LIFESTYLE DISEASES, ARE, PROOF OF THE LIES, WE SHAME TELL TO OURSELVES
- Madhukar Dama
- Apr 14
- 5 min read
CHARACTERS
MADHUKAR, a former biomedical scientist who left institutional research to live a simple life in rural Karnataka.
KAILASH (48) – Diagnosed with hypertension, borderline diabetes, chronic acidity. Works 12 hours a day in corporate marketing.
RANI (45) – Thyroid disorder, obesity, knee pain, and fibromyalgia-like symptoms. Homemaker.
ABHI (22) – Sedentary lifestyle, junk food addiction, digital burnout, signs of insulin resistance.
PRIYA (17) – Irregular periods, PCOD, anxiety, poor sleep. School topper, but chronically exhausted.
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SCENE
They sit under a large banyan tree near Madhukar’s hut. A cow grazes in the distance. Madhukar sips herbal tea made from lemongrass and holy basil. The family looks tired — emotionally and physically.
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KAILASH:
We’ve spent lakhs on checkups.
Blood tests, scans, sugar monitoring, multivitamins.
We follow the diet plans — low fat, high protein, no sugar.
Still, we keep getting sicker.
Why?
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MADHUKAR:
Because you're treating your diseases.
Not the dishonesty that caused them.
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RANI:
Dishonesty?
You think we’re lying?
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MADHUKAR:
Not to others.
To yourselves.
Each chronic illness in your body is a reply to a lie your mind keeps repeating.
The body isn’t malfunctioning.
It’s communicating.
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ABHI (skeptical):
What kind of lies?
Like skipping workouts?
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MADHUKAR (calmly):
Let me show you.
Each of you carries certain lies — silent, habitual, socially acceptable — that your biology cannot digest.
Let’s break them down, one by one.
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LIES THAT CAUSE LIFESTYLE DISEASES
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1. “Stress is normal.”
MADHUKAR:
Kailash, how many days in the last year did you wake up without a sense of urgency?
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KAILASH:
None, honestly.
There’s always pressure. Sales targets. Deadlines.
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MADHUKAR:
This is the first lie: “Chronic stress is part of modern life.”
But your nervous system was never designed for endless deadlines.
Cortisol, the stress hormone, should spike only when escaping danger — not during a PowerPoint presentation.
Chronic stress causes:
Constant inflammation
Elevated blood sugar
Insulin resistance
High blood pressure
Acid overproduction
Hormonal disruption
You’re not tired because of age.
You’re tired because your body is in permanent fight mode.
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2. “I eat healthy.”
RANI:
But I eat multigrain rotis, avoid sweets, use olive oil.
Still, I gain weight and feel bloated.
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MADHUKAR:
Let’s look deeper.
You think you eat healthy because of labels and advertisements.
But truth is, most urban food is:
Packaged
Overcooked
Lacking enzymes and fiber
Full of additives and seed oils
Even “healthy” food consumed in a rushed, stressed, distracted state impairs digestion.
We digest not just what we eat, but how we eat.
And many homemakers eat last — cold, leftover food.
That’s another lie: “My hunger can wait.”
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3. “I don’t have time to rest.”
RANI:
I can’t rest. If I stop, everything collapses — meals, chores, bills...
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MADHUKAR:
This lie is common among women.
Biology doesn’t care about family expectations.
When the body is denied rest:
Adrenal fatigue develops
Thyroid slows down
Fat stores increase as protection
PMS worsens
Menstrual irregularities rise
You need rest not after everything is done — but so that everything can get done.
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4. “Technology helps me relax.”
ABHI:
I play games, scroll reels — it relaxes me.
That’s not lying, right?
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MADHUKAR:
It’s a half-truth.
Reels and games give dopamine, not restoration.
The nervous system doesn’t get repaired.
Blue light suppresses melatonin.
Constant stimulation fragments attention span.
You’re entertained, not healed.
This creates:
Weight gain
Brain fog
Low motivation
Sleep disorders
Early insulin resistance
Your pancreas is not lazy.
It’s confused.
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5. “Achievement is everything.”
PRIYA:
If I don’t top the class, I’m nobody.
That’s just how things are.
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MADHUKAR:
This belief, drilled into kids, is dangerous.
It creates:
Chronic anxiety
Shallow breathing
Overthinking
Poor immunity
Irregular cycles in girls
Emotional dysregulation
The lie is: “I must prove my worth constantly.”
The truth is: “Worth is not performance. It is presence.”
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SOME MORE COMMON LIES THAT DAMAGE HEALTH
“Pain is weakness — keep going.”
“It’s just a small headache — ignore it.”
“A little alcohol at night helps me sleep.”
“Everyone gets fat after 40 — it’s normal.”
“Mobile phones don’t really harm health.”
“Sugar is okay in small amounts.”
“A pill will fix this.”
“I’ll sleep when I retire.”
“It’s just gas, not stress.”
“Therapy is for crazy people.”
“It’s selfish to take time for myself.”
“If I rest, I’m being lazy.”
“If I cry, I’m weak.”
“I don’t need help.”
“I’m fine.”
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SCIENCE OF SELF-DECEPTION AND DISEASE
MADHUKAR (explains further):
Chronic diseases aren’t random.
They are adaptive responses to misaligned lifestyles.
Your brain-body system is:
Always listening
Always adapting
Always reacting
When you constantly send it signals of fear, rush, guilt, suppression — it adapts through:
Inflammation
Hormonal imbalance
Metabolic slowdown
Organ fatigue
And every lie told to self — about rest, food, time, emotions — adds to that misalignment.
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KAILASH:
So… what’s the first step?
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MADHUKAR:
First, stop chasing “fixes.”
Start making honest audits.
Ask daily:
What am I pretending not to know?
What feelings am I numbing?
What habit am I defending with excuses?
What pain am I normalizing?
Then change small things:
30 minutes in sunlight
Eating mindfully
Honest conversations
No screens after 9
Walking instead of scrolling
Asking for help
Saying no without guilt
Sleeping like health depends on it — because it does
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PRIYA (softly):
Can honesty really heal us?
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MADHUKAR:
Biologically and behaviorally, yes.
When you live in truth:
Cortisol drops
Digestion improves
Inflammation reduces
Hormones regulate
Sleep deepens
Immunity strengthens
Health is not magic.
It is the natural outcome of alignment — between what you feel, say, and do.
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The family sits quietly. This time, the silence is not helpless. It’s honest. They take a deep breath — together.
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"THE MEDICINE CABINET IS A CONFESSION BOX"
(A Poem in the Spirit of Bukowski)
we called it progress
as we microwaved our meals
and swallowed pills like apologies
to the body we betrayed daily.
we wore watches that counted steps
but ignored the legs begging for rest.
we chased paychecks,
lost our sleep,
and clapped for doctors
as if they were gods
not the undertakers of our own ignorance.
we called it self-care
while drowning in coffee,
scrolling through lies,
pissing away our breath in cubicles
lit by fluorescent silence.
they told us to hustle.
we listened.
they told us pain was weakness.
we obeyed.
they sold us sugar,
branded it love.
sold us deadlines,
called it meaning.
and when the body finally collapsed —
with its high BP,
its twisted hormones,
its inflamed gut
and anxious heart —
we didn’t ask what we did.
we asked what more we could buy.
you want the truth?
you don’t need a cure.
you need a mirror.
because the disease
was never out there.
it was every yes
you whispered when your soul screamed no.
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