President ’ s Report
Peter Berryman | ATMS President
Let me tell you about the “ wellbeing pandemic ” that is currently happening . You may even wish to subjectively assess your “ infection status ” by measuring your own physical , mental , and spiritual wellbeing . Here ’ s how . It ’ s best done with support from the World Health Organisation ’ s WHO-5 Index , which was designed in 1998 to measure people ’ s subjective wellbeing according to five simple criteria : your cheerfulness , calmness , vigour , restfulness , and fulfilment . This Index is among the most widely used questionnaires assessing subjective psychological well-being .
Translated into more than 30 languages , the global influence of this WHO-5 Index should not be underestimated in this current “ wellness pandemic ”. Governments and international corporations have embraced it and , based on it , have implemented their own in-house wellbeing policies for public and private health . In my opinion , the result is a simplistic and narrow interpretation of wellness implied by this Index , and an implicit marginalisation of any alternative perspectives regarding wellness , such as an indigenous one , and a rainbow spectrum of other approaches to physical and mental health .
Despite our intrinsic personal protective equipment ( PPE ), such as our own strategies for dealing with the narrowness of this document ( which includes our wry smile ), natural medicine practitioners and our clients are likely to be critically “ infected ” in this “ wellbeing pandemic ”, as those “ infected ” often report the experience of being in tune with themselves and their environment - “ being in the flow ”. This “ flow ” can be characterised as a deep sense of connection , a diminished selfconsciousness , changes in attentional focus , and most notably , a change in the way that time is perceived . Colloquially , this is also known as “ being in the zone ”. Do you sometimes sense this about yourself ? Please assess yourself now against the WHO-5 Index criteria above , and be at ease knowing that you are highly likely to be “ infected ”. Well , I certainly feel that I am . And is it in fact “ infectious ”? You may recognise that such a sense of “ flow ” has also been found rampant in a range of other contexts with other dextrous humans like us , such as in people who have also found themselves “ infected ” while enjoying more traditional athletic and adventure settings , like watching women ’ s international soccer games , in comparison to communing in our private clinic spaces .
Like our clients , who may also welcome becoming “ infected ” when they venture into our workplaces ( which more commonly now also includes the shared cyberspace of online consulting from our private home ), we are all on our own healing journey , discovering “ flow ” with its unique meaning , purpose , connection , competence , pleasure , and wellbeing , wherever and however that may be for both them and you . Yes , we are potentially eagerly dispensing to young and old clients large doses of “ flow ” from our growing and eager national workforce of natural medicine practitioners . This could even result in relief of all manner of angst and pain by enjoying the numerous and humble benefits of “ flow ” as found in every good prescription , or perhaps a mature red wine for the over 18 age group , otherwise in ample dark chocolate for all .
Please consider booking in advance to attend online or in person , the ATMS Environmental Medicine Symposium that is a full day event to be held in Sydney on Sunday 22 October 2023 to reap the abundant benefits of the copious amounts of numinous “ flow ” that will abound on that day . We will have five of the best Australian presenters who are experts in environmental medicine discussing chemicals , toxins , mould , and mould related illnesses , as they present to an audience of practitioners their evidencebased solutions to enhance health , support detoxification pathways , and minimise exposure to such problems . See you there .
Meanwhile , keep well …
Peter Berryman President
JATMS | Spring 2023 | 121