What does being healthy mean to you?
Hopefully you don’t think that health is merely the absence of disease! Or some vague concept that can’t really be understood, felt or measured.
So let’s discuss what it means to be truly healthy – physically and emotionally.
Being healthy means…
Having healthy and BALANCED vital signs!
This means, for example, a blood pressure that is not too low or too high.
I’m going to open a parenthesis here, because I know most of you have heard that having high blood pressure can be bad and there’s no arguing that. But rarely does anyone talk about the problem with having low blood pressure. In fact, most of my patients with extremely low blood pressures were congratulated by their past doctors. So, what’s the problem with having chronic low blood pressure? Think about it, if there’s not enough pressure at the level of your arm, how is there supposed to be enough pressure to carry blood to your brain? Your blood has to travel against gravity and pass through smaller and smaller vessels as it goes towards the brain, and you need enough pressure to make that happen. So, just because high blood pressure is bad, that doesn't mean that low blood pressure is good or the lower the better. What you want is balanced blood pressure. Over time, low blood pressure can lead to brain fog, weakness, sleepiness, blurry vision, lightheadedness and dizziness, especially upon sudden movements such as sitting up from a laid down position or standing from a seated position.
And then there is stable blood sugar levels – please note that by stable I don’t mean fixed or low blood sugar levels.
A breathing pattern and heart rate that do not indicate you’re in a constant state of stress.
A healthy appetite – remember less is NOT necessarily better.
A healthy libido.
A healthy menstrual cycle with regular bleeds (for those of us who menstruate).
At least one healthy bowel movement per day without needing coffee or laxatives (natural or otherwise).
Optimal energy levels – this means being able to get through your daily responsibilities and still having some energy left in your tank. So that you're not just doing the bare minimum and you have enough energy to also invest in the things that bring you joy.
Being able to unwind and sleep well without having to turn to alcohol or downers (i.e. the plethora of sleep aids out there).
Being able to wake up and have the energy to function without having to resort to cup after cup of coffee or other stimulants.
Having adequate muscle mass on your body.
Having cognitive stamina and brain power.
Having a calm and clear mind.
Being able to move your body without being in pain.
Being resilient – meaning being able to handle life and the stressors that come along without feeling like you’re constantly on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.
Being able to laugh and to NOT take yourself too seriously all of the time.
Learning healthy coping strategies to deal with stress that don’t involve distracting, numbing, running from and self-destruction.
Having a healthy relationship with yourself.
Having deep meaningful connections with other humans and a connection to nature.
Having a sense of purpose and an overall healthy outlook on life.
Feeling connected to your body, BEING in your body. This should be at the top of all of our lists.
Before you think to yourself that this is way too much and begin to feel overwhelmed, remember that the goal here is not to achieve all of this overnight. You can simply pick 1 or at the most 2 things that really speak to you, the ones that are the needle-movers for you, and begin to address those. And because your body operates as a whole, as you work on one facet of your health, other facets will also start to improve without the need for you to micromanage them!
And you can keep coming back to this framework to see which areas of your health still need some extra love and attention.