Why Did I Get Sick? The Conversation We Rarely Have About Health

By Dr. Wendy Coburn
One Village Family Chiropractic Community

One of the most common questions I hear in practice is, “Why did I get sick?”

Sometimes the question comes after a diagnosis. Sometimes it follows years of fatigue, headaches, digestive challenges, chronic pain, anxiety, hormone changes, weight gain, or simply feeling disconnected from the person they once were. Most people asking this question are looking for a specific answer. They are hoping there was one event, one injury, one stressful day, one food, one virus, or one moment that caused everything to unravel.

The reality is that sickness rarely develops overnight. The body is incredibly resilient. It compensates, adapts, and survives for years before symptoms begin to appear. Most health challenges are not the result of a single event but rather the accumulation of thousands of choices, stresses, habits, adaptations, and exposures that occur over time.

When someone asks me why they became sick, I often respond with a question of my own.

“Tell me about your life.”

Not your diagnosis.

Not your symptoms.

Not what medication you take.

Tell me about your life.

Because health is not something that happens in isolation. Health is created every day by the way we think, move, eat, sleep, connect, and adapt to the world around us.

The conversation might begin with sleep. I may ask how many hours they are getting each night and whether they wake feeling rested. Do they fall asleep easily or does their mind race? Are they scrolling on their phone before bed? Do they wake at three in the morning worrying about work, finances, family, or everything they didn’t get done that day?

Sleep is one of the most powerful healing tools available to us. Every night the body repairs tissues, regulates hormones, processes memories, balances blood sugar, and restores the nervous system. Yet many people wear exhaustion as a badge of honour. They have become so accustomed to feeling tired that they no longer remember what true energy feels like.

Then I might ask about movement.

What does a typical day look like? Do they spend most of the day sitting? Do they move their body regularly? Can they squat, reach, walk, balance, and climb stairs comfortably? Do they exercise because they enjoy it, or only when they feel guilty enough to start again?

As human beings, we were designed for movement. Every joint, muscle, ligament, and nerve in the body depends upon movement to function properly. From a chiropractic perspective, movement is one of the primary ways we nourish the nervous system. Motion provides information to the brain. It tells the body where it is in space, how to adapt to gravity, and how to coordinate healing and function. A body that moves well generally functions better than a body that remains still.

Eventually our conversation turns toward nutrition.

I often ask what breakfast looks like. Do they start the day with protein and healthy fats, or are they running on caffeine and carbohydrates? How much water do they drink? Are they nourishing their body with foods that provide the raw materials for healing, or are they surviving on convenience foods because life feels too busy?

The body cannot create health from materials it never receives. Every cell, every hormone, every neurotransmitter, every muscle fibre, and every healing process depends on nutrients. We cannot expect extraordinary health when we consistently provide the body with inadequate resources.

Then we talk about stress.

Not because stress is bad, but because life is full of it.

The real question is not whether stress exists. The question is whether we have enough reserve and resilience to adapt to it.

Do we have healthy boundaries?

Do we make time for recovery?

Do we spend every waking hour taking care of everyone else while neglecting ourselves?

Do we ever pause long enough to breathe deeply, laugh, connect, and simply be present?

Many people are living with their foot firmly planted on the accelerator while wondering why the engine keeps overheating.

As a chiropractor, I am especially interested in the function of the nervous system because every process in the body is coordinated through it. Every heartbeat, every breath, every hormone released, every immune response, every digestive function and every healing process depends upon communication between the brain and the body.

When physical stress, chemical stress, and emotional stress accumulate faster than the body can adapt, we begin to see signs that the system is struggling. Sleep becomes lighter. Energy declines. Recovery slows. Mood changes. Focus decreases. Pain appears. Digestion becomes less efficient. Resilience fades.

Often these changes begin long before a diagnosis is ever made.

The conversation eventually shifts from why someone became sick to what health actually looks like.

Health is not simply the absence of symptoms.

Health is waking with energy and purpose. It is moving freely and confidently. It is adapting to life’s challenges without breaking down every time stress increases. It is sleeping deeply, thinking clearly, digesting efficiently, maintaining healthy relationships, and finding joy in everyday life.

Health is having enough reserve in your nervous system to respond rather than react.

Health is having enough strength to do the things you love.

Health is having enough resilience to navigate both good days and difficult days.

Most importantly, health is something we build.

We build it through daily movement.

We build it through nutritious food.

We build it through restorative sleep.

We build it through meaningful relationships.

We build it through gratitude, purpose, and joy.

We build it through regular chiropractic care that supports optimal nervous system function and helps the body adapt to the physical, chemical, and emotional stresses of life.

The truth is that most people do not suddenly become sick. They slowly drift away from the habits that create health. The encouraging news is that the opposite is also true. Most people do not suddenly become healthy either. They slowly return to the habits that support healing, function, and vitality.

One healthy choice may not seem significant.

One walk.

One workout.

One chiropractic adjustment.

One nutritious meal.

One earlier bedtime.

One moment of gratitude.

Yet repeated consistently over weeks, months, and years, these small choices become the foundation upon which a healthy life is built.

Perhaps the question is not, “Why did I get sick?”

Perhaps the better question is, “What habits am I practicing every day that are moving me toward health?”

Because every day we are moving in one direction or the other.

And the beautiful thing about health is that regardless of where you are today, you can choose a new direction tomorrow.

At One Village Family Chiropractic Community, we believe your body was designed to heal, adapt, and thrive. Our role is to help remove interference, support nervous system function, and guide you toward habits that allow your body to express its greatest potential.

Because you don’t go for chiropractic because something is wrong.

You go because your health matters.