If you only have 15 minutes to pass on vital information to your Healthcare Provider what is the most vital information for you to pass on? What do they need to know? What information will help them know what tests are needed? What will give the information that they need to determine what the root cause of your symptoms?
Let me assure you that you as patient, can make a huge difference by passing on the most important information. If you answer the following questions before you go to the DR then pass that information on, you will be amazed at how effective your HCP will be at helping you.
What are your symptoms? Headache, can't sleep, depressed, leg pain, foot pain.
Be descriptive! describe the pain. sharp, dull, throbbing, use as many descriptive words as you can think of to pinpoint just what the pain, discomfort, problem feels like. Feeling sad, depressed, cry all the time, feeling a sense of doom?
How long have you had these symptoms?
When did it start? so many days/weeks/months/years ago?
How did it start? Suddenly or gradual? Are the symptoms getting worse? or staying the same but just not going away?
Is there anything that was happening in your life that correlates to the symptoms? new job, new food item, new medication, new supplement,new activity? This piece of information is very important!
What has been the pattern of the symptoms? Constant or does it come and go? Does the pain radiate anywhere? Which means does the pain start in one spot and move to another spot? Does the pain move around from spot to spot or is it constant? In the same spot/area?
Is the main symptom associated with another symptom? How?
Be as specific as you can about everything. Your HCP will love you for this specific information!
Share any information that you think might be even remotely connect even if you think the connection sounds silly. Let your HCP decide. If you feel sure the connection is there and your HCP doesn't see it. Trust yourself. After all you are the one who lives with you.
The more specific you are the better healthcare you will receive! You are more in control of your health care than you think! Take it and run with it.Be empowered to demand the best healthcare possible then do everything within your power to assist with what you can.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Gut-Brain Connection
Just a few weeks ago I attended a day long educational seminar taught by Merrily Kuhn RN,CCRN(r) PHD, ND,PHD. It was a very informative event. I learned a lot and had much of what I already know validated.
We all kind of sort of know that our gut health is very important! After all, when we have a stomach ache or some other abdominal pain, we just feel miserable. We know that diarrhea and constipation are related to our gut health, but did you know that the gut is the source of 90% of our immune system and that the gut and the brain are intricately related to our mental health?
Well known neurotransmitters are made in the gut. Check out Dopamine. 50% of this important neurotransmitter is made in the gut and 50% made in the brain. 95% of Serotonin is produced in the gut. GABA, Glutamate and Norepinephrne are also found in the gut. Now the light comes on and it makes so much sense. When you are nervous, you can get a stomach ache, diarrhea and more. This is personal validation that the gut is definitely influenced by the emotions, so it makes perfect sense that the brain would be influenced by the gut.
At birth, our gut is populated by the needed bacteria while coming through the birth canal. Breast milk contains a substance that the baby cannot process. Why is that? Research has verified that this substance is need by the bacteria to make it healthy. When our gut bacteria is healthy then we are happy and healthy. It is a symbiotic relationship which means that the bacteria and our bodies help each other out.
Many things in our diet and lives is detrimental to our gut bacteria and thus to our health. This is being recognized more and more by healthcare workers all over the country. Environmental toxins, antibiotics and nutrient depleted diets are part of the reasons why our gut bacteria can become unhealthy and candida, which is not so good for our health, can become a big time health problem.
Making sure that you take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic is very important. Just make sure you don't take the antibiotic and probiotic at the same time of day. Wait at least 2 hours between to make sure that the antibiotic does not destroy the probiotics. Eliminate sugar completely from your diet and limit the processed foods as much as possible.
The subject of healthy gut and it's connection with a healthy brain is vast. If this subject interests you I would suggest that you do additional research on the subject as the vast amount of information out there is just too big for the scope of this blog.
To your health and happy research.
Until next time,
Healthbug
We all kind of sort of know that our gut health is very important! After all, when we have a stomach ache or some other abdominal pain, we just feel miserable. We know that diarrhea and constipation are related to our gut health, but did you know that the gut is the source of 90% of our immune system and that the gut and the brain are intricately related to our mental health?
Well known neurotransmitters are made in the gut. Check out Dopamine. 50% of this important neurotransmitter is made in the gut and 50% made in the brain. 95% of Serotonin is produced in the gut. GABA, Glutamate and Norepinephrne are also found in the gut. Now the light comes on and it makes so much sense. When you are nervous, you can get a stomach ache, diarrhea and more. This is personal validation that the gut is definitely influenced by the emotions, so it makes perfect sense that the brain would be influenced by the gut.
