It's not about curing the disease, but healing the life; then the physical benefits come.
Bernie SiegelRead
The doctor I would want for myself or for anyone else I cared about would be one who understands that disease is more than just a clinical entity; it is an experience and a metaphor, with a message that must be listened to.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding disease as more than just a physical condition; it also encompasses emotional and experiential aspects.
Bernie Siegel highlights the idea that disease should not be viewed solely through a clinical lens but rather as a multifaceted experience that carries deeper meanings. It suggests that understanding the emotional and metaphorical implications of illness can lead to more compassionate and effective care, emphasizing the need for doctors to listen to their patients' experiences and emotions.
Themes
DiseaseExperienceMetaphorHealthcareCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
During a health conference, this quote could illustrate the need for holistic approaches in patient care.
More from Bernie Siegel
All quotes →Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires - disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way.
Bernie SiegelRead
It is astounding how much the immune system is strengthened by reducing daily mental stress levels with either visualization or meditation. The other great tonic for the immune system is love—loving ourselves as well as others.
Bernie SiegelRead
I truly feel the best doctors are ones who are criticized by nurses, patients and family. They do not make excuses and learn from their mistakes.
Bernie SiegelRead
Part of my evolution has been to learn how painful most people's childhoods are. They grow up not liking themselves, not loving themselves. Ask people if they were lovable the minute they were born, and watch them sit back and have to think about it. One lady said, 'I suppose so.' That's painful.
Bernie SiegelRead
Being a survivor doesn't mean being strong - it's telling people when you need a meal or a ride, company, whatever. It's paying attention to heart wisdom, feelings, not living a role, but having a unique, authentic life, having something to contribute, finding time to love and laugh. All these things are qualities of survivors.
Bernie SiegelRead
Similar quotes
I still find the best way to understand a hospitalized patient whose care I am taking over is not by staring at the computer screen but by going to see the patient; it's only at the bedside that I can figure out what is important.
Abraham VergheseRead
People want to think that staying in shape costs a lot of money. They couldn't be more wrong. It doesn't cost anything to walk. And it's probably a lot cheaper to go to the corner store and buy vegetables than take a family out for fast food.
Florence Griffith JoynerRead
I am living proof that if you catch prostate cancer early, it can be reduced to a temporary inconvenience, and you can go back to a normal life.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
I feel that any form of so called psychotherapy is strongly contraindicated for addicts. The question Why did you start using narcotics in the first place? should never be asked. It is quite as irrelevant to treatment as it would be to ask a malarial patient why he went to a malarial area.
William S. BurroughsRead
If a country denies it has AIDS, that country will inevitably become an even greater victim.
Richard HolbrookeRead
Anyone who's promoting the exact diet that they were in previous years probably isn't keeping up with the latest science, though in general, the balance of evidence has remained remarkably consistent - centering one's diet around whole plant foods.
Michael GregerRead