You already know what supports your health—sleep, stress regulation, recovery, movement. And still, you do not always do it.
Today is World Health Day, and this year’s message from the World Health Organization is: Stand with science.
You can read more about the Stand with science campaign on the World Health Organization’s official page.
But standing with science is not simply a matter of having access to information. When people do not follow health advice, it is not because they lack information, but because accuracy is not the brain’s priority.
The gap is not knowledge. It is how that knowledge is processed, and whether it is acted on.
How health advice is filtered
1. Identity
Health advice is not processed in a neutral way. It is interpreted in the context of existing beliefs and self-concept. When advice implies “you need to change,” it also implies effort.
Effort often generates resistance and this resistance can be experienced as a challenge to identity, not as guidance.
- What fits is accepted more easily.
- What does not fit is more likely to be questioned or discounted.
2. Confirmation bias
The mind does not search for truth, it searches for confirmation. Once a belief is established:
- We notice what confirms it.
- We question what contradicts it.
The same information can therefore lead to different conclusions.
Misinformation spreads easily because it reinforces existing views.
3. Cognitive dissonance
When behaviour and knowledge conflict, discomfort arises. For example, continuing a habit known to be harmful creates tension. Rather than changing behaviour, it is often easier for the mind to adjust the interpretation:
- “The risk is exaggerated”
- “It does not apply to me”
- “I will deal with it later”
This reduces discomfort without requiring change. And the discomfort of inconsistency is often resolved by changing the story, not the behaviour.
If you have ever dismissed advice you knew was correct— delayed it, questioned it, or minimised it—you have already experienced these processes in action.
4. Social context
Beliefs are not only individual, but they are also social, they signal belonging. Challenging them can carry a cost. As a result, alignment with a group can take precedence over alignment with evidence.
5. Trust
Scientific evidence is probabilistic and cumulative. Personal experience is immediate and convincing, but often misleading. This creates a tension: what feels true is not always what is true.
- For this reason, decisions depend heavily on trust:
- in the source of the information,
- in the quality of the evidence,
- and in the consistency of recommendations.
When trust is low, even well-supported evidence has limited influence.
6. Emotion
Health information often involves uncertainty or perceived risk. Under these conditions, processing becomes simplified. Clear and reassuring explanations are favoured over nuanced ones.
7. Information overload
Health messages are constant and often conflicting. One day something is presented as beneficial; the next day it is questioned.
For example, headlines may alternate between “coffee is beneficial” and “coffee increases risk,” depending on how findings are interpreted.
While this reflects the evolving nature of science, it is often perceived as inconsistency. The result is predictable:
- disengagement
- confusion
- reliance on simple narratives
From insight to practice
If the challenge is not information, but how it is processed, then the solution is not more information alone. It involves developing the capacity to:
- notice biases
- regulate responses to uncertainty
- step back from automatic interpretations
- act based on evidence rather than immediate comfort
This is precisely the gap most interventions overlook. The aim is not only to provide information, but to change how it is engaged with.
Standing with science is not passive
Health is not built on what we know. And our reactions to scientific facts do not determine their validity. What matters is noticing how we respond to information that could be beneficial,
and recognising the behaviours that may be working against our health.
This requires awareness, not as an abstract idea, but as the ability to observe these reactions as they happen.
Because change does not depend on knowing more or agreeing. It depends on what we are willing to apply, consistently, even when it requires effort and creates discomfort.
Need a Helping Hand?
EQness offers psychotherapy, coaching, and workplace wellbeing training in Sydney, supporting individuals and organisations to manage stress, improve emotional regulation, and strengthen decision-making.
Please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here, to help.
