How to Optimize Your Physical Health

You can now address the status of your Physical Health. This one is usually slightly easier to address due to the minimal amount of stigmatization involved. Many health issues might not be obvious, but they can easily debilitate one from going on with their normal day to day.

What has this been like for you in the past? Has the doctor made suggestions such as: Changing a few items in your diet? Cutting out a few things in your diet? Changing your diet all together? Has the doctor mentioned exercise?

You’re possibly on the other end of the spectrum. Has the doctor mentioned you have to slow down and do less activity? Does he tell you you have to eat more of something? Has the MD referred you to a Nutritionist? Did your partner have to badger you to go to that appointment? Do you follow the MD’s suggestions as well as take your medications as prescribed?

Even if one feels that he/she looks healthy, that may not truly be the case.  Using substances often masks issues that we might have. I like to describe it as being “under a nice, warm and fuzzy blanket.” Drugs, alcohol, caffeine and sugar are all substances that create averse activity in our systems when overused. The body compensates for this and most of the time we don’t even notice.

I’m no scientist, but a simple example that most people can relate to is a hangover. When a person is hungover from drinking alcohol, a headache is a common result. What really happens is that the alcohol is a diuretic, causing your body to urinate frequently. This depletes water and electrolytes in the body, causing the head to ache when your body is working hard trying to maintain its fluid levels.

So years of these behaviors, among others, might have had some negative consequences on your health. Not too long ago, your MD was the one you received all of your information from. In some places, he was the ONLY one. Today, there are Community Centers and Libraries in most towns. Most people are connected to the World Wide Web. We can not only research what the doctor tells us, but we can seek out the experience of others as well as their results. We can connect with others that can guide us with alternative methods that can aid our well-being and be supportive.

Most MD’s will be happy to send you on your way with a prescription of sorts and a slight slap on the wrist in relation to your habits. If the MD has a moral practice and is doing the best he/she can by you, that is commendable and it might benefit you to follow those recommendations. Even then, it is up to you to seek out what else you can do to better your health. That’s where the lifestyle choices you make come into play.

It’s up to the MD to treat your symptoms, but it’s up to YOU to get to the root of the problem and make the necessary changes to become the healthiest you can be. This will be an enormous step towards eliminating those symptoms altogether, which is the result you’rel looking for to begin with! How can you help the MD help yourself? How can you add to what the MD is doing to change your situation? For most of us, it’s not the easiest thing, but it is easier done with the help of others. In the case of your health; doctors, nutritionists, health coaches, therapists and physical therapists, personal trainers, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, support groups, counselors and family are all potential members of your team.

You might have a health issue, or you may have multiple. List out what your problems are in order of severity and come up with a solution for each one. Then, you talk to a few people who are either professionals in addressing the specific problem and/or have dealt with the problem themselves and had favorable outcomes in order to come up with the safest most effective plan to address it. Make yourself accountable. Don’t just “try” to better your health. It is within your power to do so.

If you decide to take that extra step and give yourself an honest chance, then it is greatly likely that you will not regret it. The one thing in life that we don’t get back is time. In order to make the best of the time we do have, it would behoove us to be in optimal health. Don’t let your health stand in your way of living to your fullest. Take control and take action.

If you find this post helpful, feel free to leave a comment, LiKE it and share it with a friend. Take this opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. Love Life Today. THiS ReCoVeRY LiFE.