helping others makes me feel fulfilled. But that’s a good kind of selfish.
But the biggest barrier to good health isn’t cost or the psychological manipulation from the industry, it’s mindset. In the back of our minds, we rely on a safety net. We think: Why worry? If something goes wrong, there’s a pill for that. A surgery. A treatment. Insurance will cover it, the hospital will fix it, the system will take care of me. It’s a dangerous illusion, because most of the system is built for intervention, not prevention. It’s designed to respond to crisis, not to keep you from getting there in the first place. Self-care isn't about giving up joy or control. It's about redefining what freedom really means: the freedom to live well, feel well, and stay well. That kind of freedom doesn’t come from the healthcare system. It comes from how we live every day.
In the end, self-care isn’t just a personal choice, but a quiet revolution. One that begins with small, intentional acts to better ourselves, leading to a transformation of not just our health, but healthcare as a whole. Read the next post in the Self-Care is Healthcare series to find out what these intentional acts are.
