Your Health & the Stock Market.

Sep 20

What is your health’s relationship to the stock market? No, no - I am not referring to if the S&P 500 is up then your stress is down so your health is better. What I am referring to is the overall trend. The process of healing (and just living in general) can be a frustrating one, as it is rarely a straight line. You think things are moving forward, and all of a sudden… two (or ten) steps back you go. It’s never a smooth, straight line upwards on the path of healing. And when you take a look at the path the Dow Jones took to its high, that wasn’t a straight line either.

As a physician, it is my job to hold an objective perspective for my patients through the ups and downs of healing. I have patients come in, discouraged: “My anxiety has really been difficult these last couple of weeks,” “My bloating got worse since I last saw you,” “My progress after my injury has slipped some.” These are all versions of very real concerns I hear. I used to think this was my own failure as their doctor. Now I just know it as part of the fabric of working with humans who experience life. Dips happen.

Amid the dips, it is important to track the trend over time. I find I often need to remind patients of where they came from: “Remember when you were so anxious you couldn’t leave the house?" or “Your abdomen was so painfully bloated you were very limited in what you could eat?” It can be so easy to focus on the slips backward, and we can be blinded by discouragement.

“What’s the overall trend?” I’ll ask myself, and my patient. You may be in a momentary dip, but the trend is up and to the right. You are on the right track. Let’s tweak some things and keep going. The stock market may be down today, or this month. But over time, is the trend still up and to the right? Don’t forget to zoom out to see how far you have actually come.

I have some patients that chase the illusion of perfect health. “Once I get there, then I can finally relax,” they think. The fact is, our bodies and life itself are much too dynamic for a permanent state of perfect health. We don’t know the destination and cannot predict the drops and the unexpected recessions. We then arrive to the concept of investing: do you continue to invest in all conditions?

Financial analysis has shown time and time again that those who perform best in the stock market are the ones who invest consistently, no matter the market conditions. The regular habit of showing up and buying in. Dr. Casey’s analysis has shown the same thing. Patients who have the best outcomes are the ones who show up consistently to invest in their own health through daily actions. So, that once a year fast? That spurt of enthusiasm for the gym for three weeks at New Year’s that then dwindles? Doing PT exercises for two hours once a month versus ten minutes once a day? You don’t need to be an analyst or physician of any sort to know what trends best over time. Consistent investment is the key.

And don’t even get me started on diversification! I’m sure you already know my hot take. If you focus on just one aspect of health, you’re missing out on the resilience that comes from having a diverse portfolio. When physical health brings a challenge, another aspect - mental, spiritual, relational - can help buoy you up when one area is feeling bankrupt. Invest in your long-term health by building a diverse portfolio.

While we are carrying on with this metaphor, let’s call out the obvious and the inevitable. The stock market does crash, too. A cancer diagnosis, an unexpected and unwelcome injury, the death of a loved one. All that you were planning on, all that you were saving for, now only to be taken out at the knees. That familiar “Oh sh*t, what do I do now?” moment.

Out of stock market crashes, there is usually a surge in new ways of thinking. A moment of pause: how did we get here? What can be done to get back on track? Reflection and evaluation become tools of necessity, and perhaps actually a boon for approaching the old, stagnant way of doing things. From the crash, we become smarter. More aware. And more likely to employ creativity to get a different result.

While no one deserves a life-changing diagnosis or circumstance - their own personal stock-market crash - it is a time for asking all of those same questions. A necessary slowing down that didn’t want to be taken. A time of evaluation to then rebuild from to get the trend back to up and to the right.

Don’t get caught up in the inherent roller-coaster ride of health. The ups and downs come with the rhythm of living - some days record rallies and others a momentary dip. Life itself is defined by variance - flatline or hyperbolic curves aren’t a good thing on a heart monitor. Here’s your invitation to zoom out for the trend: