Turn on the television. Open a magazine. What’s the common thread? Advertisements about new drugs flood the market along with a whole host of side effects and warnings. While Western medicine certainly has its place and many medicines are beneficial, the fear quotient in our society has reached a new level.

Many people have become afraid of getting sick–cancers, skin conditions, heart disease, intestinal problems–so much in fact, that they live in a constant state of fear about the unknown. While these diseases are scary, they don’t need to be your path. And they certainly don’t need to be your fear.

Medical science has taught us that there are many ways to develop disease. Some are infectious and communicable while others are acquired or hereditary. Many celebrities have promoted genetic testing to find out if they carry the gene for breast cancer or Alzheimer’s. But information can sometimes be a life-sentence, and not necessarily of disease, but of the fear that it’ll eventually happen.

Traditional Chinese Medicine approaches disease from a different angle. While it recognizes that there are infectious, communicable, acquired and genetic diseases, among others, it also understands that an individual can break the cycle of disease in his or her lifetime to prevent it from continuing on. And that simple statement takes away the fear of “catching” or “coming down with” something terrible, and puts health back into your hands.

How do we eliminate the fear behind getting sick?

In a nutshell, live your healthiest, happiest life. A life filled with joy, creativity, low stress and emotional balance is the perfect prescription to a healthy, happy life. It’s easy to look at physical symptoms as a precursor to illness. But when we look at these symptoms from a new perspective, we see that the body is simply trying to communicate the areas in which it needs support. What wisdom!

What can you do if you are genetically predisposed to a certain condition or disease?

A founding belief of TCM is that everything is energy, and when a body is energetically in balance, disease cannot enter. Energetic healing practices, such as acupuncture and Qigong help the body’s energy to flow smoothly. Pairing these practices with meditation and a calming, low-stress lifestyle is key to living your best, healthiest life.

Read more! Understand the innate wisdom of your body. What Comes First: Symptom or Disease?

Learn how a diagnosis and a change in perspective helped Haley to reinvent her genetic code. Haley’s Story: Breaking a Genetic Code