At birth, our gut is populated by the needed bacteria while coming through the birth canal. Breast milk contains a substance that the baby cannot process. Why is that? Research has verified that this substance is need by the bacteria to make it healthy. When our gut bacteria is healthy then we are happy and healthy. It is a symbiotic relationship which means that the bacteria and our bodies help each other out.
Many things in our diet and lives is detrimental to our gut bacteria and thus to our health. This is being recognized more and more by healthcare workers all over the country. Environmental toxins, antibiotics and nutrient depleted diets are part of the reasons why our gut bacteria can become unhealthy and candida, which is not so good for our health, can become a big time health problem.
Making sure that you take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic is very important. Just make sure you don't take the antibiotic and probiotic at the same time of day. Wait at least 2 hours between to make sure that the antibiotic does not destroy the probiotics. Eliminate sugar completely from your diet and limit the processed foods as much as possible.
The subject of healthy gut and it's connection with a healthy brain is vast. If this subject interests you I would suggest that you do additional research on the subject as the vast amount of information out there is just too big for the scope of this blog.
To your health and happy research.
Until next time,
Healthbug
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
How to talk to your Doctor?
If you have decided you want to be more a part of your healthcare decisions. You have figured out that your full participation in your health is the only way to achieve the best possible health for yourself. You may just have come to this realization or you may be years down the road in taking responsibility for your own health. You may even be a Mom who, as the main cook for the household is the holder of the keys to good health for you and your children. In any case, if you want to feel empowered to work with your Healthcare Provider (HCP) but just are not so sure about how to talk to them in an empowering way, I have a few suggestions for you.
My first suggestion is to pay attention to your own body. Trust your knowledge about how you feel. If this is a foreign thought to you then begin right now to pay close attention to how you feel when you wake up. Check in with yourself several times throughout the day. Make yourself think frequently about how your body is feeling. Eventually it will get to be second nature and when you go see your HCP you will have some really concise information to give them. You will be able to describe more clearly why you are coming to see them. Don't let them skip over all the details you have to give them. They need the whole picture of how you feel physically as well as emotionally. You can not separate the mind from the body. Give them your idea of why you think such and such is happening. They may dismiss it, but quite frankly I have found that when people tune into themselves,body and mind, they can make connections that a HCP would never think of making and not always, but many times the "Patient" guides them in the right direction. So trust yourself, and be prepared to share your thoughts on your health issue.
Actually, did you realize that a HCP gets their "diagnosis" from you, the patient? Yep, that's right, you tell them what is wrong with you and they just have a receipt that they follow. When you participate, you help them individualize that generic receipt. In this way they work in partnership with you.
Second, educate yourself about any and all medications you are taking. Know why you are taking them and know their most common side effects. If you are taking more than one medication, know if they may interact with each other. Yikes, you say! How do I do all that? Use the internet. drugs.com, mayoclinic.com, webmd.com to name a few. The more knowledgeable you are about your medications the better you can communicate with your Care Provider. This is the point at which you will have to watch that the HCP does not intimidate you into thinking your knowledge is less than theirs. You have one person to study in depth, they only have a general picture of many people. Be polite but persistent that you know what you know and that it is worthy of their consideration.
My third suggestion, if you are really serious about your health you will have the goal of being on as few medications as possible. Always ask if there is a lifestyle/herbal/vitamin alternative to taking any suggested drug. If you are an avid health nut like I am, you will have already researched these avenues,picked out something you want to try and will be ready to ask your Care Provider what they think about your research and what you would like to try. Here too, be persistent. If your HCP is negative, ask them to clarify their reasons for their attitude. Again be polite but don't take a simple unqualified reason such as "I just don't think that's a good idea." What that usually means is that they know little to nothing about what you are suggesting and they feel more comfortable prescribing a drug. It does help to go in armed with research about your chosen coarse of action. This is a good time to ask them to read your research and in the meantime, sans any qualified reason to the contrary, you are going to embark on your chosen therapy while they do their due diligence to read your research.
For those people that are afraid they will anger their care provider by letting them know just how much they know about their body, medication and even to suggest an herb,vitamin,lifestyle change, alternative care modality instead of a drug, I'd like to share some valuable insight. As a nurse for 20 years, I have heard the behind closed doors conversations of many a Doctor. Most complain that their patients are so passive. They make statements like "I wish people would care more about their own health", "I don't even suggest a lifestyle/diet remedy because I know they won't do any of that!" "I wish my patients knew just how important they were in their own health care!"
