“The greatest wealth is health” ˜ Virgil

Many of us tend to avoid going for a yearly physical. Even when something is wrong and we know it, males especially, stay away from contacting a healthcare professional. We rationalize our medical problem(s) saying things like, “it’s nothing” or “stress is causing my heart to beat abnormally” or one of the other thousands of excuses to avoid medical interaction.

If an illness is caught early, it is much easier to resolve and go back to a normal way of life. Health is like having the ability to drive anywhere, at any time. An illness is like a construction road block, that with continual avoidance, becomes multiple road blocks. Eventually accidents will occur, where other multiple medical problems compound into becoming more difficult to treat.

Ultimately, you may end up going down a one way street terminating with a dead-end. Life has come to an untimely conclusion just because the original symptomatic problem was ignored.

A friend of mine who has been on thyroid medication for over a decade starting acting different. Lately he always seemed tired and uptight. Normally, in great shape, this guy would work out 4-5 times a week. Now he was lucky if he found enough energy to put in two weekly workouts. I asked about the last time he visited his physician to check on his condition. He was overdue for an appointment but had to find a new doctor because of his health care plan. I was able to probe further and discovered he was having abnormal heart beats. Eventually, I scared him enough to see a healthcare professional. Upon getting back the test results, the doctor increased the thyroid dose. His body was telling him that something was wrong but he kept ignoring the obvious. Later he came clean with me and stated, “thought I had a serious illness and didn’t want to deal with what the doctor may say.”

There are others that go to a medical expert and ignore the advice. Serious issues come to mind like weight loss, smoking cessation, excessive alcohol use, etc. Some think they are smarter than the healthcare professional. Others have given up trying to resolve their medical “issues.” Some individuals even feel that their priority is to their job, pet, car, etc. They look at their health with a lackadaisical attitude. Sometimes they get annoyed with their significant other trying to push them to see a physician. My Italian nonna (grandmother) would say “lasciame sola” (“leave me alone”) when someone tried to pressure her to see an MD. “I’m just old and nothing can help me,” would sometimes come out of her mouth.

Since many women are really “Dr. Mom” they look at their health as secondary to their spouse and children. They hide how they’re feeling. If it’s something drastic, who will take care of their family. An important reason why everyone should get a yearly physical. Concerning your priceless health, ignorance is just plain stupid.

The only one that really knows how you feel is what’s reflecting back at you in the mirror. When was the last time you had a full body check-up with blood and urine testing? Just consider how easy it could be to resolve a medical problem when it’s still in the early stages.

Take control of your health. Do it today! Set up an appointment with a health care professional. People that love you need you to stay around and spread the love back to them.

“The greatest wealth is health” ˜ Virgil

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Categories: Food, Health, Mental Disease, Nutrition

Tags: benjamin disraeli, Dr. Mom, good health is priceless, Health, physicial, virgil