William Aiken
HEALTH IS not merely the absence of disease but complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. Health does not occur by chance but mostly as a result of a series of deliberate choices.
If conscious effort is not made to maintain health, it will eventually be lost. Health, when enjoyed, is the ongoing cumulative result of deliberately making the correct health and lifestyle choices from among many alternatives. Some choices may have immediate health consequences, while others may exert their effects over time, while yet others will have both immediate and long-term effects. For example, excessive sun exposure of short duration may cause sunburn, while chronic overexposure may result in premature skin ageing and cancer.
The health we enjoy today is the cumulative result of the way we have lived, say, in the last 10 or more years and the state of health we enjoy tomorrow is dependent on how we live today.
Here are some general principles men can follow on the path to health. These principles may be adapted to any particular situation:
Take responsibility for your health. Your health is primarily your responsibility and you should not depend on others to remind you to take care of it.
Become as informed as possible about health issues affecting men in general as well as specific health concerns that affect you. Correct health decisions can then be made from an informed standpoint.
Make a decision to lead a healthy lifestyle from hereon - do not procrastinate! Use your power of choice in this present moment to direct your future health and lifestyle. The more time spent engaging in habits such as smoking, heavy alcohol drinking, not getting enough sleep and eating poorly, the greater the cumulative negative effect on your health.
Set realistic and achievable health and lifestyle goals depending on your current situation and age. This will motivate you to keep going on. For example, if you are just beginning to do exercise then you would want to gradually increase in turn the frequency, duration and intensity over a period rather than being too intense at the beginning and risk becoming discouraged because you are unable to complete it, or worse, endanger your health.
Once health and lifestyle goals are set then the initial inertia has to be overcome to begin implementing the necessary changes. This requires discipline and a desire to recover or maintain good health and lifestyle habits. Begin with your goals in mind and visualise yourself achieving them.
Get expert help and advice in both setting goals and monitoring progress. Regular health checks are important. Men 40 years and over should have checks yearly.
Involve loved ones in your quest to remain healthy.
Avoid situations and people that are detrimental to achieving your stated health and lifestyle goals. Bad health habits such as smoking are hard to break and are made even harder if you continue to hang out with friends who smoke.
Remain focused and disciplined.
Remember that recovering and maintaining good health is not just a one-off event but a way of living that requires a reorientation in your way of thinking. Have fun and enjoy the journey to good health. Reward yourself as your health targets are achieved.
Dr. William Aiken is the head of Urology at the University Hospital of the West Indies and president of the Jamaica Urological Society; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