A good caring Care Provider will love the fact that you know you are responsible for your own health. The fact that you ask more questions and even make some suggestions shows them that you will take an active part in your health and healing. This should be good news for any HCP! If it isn't, get an new Care Provider! You must have someone who wants to work with you, not someone who just wants to dictate to you. A knowledgeable patient working in partnership with a caring knowledgeable Care Provider equals a winning team!
To your good health!
Till next time,
Health Nut
My first suggestion is to pay attention to your own body. Trust your knowledge about how you feel. If this is a foreign thought to you then begin right now to pay close attention to how you feel when you wake up. Check in with yourself several times throughout the day. Make yourself think frequently about how your body is feeling. Eventually it will get to be second nature and when you go see your HCP you will have some really concise information to give them. You will be able to describe more clearly why you are coming to see them. Don't let them skip over all the details you have to give them. They need the whole picture of how you feel physically as well as emotionally. You can not separate the mind from the body. Give them your idea of why you think such and such is happening. They may dismiss it, but quite frankly I have found that when people tune into themselves,body and mind, they can make connections that a HCP would never think of making and not always, but many times the "Patient" guides them in the right direction. So trust yourself, and be prepared to share your thoughts on your health issue.
Actually, did you realize that a HCP gets their "diagnosis" from you, the patient? Yep, that's right, you tell them what is wrong with you and they just have a receipt that they follow. When you participate, you help them individualize that generic receipt. In this way they work in partnership with you.
Second, educate yourself about any and all medications you are taking. Know why you are taking them and know their most common side effects. If you are taking more than one medication, know if they may interact with each other. Yikes, you say! How do I do all that? Use the internet. drugs.com, mayoclinic.com, webmd.com to name a few. The more knowledgeable you are about your medications the better you can communicate with your Care Provider. This is the point at which you will have to watch that the HCP does not intimidate you into thinking your knowledge is less than theirs. You have one person to study in depth, they only have a general picture of many people. Be polite but persistent that you know what you know and that it is worthy of their consideration.
My third suggestion, if you are really serious about your health you will have the goal of being on as few medications as possible. Always ask if there is a lifestyle/herbal/vitamin alternative to taking any suggested drug. If you are an avid health nut like I am, you will have already researched these avenues,picked out something you want to try and will be ready to ask your Care Provider what they think about your research and what you would like to try. Here too, be persistent. If your HCP is negative, ask them to clarify their reasons for their attitude. Again be polite but don't take a simple unqualified reason such as "I just don't think that's a good idea." What that usually means is that they know little to nothing about what you are suggesting and they feel more comfortable prescribing a drug. It does help to go in armed with research about your chosen coarse of action. This is a good time to ask them to read your research and in the meantime, sans any qualified reason to the contrary, you are going to embark on your chosen therapy while they do their due diligence to read your research.
For those people that are afraid they will anger their care provider by letting them know just how much they know about their body, medication and even to suggest an herb,vitamin,lifestyle change, alternative care modality instead of a drug, I'd like to share some valuable insight. As a nurse for 20 years, I have heard the behind closed doors conversations of many a Doctor. Most complain that their patients are so passive. They make statements like "I wish people would care more about their own health", "I don't even suggest a lifestyle/diet remedy because I know they won't do any of that!" "I wish my patients knew just how important they were in their own health care!"
A good caring Care Provider will love the fact that you know you are responsible for your own health. The fact that you ask more questions and even make some suggestions shows them that you will take an active part in your health and healing. This should be good news for any HCP! If it isn't, get an new Care Provider! You must have someone who wants to work with you, not someone who just wants to dictate to you. A knowledgeable patient working in partnership with a caring knowledgeable Care Provider equals a winning team!
To your good health!
Till next time,
Health Nut
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Laughter, a self experiment
Have you ever thought about the health benefits of simple laughter? Really it makes sense that laughter would improve your health. Think about it. Humor reduces tension, stress and anxiety. All of those negative emotions have been linked to chronic illness. OK you say, show me the research. I'd like to challenge you to take the laughter test yourself. You should believe what you experience in your own life even if it goes counter to some supposed research.
One of my pet peeves is Doctors ignoring a patient's correlation of the commencement of a negative health issue to just after they started taking some medication, a new job, or some other simple change in the patients life. The patient knows better but the Doctor just refuses to accept the correlation. Either the patient gets another Doctor or they begin to doubt themselves and they quite paying serious attention to their body's warning signals. I'll address this more fully in a future post. I'll give you some suggestions as to how to get your Doctor/primary care person to listen to you and how to be your own best patient advocate.
