I must admit that I was always happier when I didn't pay so much attention to my health. So it wasn't like there wasn't a lot of things going wrong, but I was happy to live in ignorance instead of letting it affect my mood or just make me live in anxiety.
Being health conscious however is the most important thing that anyone can ever do for themselves.
For example, something as simple as checking your blood pressure can help you spot your health issues before they become irreversible, but while the process feels simple, it's actually one of the most complicated things to do.
A lot of people feel panic and anxiety by just being in the four walls of a hospital, and this alone can spike their blood pressure.
For people who are already experiencing symptoms of stress and additional spike in blood pressure, living with the knowledge that their blood pressure is high and being educated about its potential danger can make people actually live in fear for the rest of their lives.
Fear itself is an illness, a sort of panic we get when we know that things are going wrong in our bodies, and we have to live with that knowledge.
However people forget that it's better you know, than not know, especially for situation that can be remedied when they're discovered on time. For example imagine if people are given the opportunity to know that they have stage one cancer.
It honestly sounds scary at first.
You begin to imagine your life living like a half person, bot being able to dream or be ambitious because you know you have cancer. However, compare it with being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, when the cancer is already low and chances of survival are now very slim.
Clearly, if people are presented with the two opportunities, everyone would rather prefer to be that first person, because you're thrown a curve ball, and a chance at survival even if it means living in worry, anxiety, panic and uncertainty for a very long time.
However, let's not underestimate the power of living in ignorance. When people live in the unknown, it makes it easier to live their lives without being defined with whatever they may have known that eventually destroys their lives.
We don't talk about the effect of depression or anxiety in the life of people enough. Picture everyone in this world depressed, life would basically be at halt and evolution will clearly not happen. Everyone will be obsessed with dealing with their demons, so much that no one would care about reality and all that.
I live with a lot of health anxieties and sometimes it wakes me up at night.
It keeps me up so badly that sometimes I find it difficult to make plans for fear of the unknown. My plans are short, for the moment and small. I don't have big dreams or big goals, just little goals for days, weeks or months, and that's because I know a lot about my health challenges.
Health talk: depressing?
Sometimes a few people calls me on the phone to talk about their symptoms or health scare with me, and this isn't because I have a medical license or something, it's simply because I've talked to them a lot about health awareness, so much that they already know that I'm health conscious.
They respect my knowledge in the understanding of the human health, and sometimes sharing my experiences and advising them has made me know that I've actually spent a lot of time studying about numerous health conditions and it makes me look like a mini doctor.
Now, I honestly don't like it, in the past I enjoyed being nonchalant and careless, it helps me to stay sane and my state of mind is pure bliss. I don't want to stay on the phone with people, talking about their health issues or mine, when we should be discussing about life, progress, God and money.
However, I count myself luck, fortunate and blessed by God
I look at life from a very unique point of view, I know my health, I understand what's going on in my body, I know I don't have all eternity and living in the knowledge might feel cruel, but it keeps me grounded, humble, sober, reflective and understanding, but the side effect of this is living with a lot of health uncertainties.
I can hear the doctor always say "oh you have this, that and this, but they're in their early and moderate stages, and you can manage". It feels better than hearing*"oh it's too late and we cannot do anything about it anymore"*
I hope you understand where I'm coming from? This is why I think everyone needs to be health conscious, there's honestly no silver bullet and there's no living life with only advantages, the disadvantages are always there too.
