Q's Health News

I recently attended a continuing education class via tele-medicine on “Three things you can do right now for your own wellness.” The class was great! Usually, continuing education is a bit on the dry side, but this presenter was outstanding. Not only did he have a great personality, but he provided a great message! The three things he listed were basically what everyone else lists for improving health and wellness: manage stress, eat well, and move more!

During this continuing education, the presenter gave an example of managing your stress by taking three one minute breaks during your work day; set your timer on your smart phone, find a quiet area and sit with your eyes closed in silence for a minute. Not necessarily meditating, but just a quiet time to just calm your mind. Because if you are like me, most days you don’t take breaks and the stress of the day can build. I hate to admit it, but I have not tried this at work.

Mostly, I’m a little embarrassed, but also, it’s hard to find a quiet spot at work. And sometimes, it seems hard to even get away for a few minutes! As for eating well and moving more, we’ve touched on that in the past, and will again I’m sure.

However, what really struck home with me was when he brought the whole conversation around to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!

I am responsible for my own actions and reactions, my own health and well-being; just as you are responsible for your own actions, reactions, & health and well-being. According to Dictionary.com self-responsibility is the “state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management.” Putting it in the realm of the healthcare world; you can go see your doctor when something is wrong, but if you are not responsible for yourself, he/she cannot really help you.

For example, I broke my wrist when I was 21. I got it casted and I’m sure the doctor gave me the drill: don’t get it wet, don’t use it as a weapon… Well, I know I didn’t take real great care of my fracture and still today my wrist clicks when I move it a certain way. If I would have actually followed the doctor’s instructions, maybe it would have actually healed without the click.

The same holds true any time you see the doctor. Your doctor, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner can prescribe a medication to help control symptoms of your chronic disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure or high cholesterol; but he/she CANNOT fix you with a prescription. YOU need to take personal responsibility for your own health and work to improve it, along with your healthcare provider’s assistance!

I am personally responsible for what goes into my mouth. One habit that I work on each day is avoiding added sugar in my diet. I’m not talking about naturally occurring sugars found in fruit and milk, but those sugars found in cake, candy, ice cream, syrup, pop, etc.

According to the American Heart Association, the daily recommended added sugar limit for a man is 36 grams and a woman is 25 grams. That’s not a lot… One 12 ounce can of pop, like Coke or Mountain Dew, contains more added sugar than a woman should have in a day! Yeah, it’s hard; and some days it’s REALLY hard not to dive head first into a bag of chocolate! But, that moment of delight from that sugar is usually not worth the extra calories. However, I do indulge in ice cream, pop, dessert, etc. from time to time, but not every day.

That extra sugar has a LOT of calories that don’t do any good for my body. So, what’s one thing you can do today to take personal responsibility that will help improve your health and wellness? Could it be stress management? Adding extra activity/exercise into your day? Saying NO to that extra pop or having that candy bar?

Let’s all work to take personal responsibility for our health and well-being!

If you have questions or comments, you can find me at Dahl Memorial Healthcare Association or email me at rwilliams@dmhainc.com. Thanks for joining me this month!