If you are having a bad day it may seem impossible to laugh. Norman Cousins claimed to use humorous movies and jokes to help him laugh when he didn't feel like it. There are a ton of websites and articles on the internet that gives reasons for why we should strive to laugh more.
So having said that, believe your own observations. Try adding a committed period of laughter to your day, say 5 to 15 minutes all at one time or just scattered throughout the day. Do whatever you resonate with. If you decide to commit to this, it would be great if you could make a comment about just what you observed about yourself. Did your days seem to flow better, worse, or was there no change? Did it change the way you handled stressful situations? Was there any affect on your pain/stiffness/blood sugar/blood pressure or any other health issues? There is research out there that does confirm that those that laugh and use humor to get through their day seem to have fewer health problem.
Would this be considered a scientific experiment? Probably not, but if you pay attention to details, how your feel both emotionally and physically, you might gain some very useful personal insightful information for yourself that you can use day in and day out but can also pass onto others.First hand experience is invaluable! Give it a try. Besides, it won't cost you even a penny. At most it will take a little commitment and time. Journal your experience and you will get more out of it. Sometimes things change in such subtle ways that we don't really see the change unless we have logged where we have been. This happens very often with EFT.(See my earlier post on this very effective form of self help)
Laugh a lot and love abundantly,
Till next time,
Healthbug
One of my pet peeves is Doctors ignoring a patient's correlation of the commencement of a negative health issue to just after they started taking some medication, a new job, or some other simple change in the patients life. The patient knows better but the Doctor just refuses to accept the correlation. Either the patient gets another Doctor or they begin to doubt themselves and they quite paying serious attention to their body's warning signals. I'll address this more fully in a future post. I'll give you some suggestions as to how to get your Doctor/primary care person to listen to you and how to be your own best patient advocate.
If you are having a bad day it may seem impossible to laugh. Norman Cousins claimed to use humorous movies and jokes to help him laugh when he didn't feel like it. There are a ton of websites and articles on the internet that gives reasons for why we should strive to laugh more.
So having said that, believe your own observations. Try adding a committed period of laughter to your day, say 5 to 15 minutes all at one time or just scattered throughout the day. Do whatever you resonate with. If you decide to commit to this, it would be great if you could make a comment about just what you observed about yourself. Did your days seem to flow better, worse, or was there no change? Did it change the way you handled stressful situations? Was there any affect on your pain/stiffness/blood sugar/blood pressure or any other health issues? There is research out there that does confirm that those that laugh and use humor to get through their day seem to have fewer health problem.
Would this be considered a scientific experiment? Probably not, but if you pay attention to details, how your feel both emotionally and physically, you might gain some very useful personal insightful information for yourself that you can use day in and day out but can also pass onto others.First hand experience is invaluable! Give it a try. Besides, it won't cost you even a penny. At most it will take a little commitment and time. Journal your experience and you will get more out of it. Sometimes things change in such subtle ways that we don't really see the change unless we have logged where we have been. This happens very often with EFT.(See my earlier post on this very effective form of self help)
Laugh a lot and love abundantly,
Till next time,
Healthbug
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Chronic disease
The word "chronic" refers to something that is ongoing over an extended period of time. The top three causes of death in America are 1) Cancer, 2) Heart Disease, 3) Stroke. These 3 are primarily caused by lifestyle choices! That means that grasping the power to control our lifestyle is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves where Health is concerned.
The following was taken from the www.cdc.gov website
Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death, accounting for more than 30% of all U.S. deaths each year.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death, claims more than half a million lives each year.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower extremity amputations, and new cases of blindness each year among U.S. adults aged 20–74 years.
Arthritis, the most common cause of disability, limits activity for 19 million U.S. adults.
Obesity has become a major health concern for people of all ages. 1 in every 3 adults and nearly 1 in every 5 young people aged 6–19 are obese.
After these statements the site boldly makes the statement that Chronic Diseases Are Preventable!The CDC's goal is to "Prevent, delay, detect, and control chronic diseases".
Lifestyle choices account for a large portion of the risk of developing any one of these diseases. Now if that was statistics on a pill, we would all shout, "Where can I purchase that!". Fortunately you don't have to purchase a thing. Cultivating an attitude of self responsibility will go a long ways toward being able to not only see the changes you need and want to make but also being able to follow through with those changes.
