Skip to main content

Health First - or Treatment Later?

"Would you rather be proactive about your health, or be reactive as needed?"

If you pose this question, I highly doubt you'll find someone who'll select the latter (and if you do, I'd be very interested to meet them and learn more).


I think we all agree that it's important to be proactive about our health - physical health, mental health, emotional health - but when it comes to actually putting this into practice, we fail.

We are finally coming to a stage where it is more acceptable to talk about our health issues, and we are supported on these. I'm especially pleased to see many organisations, carrying forward the discussion on mental health issues and how we can support those around us (http://www.kenyannomad.com/2017/07/lets-talk-about-mental-health.html)

However, I firmly believe that we won't have as much impact as we'd like if we don't address prevention alongside supporting treatment.

Personally, I've tried to get more proactive about my health, and I think there's a lot we can do as individuals to be proactive, and as organisations and social units to support this proactivity. (Here is an article I had published about some of my own 'wellness rituals' - and I'd encourage you to give it a read: http://www.kenyannomad.com/2017/05/wellness-rituals.html )

I'm not a medical professional, and I would advise you to follow their advice when it comes to actual practices to put into place, e.g., a regular workout routine, regular checkups with your doctor, a healthy diet. You're probably also aware of a few no-regret things you can put into place like getting enough sunshine, finding time to laugh and be grateful, meditation, and reading, just to name a few.

What should you take away from this? As a person - it is ABSOLUTELY OKAY to say that you want to dedicate time and energy to self-care. As an organisation or social unit - you should try your absolute best to support those in your networks to help them understand that it is okay to do this!

What are some of the ways that YOU have committed to be proactive about your health, and ways that you've seen support for this from others? Do feel free to share!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Winding Down: A Family Vacation

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Apologies for silence this month; but also, THANK YOU! Thank you to all of you for being such a great audience this year. My readership in 2015 has been the highest ever- especially so in December, which is crazy because I've only published one post this month so far! So thank you, for reading, and keeping up with the Kenyan Nomad, and all the wonderful feedback you've given me this year. As we count down to my favourite holiday of the year, I wanted to share some snippets from my recent family vacation. My parents and I headed to the Rift Valley from the 20th to the 24th, and I decided to completely unplug! My phone was on airplane mode most of the time, I absolutely didn't check my messages, emails or Facebook at all, and I got to spend some time actually reading! I didn't manage to fit in as much as I would've liked, but I did read 'The Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho and 'Social Intelligence'...

Meet Jean Wandimi

Those of you who're active in the food and wine culture around Nairobi have most probably heard of Jean Wandimi, blogger at  www.thewineandfoodreview.com  Being a lover of wine and food myself, I asked if I could interview her. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jean Wandimi! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. I'm a finance graduate who happened to fall in love with food and wine. I started journalling my experiences in a blog for fun. After some time, I got serious with the blog and have been doing it for 2 years. What made you get interested in wine? I have always loved wine but I didn't get to try it earlier. I was curious. I find it fascinating how a bottle can have so much history. When I got to campus, I started teaching myself how to pronounce the wines, grape varieties, tastings etc When and why did you decide to start blogging? I opted to start an online journal of my experiences in November 2013. I could have easily written them in a book but I wante...

The meaning of the Sikh wedding

The Sikh Wedding Ceremony In any function or ceremony being held at the Gurudwara or the Sikh Temple, the Sadh Sangat (people attending the function or ceremony) are required to cover their heads with a turban or piece of cloth, and remove their shoes before entering the inner premises of the Gurudwara, especially where the holy book or the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is kept. This is a sign of respect for the Lord�s house (home) just as in the Sikh culture, one will respect an elder of the family or community. This respect is a traditional way of showing one�s feelings for the elder one, and the Lord (Waheguru) is the supreme elder. Also, in the Sikh culture, people of any religion or following are freely allowed to enter the Lord�s house and be part of the Sadh Sangat. This is because the Sikhs believe that there is only one true God anywhere in the world, and it should only be that one God to worship. That is why one can see people of all religions or beliefs are able to come freely to th...