11 - Health

Today's challenge:

Make an appointment with your doctor for a check-up.

When is the last time you saw your family doctor, your therapist or other medical health professional?

Regular health checks may uncover small (treatable/manageable) issue early before they become bigger and more serious concerns.

Our medical system is based on seeking help when something is wrong. What if we became more proactive about figuring out the things we could do to maintain or even achieve an optimal level of health?

Why is it important?

Getting a wellness check up from your medical health provider(s) will establish a baseline. You can then measure your progress along this or any other wellness journey once you know your point of origin. This will provide powerful feedback once you see how far you have grown, improved and/or succeeded.

Another benefit is that you may discover things that you will have to manage or work around in the pursuit of your goals.

What can you do to stay healthy?

• Build a team. Find a family doctor, a dentist, and specialists if required (physiotherapist, mental health counsellor, etc). This is your team to keep your health on track and address any issues before they become a problem. Since they are your support network, make sure they are responsive to your needs, and support your wellness goals.

  
  

• Understand hygiene vs personal cosmetics. Perfume, hair dyes, anti-wrinkle creams, hair loss creams, teeth whitening products may change or improve your look but they do not improve your health. Be wary of product claims and understand what ingredients go into these products. Some may be doing more harm than good.

  
  

• Eat well, get enough sleep and exercise. These three strategies keep your body running efficiently and give it the best chance to ward off disease.

  
  

• Take a first aid course. One of the primary rules of first aid is that you are in no position to help anyone else if you aren’t healthy or assessed the situation to determine if it is safe to proceed. These are good life lessons to remember for the promotion of good personal hygiene and overall wellness. If your assistance could potentially make a bad situation worse, then take measures to put yourself in a better state first, before you render help to others.

  
  

• Follow public health guidelines during disease outbreaks and pandemics.

  
  

Deep Dive

Think of this like your owner's manual. This book provides a tour of the human body and how it works in an easy and often funny delivery. Medically accurate and full of facts without feeling like you are reading a medical textbook.

"The Body" by Bill Bryson

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – Benjamin Franklin

Checkpoint: Something to consider today...

How are you feeling mentally and physically right now?