I acknowledge that changing our lifestyle is not so easy. It takes planning, effort, diligence, persistance, and sometimes just some good old teeth gritting determination. If a person doesn't really see the value in the proposed change, why would you put yourself through all that? Of course knowledge is not enough. Plenty of professional people like Nurses, Doctors, Dietitians,etc have the knowledge of what makes for better health yet they still eat junk food, don't exercise, smoke, drink alcohol to excess and don't get enough sleep.
So what does motivate some people to change? Very, very good question. I think this is the substance of many a person's dilemmas with themselves. How do we motivate ourselves to do what we really believe we want/need to do to get healthy and stay healthy? I don't have all your answers but I can share with you what some of my answers have been.
First and foremost, I must continue to remind myself that what I eat and what I do has a profound affect on my health. I read lots of health and healing books,newsletters and websites. You might not enjoy that kind of reading so much and it might be better to find the statistics about how helpful lifestyle, diet and exercise is and just put them up where you can read them everyday.
Second, when I determine a change I want to make, I know that I must start with small steps. When I jump into something with both feel and try to make more than 3 small changes at a time, I tend to go hoguns for a short time but wear out quickly. It just seems too hard. In my life I have found that small steps equal huge changes in your health. Some people have found that just eliminating all sugar and artificial sugar from their diets, they are able to loose a lot of weight. For me the key with sugar is to to stay away from it at least a week. It is an addictive substance to most people. Read Sugar Blues to get motivated. Of course there are other books out there but that still one of the best.
Third, whatever I decide to do exercise wise, I know I must approach it gradually. Far better to start at a lower level than I think I can do than to push to excess at first and end up getting hurt or burned out. Like the time I decided to do Yoga again. I pushed my self till I over stretched a muscle and have felt the results of that every since, even though that was over 8 years ago.
To start with, realizing that motivation must come from within! That means that everyone must figure out what will motivate them. Sometimes I use silly things that are so simple they make me laugh. Like sometimes I tell myself if I accomplish my goal I will allow myself to watch a movie I want to watch. I don't watch many movies, so this is a real treat to me. Give yourself little gifts for each accomplishment. Take a short walk in the sun. Allow yourself to sit for 10 minutes and enjoy some favorite music. Whatever it takes to stay committed to your goal. It will be worth it in the end.
In order to motivate yourself, you have to get to know yourself. Listen to your body and listen to your self talk. Both of these are also helpful in determining just what you might need to provide your body with for it to begin to stay well or heal.
If you are really committed to developing a healthier diet and lifestyle and just can't seem to get there on your own, consider hiring a Health Coach. Make sure you resonate with how the coach teaches and make sure that they put you in the drivers seat of that change. If you don't own it, it will never work for you in the long run.
To your great health and healing,
Healthbug
The following was taken from the www.cdc.gov website
Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death, accounting for more than 30% of all U.S. deaths each year.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death, claims more than half a million lives each year.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower extremity amputations, and new cases of blindness each year among U.S. adults aged 20–74 years.
Arthritis, the most common cause of disability, limits activity for 19 million U.S. adults.
Obesity has become a major health concern for people of all ages. 1 in every 3 adults and nearly 1 in every 5 young people aged 6–19 are obese.
After these statements the site boldly makes the statement that Chronic Diseases Are Preventable!The CDC's goal is to "Prevent, delay, detect, and control chronic diseases".
Lifestyle choices account for a large portion of the risk of developing any one of these diseases. Now if that was statistics on a pill, we would all shout, "Where can I purchase that!". Fortunately you don't have to purchase a thing. Cultivating an attitude of self responsibility will go a long ways toward being able to not only see the changes you need and want to make but also being able to follow through with those changes.
I acknowledge that changing our lifestyle is not so easy. It takes planning, effort, diligence, persistance, and sometimes just some good old teeth gritting determination. If a person doesn't really see the value in the proposed change, why would you put yourself through all that? Of course knowledge is not enough. Plenty of professional people like Nurses, Doctors, Dietitians,etc have the knowledge of what makes for better health yet they still eat junk food, don't exercise, smoke, drink alcohol to excess and don't get enough sleep.
So what does motivate some people to change? Very, very good question. I think this is the substance of many a person's dilemmas with themselves. How do we motivate ourselves to do what we really believe we want/need to do to get healthy and stay healthy? I don't have all your answers but I can share with you what some of my answers have been.
