Chapter 2
The American Lifestyle
Every day my patients tell me that their health and well-being
are out of synch with the pace of modern life. Chances are that you,
too, share some of their complaints. Think of the last time you told
yourself or someone else:
- “I don’t have time to exercise.”
- “It’s too expensive and takes too long to prepare healthy
foods.” - “I am too tired to cook; we have to eat out!”
- “There is no time left to take care of me after my family.”
- “If I had known getting old was like this, I would have taken
better care of myself.” - “These golden years aren’t so golden.”
It’s true that our fast-paced existence has a strong and often
negative impact on our health and that we would all feel much
better if we could somehow just slow down. It’s also true that
healthcare costs are skyrocketing and that families and communi-
ties across the nation are suffering under a financial burden that
will only get worse as the baby boomers move into old age. The
Age Wave, as visionary psychologist and gerontologist Dr. Ken
Dychtwald so aptly calls it, is reaching tsunami proportions and
will change the face of healthcare and our economy as the boomers
demand more services for the epidemic of chronic diseases with
which they will have to live.^1