Chapter Six: Fate

In this chapter, the philosopher talks about Hippocrates, who was the founder of Greek medicine. His belief was that by living a healthy lifestyle and doing things in moderation, people could stay healthy.  He also believed that being healthy was our natural state and that we only came to be sick because nature had somehow gone off course.  Somehow, there was a physical or mental imbalance causing a person to be sick. 

Reading this just clicked for me.  It actually makes a lot of sense.  I’ve been having a really bad week (sadly, it’s only Wednesday), and my throat is sore, I’ve been coughing all week and I haven’t really felt like eating at all today.  Doesn’t that sound like I’m sick?  Maybe I feel this way because it’s cold outside, or maybe it’s because I haven’t had enough sleep.  Then again, what if there is some truth to the Hippocratic idea that a mental imbalance can cause sickness as well?  It makes sense that when people are stressed or upset, they just don’t feel good. They’re tired, they have issues focusing, and at least in my case, I often get head or stomach aches when I’m feeling especially stressed.  What if we don’t get sick because of random environmental factors?  Sure, I believe that bacteria probably does play a big role in some illnesses, because that’s what I’ve been taught since middle school.  But what if there are some types of sick that are simply due to people being a little off mentally?  When we aren’t on top of our game, we don’t feel good.  If I was having a really bad day, but I felt completely healthy and energized, it wouldn’t make much sense, now would it?  Instead, I feel exhausted and I’m not hungry.  Instead I feel sick.  I don’t know, that idea of sickness being caused by mental imbalance just really resonated with me!