Even the happiest and most optimistic people sometimes feel physically or emotionally exhausted. For others, this is a completely natural state. But seriously, the sooner we find the source of the problem, the sooner we can fix it.
Only from the outside it seems that there is nothing easier than to figure out why something is going wrong. In the end, we always clearly see the reasons for the concern of our friends and loved ones. But analyzing your life and well-being is much more difficult. For this, a list of several questions will come in handy.
What to ask yourself regularly
- How do you feel physically today? Maybe something hurts you, you are worried about breathing or digestion problems?
- How do you feel mentally today? What is your mood? And the general emotional state, has it changed?
- How energetic are you? How would you rate your energy level: high, low, normal?
- What’s with your food? How often do you eat? What foods and dishes are on your menu? How do you feel after eating?
- What is your sleep pattern? Are you sleeping enough or too much? How rested do you feel after waking up?
- If you look at your life from the outside without judgment, what habits affect your health positively, and which negatively or neutrally? What are these habits? Perhaps with nutrition, physical activity, relationships with others, finances or other areas of life.
- How can you change these habits to improve your health? For example, eliminate stress triggers, improve your diet, get more rest.
- What role does your career play in your life? Maybe you work for a company just for the paycheck, or maybe a toxic office environment is making your life miserable.
- Do you stimulate your intellect every day? Say, through work, hobbies or socializing?
- What are you always looking forward to? Is there a healthy way to incorporate this into your daily life more often?
Try to answer these questions every time something bothers you. The answers will help you figure out what exactly affects your health, and make a plan to get rid of negative factors. If you find something that especially worries you, be sure to make an appointment with a specialist.
Why it’s important to check in with yourself
Think back to your last visit to the doctor. In addition to the usual examination, such as blood pressure, and referral for tests, such as blood, the specialist probably asked you personal questions. And this is not idle curiosity at all: our behavior and habits, as well as the history of diseases in the family, can provide useful clues about our health.
According to cardiologist Michael Barber, M.D., even simple conversations about certain topics, such as daily menus, physical activity, habits, frequency of drinking and smoking, allow discussing the approach to improving the well-being of the patient on a deeper level.
Of course, introspection cannot and should not replace a full-fledged examination by specialists. But this is a great tool to monitor your health and notice something is wrong in time.