There’s a very big difference between getting through life and actually looking after yourself properly. Most people are very good at functioning, and they’ll go to work, reply to messages, deal with responsibilities, and basically keep everything moving, but the thing to remember is that functioning isn’t the same as being well. 

Taking ownership of your mental and physical health might sound like it’s impossible – isn’t that what other people (experts) are for? But you can do it, and you should do it, and you can do it without punishing yourself, depriving yourself, or becoming obsessed with routines. With that in mind, here’s how to get started. 

 

Stop Waiting For Something To Go Wrong

A lot of people only change their health habits after a scare, or a diagnosis, or some kind of serious warning. And of course, those moments are really powerful and can be very serious and frightening, but they’re not the only time you’re allowed to care about yourself, and actually, if you want to take ownership, it tends to start earlier than that. 

For example, it might start when you realise you’re always tired, or that your stress levels are high and have been for ages, or maybe you’ve not had a proper check-up in years because you feel fine, and so on. But the fact is, feeling fine isn’t the same as being healthy, and using healthcare services before there’s a crisis is all part of ownership. 

You could book a few routine appointments, have some blood tests when they’re recommended, speak to a GP when something doesn’t feel right, and you’ll be doing the right thing, not overreacting, which is how a lot of people view it. When it comes to health, there’s really no such thing. 

 

Pay Attention To Energy 

Energy is one of the easiest signs to notice of your overall health state, but it’s also one of the most ignored, which is a problem since it can tell you so much and it’s easy to notice and deal with. 

However, if you’re relying on caffeine a lot just to get through the morning, and if your afternoons have you in a constant slump where nothing gets done, and if your weekends are just you recovering (and probably not succeeding) before the next week starts, then that’s worth paying attention to. 

Being low energy doesn’t necessarily automatically mean something’s seriously wrong, but it does mean you might need to make some quick and simple adjustments, especially when you consider that your energy is created by sleep, nutrition, stress levels, workload, and even your hormones. Taking ownership means you don’t accept exhaustion as the default anymore, and that’s a good thing. 

 

Look At Your Mental Health Properly

Mental health isn’t something that tends to change overnight, with you being fine one day and unwell the next – it’s usually a gradual thing, and that’s why it can be hard to spot when there’s a problem until you’re right in it already. 

In life, there are things that can happen, like building stress, getting more and more irritable, losing motivation, and so on, and you might start saying no to things you used to enjoy because you just can’t be bothered. Maybe you noticed that, and maybe you thought – or told yourself – it was just temporary. But was it? Because sometimes it’s not. 

Taking ownership here means asking some difficult questions, like whether you might be overworked, or if you’re avoiding something, or whether you’re on edge all the time, and maybe even questioning if you’ve stopped doing things that used to help you relax. 

Once you know the answers, you’ll have a better idea of what’s wrong, and it might be worth speaking to someone – remember, therapy isn’t a last resort, it’s a useful tool that can help you work out how to get back on track once more. 

 

Don’t Build Extreme Habits

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they decide to get healthy is trying to change everything at once, with a new diet, intense workouts, early mornings, and cutting out every little indulgence, among plenty of other things. 

That might work for a bit, but it’s definitely not something that’s sustainable. If you really want to take ownership of your health, you need to work out how to do it consistently, not rush in with big plans only to find you can’t keep them up. 

That might mean eating proper meals most days, drinking water as well as coffee, moving your body in ways that you enjoy and that doesn’t end up hurting you, going to bed at a reasonable time more often than not, and more. As you can see, none of these ideas are re-writing anything, and you’ll know to do most of them already, so it’s worth getting started, slowly but surely. 

 

Stop Ignoring Small Symptoms

We all have a bit of a tendency to downplay symptoms because we don’t want to make a fuss or feel embarrassed when it turns out to be nothing in the end, and of course, it’s really easy to just live with discomfort, especially when you tell yourself it’s fine and it’ll just go away on its own at some point. 

But what you should actually be aware of is that symptoms that don’t go away or that get worse are information that your body is trying to tell you – there’s a problem, and you need to acknowledge that and handle it before it gets worse. 

The truth is, symptoms don’t always mean something serious, but it’s not worth the risk of ignoring them because that happens to be the case a lot of the time. It’s far better to pay attention to them and get them checked out – if there’s nothing wrong, then you’ll get the all clear and can stop worrying, and if there is an issue, you can get a diagnosis and early treatment to solve it. Either way, it’s worth asking for help about. And remember, no doctor or healthcare professional is going to scold you for making an appointment for something that turns out to be nothing – they’d rather you did that than allowed things to potentially get worse. 

 

Want to unlock greater wellness?

Listen to our friends over at the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast to unlock your best self with Dr. John Lieurance; Founder of MitoZen; creators of the ZEN Spray and Lumetol Blue™ Bars with Methylene Blue.