It’s called an everyday consciousness, an awareness that keeps you alert to all the things that may challenge or test your resolve. If you are conscious of your habits today, then tomorrow you may not have a big health problem.
Most people don’t actually worry about their health until they feel some symptoms. And while many choose to ignore these nagging, persistent symptoms (and continue walking around in a state of denial), a majority of individuals choose to listen to their bodies and then take charge of the situation.
There are some true-to-life stories of everyday situations. You may see yourself through the experiences of others and then learn from their mistakes or good habits.
At 55, Mary Ann believed that she was immortal. Having survived a near-drowning incident when her boat capsized and a serious bout of dengue, she felt that, like the proverbial “cat with nine lives,” she had seven lives to go. Always in denial about her fluctuating blood pressure, she would dismiss each event as something minor.
One morning, she found herself unable to get out of bed due to her erratic blood pressure. Finally, she went to the hospital for a checkup. Her cardiologist didn’t allow her to leave until she underwent a battery of tests. The diagnosis: apparently she had suffered a minor heart attack.
In spite of religiously taking her maintenance pills for high blood/cholesterol and sugar condition for five years, she found herself where she never wanted to be—facing her mortality.
Rescue plan:
1) Remove all inflammatory foods—organ meats, oily/fried meals, etc.
2) Adopt a 100 percent vegetarian diet.
3) Mild, moderate daily exercise
4) Minimize and/or eliminate stress through mind-body exercises like yoga, Tai chi, Qigong
5) Massage therapy twice weekly
6) Prayer and meditation
7) Cut back on office work or any strenuous physical activity
8) Supplement with Omega-3 capsules twice daily and ubiquinol, a powerful CoQ10 supplement which addresses internal inflammation and heart conditions.
Anger issues
Do you think your disposition can affect your body? The answer is yes. But Jacob was an unbeliever. His unresolved anger issues (because he refused to see a therapist) led him to find comfort in alcohol.
Thus began his romance with whisky and brandy. While drinking moderately isn’t a bad thing, he never heeded the moderation part of it. So, he would have “happy hour” daily at the office. By 7 p.m., he could get home in time for family dinner—but drinking all along. For 10 years it went on.
One day, he arrived home to an empty house, his wife and children gone. Feeling alone and abandoned, he sought help from the parish priest. Together they devised a rehabilitation plan to save him, body and soul. By that time, Jacob had already developed peptic ulcers for which he was undergoing treatment.
Rehab plan:
1) Zero alcohol—he went “cold turkey” even with alcohol-laced desserts and mouthwash with alcohol
2) Zero cigarettes—this, because he would not be given another avenue for addiction
3) Exercise—a daily regular regimen of cardiovascular and strength-training exercises
4) Balanced diet—a nutritious light meal five times daily to unburden the thrice daily heavy meal habit
5) Therapy—weekly visits to the therapist plus a family intervention meeting
Today, Jacob is well and has won the trust of his family again.
This week’s affirmation: “I attract wealth in every aspect of who I am—body, mind and spirit.”
Love and light!
E-mail the columnist: coryquirino1@yahoo.com