Make 2013 The Year Of The Family

I was very fortunate to grow up with a close-knit, loving family. Today, as a husband to a beautiful wife and father of five beautiful kids, I’m very fortunate to have a close-knit, loving family of my own.

Unfortunately, I feel like our culture has drifted away from the family unit – the family that lives together, eats together, plays together and prays together. This disconnect can often lead to an unhealthy lifestyle on many levels, whether it’s poor nutrition, poor physical condition, or some combination of mental and emotional stress.

A few months ago, I was thinking about my goals for Proodian Healthcare, and I made the decision to make 2013 the year of the family. I want to refocus on the importance of family, and how a strong support system can have such a positive impact on our health.

Then Hurricane Sandy hit. More recently, there was the horrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

When something terrible like this happens, it gives us perspective. We think about our families more than ever. Like most fathers, I went home and hugged my kids. I just wrapped my arms around them without saying a word.

As difficult as these events have been to even comprehend, I’ve become even more passionate about making 2013 the year of the family.

I want to do more than help you look good and feel good when you look in the mirror. Mental health is an essential component of the triad of health, which addresses your physical, nutritional and psychological needs. It’s our choice to move forward and learn better behaviors that affect us and those around us – namely, our families. We can do this by reading more, learning more and watching less TV.

If something positive can come from the events in Newtown, I hope it brings more attention to the treatment and care of the mentally ill at every age, because we as a nation have fallen woefully short.

I also pray it brings more attention to the importance and value of family. We need to take care of and look after one another. We can’t prevent natural disasters and tragedies, and we’ll always have obstacles and struggles to overcome, but we don’t have to do it alone.

Family is what gets us through these times.

For some, that may mean simply picking up the phone and beginning the process of rediscovering the bond you used to have with certain family members. If you never really had strong ties with your biological family, that doesn’t mean you have to deal with everything yourself. Look to your friends, your church and other community organizations for family support. And please don’t hesitate to look to us for support.

Personally, I’m not big on resolutions. I believe in sticking to your values, sticking to your work ethic, and standing by your family – day after day, and year after year. It’s a rather simple approach, but in this case, simplicity is good.

I wish you all the best in the New Year, and I hope you’ll join the Proodian Healthcare family in making 2013 the year of the family.

Dr. James Prood­ian is an accomplished chiropractic physician and health educator who founded Proodian Healthcare Family of Companies to help people feel better, function better, and live longer. His expertise for the past two decades has been in physical rehabilitation, and he has successfully established himself as a spinal specialist. In his practice, he advocates the science of functional medicine, which takes an integrative approach to treating patients by addressing their physical, nutritional, and psychological needs. Alarmed by the escalation of complex, chronic illness in our country, Dr. Proodian has been speaking to companies and organizations through his “Wellness at Work” program since 1994, motivating thousands of people to make positive lifestyle choices and lead healthier, more productive lives. He can be heard weekly on his radio program, “Proodian Healthcare By Design,” on Tandem Radio.