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Writer's pictureJulia Zubko

How to become your own physician

Updated: Apr 2, 2022

Sometimes we get sick with a bacterial or viral infection. When it happens, we try to recollect any preceding events to figure out why we have fallen ill. Lack of sleep, too much stress, time zones travelling, neglect of nutrition, in other words, we get sick when our immune system is compromised. Many of us chose not to pay attention to the early signs and continue doing what we have been doing. Then, one morning we woke up feeling sick to the bones. I call such behaviour suicide by lifestyle. Let's try to be more attentive to the changes that our bodies experience daily. Here are four simple tools that anyone can implement as prevention for not getting ill.


Build awareness of how you feel


Mindfulness is important. When you feel tired, do not ignore this feeling. Check your body temperature and blood pressure. We all know that enough sleep will result in improvement of wellbeing. Sometimes rest is what is needed to boost your immune system to fight the invaders or calm it down if it is overreacting.


Have a diary to record your mood, energy level, nutritional changes and sleep quality


It is essential to understand what is normal for you. Are you happy, content and energetic? If the answer is "yes", you have an excellent baseline. Make a habit of recording your daily feelings in a diary so you can identify early signs of stress and falling sick. When the answer is "not really", you have a bit more work to do. Start with making notes of food you eat, sleep quality and rating your daily energy level.


Learn to recognise physical changes in your body


No one knows yourself better than yourself. Do not ignore any changes from your usual normal. You devote yourself to work, children, and family. Do you hear the signals your body sends: sleepiness at an atypical time, pain when you perform typical movements, feeling overwhelmed, headache out of the blue, lack of appetite?


Educate yourself


I am not suggesting consulting Doctor Google here. On the contrary, I want you to acquire the knowledge you can call your own. Learn how your body functions, be curious to understand how to interpret your blood results and search for biohacks that will improve your wellbeing. There is plenty of educational material on the internet. I recommend checking out free Coursera University courses. They are short and very insightful.


Be well and stay well!


Be your own doctor


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