First and foremost, I must continue to remind myself that what I eat and what I do has a profound affect on my health. I read lots of health and healing books,newsletters and websites. You might not enjoy that kind of reading so much and it might be better to find the statistics about how helpful lifestyle, diet and exercise is and just put them up where you can read them everyday.
Second, when I determine a change I want to make, I know that I must start with small steps. When I jump into something with both feel and try to make more than 3 small changes at a time, I tend to go hoguns for a short time but wear out quickly. It just seems too hard. In my life I have found that small steps equal huge changes in your health. Some people have found that just eliminating all sugar and artificial sugar from their diets, they are able to loose a lot of weight. For me the key with sugar is to to stay away from it at least a week. It is an addictive substance to most people. Read Sugar Blues to get motivated. Of course there are other books out there but that still one of the best.
Third, whatever I decide to do exercise wise, I know I must approach it gradually. Far better to start at a lower level than I think I can do than to push to excess at first and end up getting hurt or burned out. Like the time I decided to do Yoga again. I pushed my self till I over stretched a muscle and have felt the results of that every since, even though that was over 8 years ago.
To start with, realizing that motivation must come from within! That means that everyone must figure out what will motivate them. Sometimes I use silly things that are so simple they make me laugh. Like sometimes I tell myself if I accomplish my goal I will allow myself to watch a movie I want to watch. I don't watch many movies, so this is a real treat to me. Give yourself little gifts for each accomplishment. Take a short walk in the sun. Allow yourself to sit for 10 minutes and enjoy some favorite music. Whatever it takes to stay committed to your goal. It will be worth it in the end.
In order to motivate yourself, you have to get to know yourself. Listen to your body and listen to your self talk. Both of these are also helpful in determining just what you might need to provide your body with for it to begin to stay well or heal.
If you are really committed to developing a healthier diet and lifestyle and just can't seem to get there on your own, consider hiring a Health Coach. Make sure you resonate with how the coach teaches and make sure that they put you in the drivers seat of that change. If you don't own it, it will never work for you in the long run.
To your great health and healing,
Healthbug
Friday, April 19, 2013
New Beginnings!
I am sitting here contemplating how to get back into the swing of things. To be honest, I am actually contemplating how to establish a new habit. It is April 19, 2013 and I think it is time for a "New Years Resolution"!
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Honestly! Why should I bother?
What a good question. It takes determination,time and courage to take responsibility for your own health.
That said, how do you feel about having someone else tell you what job to work at, where to buy a house, whether you should marry this person or that person, what to wear every morning? Each and every one of these areas takes time and energy to decide just what we want to do. However.....you nor I would ever think of giving that responsibility away, nor allowing someone else to tell us what to do in any one of those areas.
So why do we allow this to happen in such an important part of our lives as our health? The answer, as I see it is very short and simple. We have been conditioned to think that we should allow someone else to take up that responsibility. "They know more than I do." "It's just way too confusing for the lay person to understand. I need to leave that area of my life in the hands of the professionals."
Am I saying we should not consult professionals? No! That is an emphatic NO! What I am saying is to trust yourself more. It's an attitude issue more than a knowledge issue. The attitude of, 'I know my body better than anyone else, after all I have lived with me 24 hours a day 7 days a week for my entire life. Who else has that kind of knowledge about me?'
I am also not discounting information. It takes commitment to listen to and try to understand what your body is trying to say to you. The other thing is doing day to day, hour by hour those things that build health rather than those things that tear down your health. It is a lie that everything that is good for does not taste good!
While fruits and veggies may be more expensive now, in the long run they are money well spent. Have you heard that the cost of health care is soaring? It is true. How permanent is a heart attack, stroke, poorly structured bones, gastric distress? Yes eating right can is the answer to every health issue.
" But I can't do it alone" you say. "I don't have time to learn all that nutrition stuff!" My DR will never listen to my suggestions. I and my family can't and won't eat those healthy things. It takes too much time to cook from scratch." All those statements are true only based on your attitude. Just how important is you and your families health to you? Do you really care that you may be contributing to your child's poor mental and physical health? Do you care that you may be contributing to your own poor mental and physical health? Harsh words? Believe me, those words are soft compared to the harshness of the real life consequences of poor eating habits and bad food choices.
I challenge you to sit yourself down and examine your attitude about your health, about food, and just how those two intertwine. We all want a pill to make it all better, when in truth, taking responsibility for our health is far easier than it looks. A change of attitude is where it starts. Changing one thing, one day/week at a time can make the changes easy on yourself and your family.
Best of health to you till next time,
Healthbug
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