Managing Changes In Our Body Can Be Hard
How will you manage changes in your physical ability, coordination, strength, or incontinence with age? As we age, we experience physical, mental, and emotional changes that are interwoven and complex. Some of them seem to creep up on us slowly over time, but some hit us immediately without warning, such as in the event of an accident or injury. Whether developing slowly over time or occurring immediately, these changes can cause many changes in our lives and impact our mental well-being just as much as our physical well-being. How do we navigate the changes in nutrition, exercise, and willpower that are needed to get back to the place we were before the injury or change?
Facing these changes can be daunting. Some fall into a depression before managing to accept them. Some never feel as happy as they once did. Others take each new development in stride, thankful for the positives in life. There is no magic ingredient, formula, or decisive thought pattern that is a cure-all for the changes that we experience in life. Differing environments, economic levels, and emotional or mental capacities all affect us differently.
So how do we navigate these changes to minimize the negative impact as much as possible? Here are some tips that will give you a leg up regardless of your situation:
- Be Prepared – Acknowledging ahead of time that these changes will occur is a good way to begin. The earlier you begin the process of acceptance, the better.
- Plan ahead – Planning ahead comes in many forms. Exercise, adequate rest, and proper nutrition all prepare your body to age less quickly and heal faster when traumas or injuries do occur.
- Think positively – Our bodies really do follow our minds. Positive thinking leads to more positive thinking, and can help us overcome many of the mental affects that change, illness, or injury can have on our minds.
- Educate yourself – You will save yourself a lot of misery by educating yourself about your family’s health history and the changes that you experience in your own body or mind. Knowing your family’s health history will give you an idea of specific conditions that you may be more susceptible to and how to best avoid them or prepare for them should they occur. Educate yourself on your current health issues and how to manage them. Educate yourself on any drugs your doctors want you to take. Know your diet well enough to know which foods are contraindicated with which drugs. Know your allergies. The more you know about yourself and your conditions and overall health, the better off you will be.
- Have good communication with your health care team – Doctors are not miracle workers, and they can only provide the best treatment to you if you are open and honest with them about your conditions. Discuss any allergies, diet or health contraindications to drugs, or remedies that your doctors may prescribe to you. The more your doctors know about you, the better they will be able to treat you.
