Rarely does a day pass by without several people sharing with me how unhappy, overwhelmed, distressed, anxious they are.   Ever since 2001 and the events that occurred on September, 11th, I’ve observed ever increasing levels of anxiety and fear.

Psychiatrists report we’re taking more anti-anxiety medications than ever.  Insomnia is on the rise, and our economic situation, our environment conditions, and our sense of isolation seem to have taken a toll on most people.

So in the midst of all this, I ask, are you really taking good care of your health?

Are you eating nutritiously?

Are you getting adequate sleep?

Are you using helpful stress reduction techniques?

Are you expressing your creativity?

Are you laughing?

Are your relationships happy?

Most people I talk to aren’t taking care of themselves-they feel overwhelmed, and don’t have the time to do so.  I would urge you to find the time—you should be at the top of your to do list, not the bottom!

Do you really want to have better health?

If so, what are you doing right now to help improve your health? Are you doing anything, or is improving your health on your to do list?

We are living in a very stressful uncertain world.  All you have to do is pick up a newspaper, visit a news website or turn on your television, or radio.

Stress and anxiety surveys continue to indicate that we are worried about the economy, our jobs, the environment, global warming, our food, the air, our children, our future, our retirement funds, and much more.

Millions are experiencing anxiety and as a result have insomnia.  Insomnia leads in an increased risk of developing certain diseases. More people are taking anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants than ever before.

So I ask, what are you doing to take care of yourself and your health?  One thing I’ve noticed over the years of practicing medicine is that we’re so busy, too busy to really pay attention to what’s going on.

Are you aware of how you’re feeling, what’s causing stress and anxiety?  Did you know that the vast majority of doctor’s visits are stress related and more heart attacks occur on Monday morning (between 6 :00 a.m. and noon) due to the meaning of Monday morning?

Many years ago, I wrote in my book, Healing, Health and Transformation: New Frontiers in Medicine: Where does the path of healing-the road to health, well-being and transformation begin?  The way of healing is a part of life.  It is from its core, leading us to our wholeness.  It is linked to healing the physical, emotional, and spiritual discord that marks our life.  Peace of mind, self-acceptance, and spiritual knowledge comes from living in tune with one’s inner self and experiencing the spirit within.

Are you paying attention to your feelings, and are you honoring them?  I’ve often shared with my patients, our bodies whisper, speak, yell, then slaps us down for not paying attention.  Why?  Because we don’t respond to our body’s subtle, but significant requests.

Your Lifestyle’s Plays A Significant Role In Your Health

Lifestyle accounts for 75 per cent of all doctor visits, and play a huge role in hospitalization. While news reports would lead us to believe that our health future is in our genes, and if we have a family history for a certain disease, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, we are destined to develop the disease as well.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Dr. Bruce Lipton, in his book, The Biology of Belief shares with us, very interesting research information that determined our DNA, i.e. our genes are very sensitive to our emotions.  And based on how we feel, certain ones are activated. Simply stated, if we’re happy, protective genes are activated, and if we’re upset, disturbed emotionally (chronically), we actually cause the activation of genes that promote disease, and stress hormones, shortens our DNA and promotes “aging.”

Why not begin today with an inventory of your health?  Keep a health diary, spend a few minutes every day doing something health promoting, meditating, exercising, laughing, etc.

If you are ready to improve your health,  click here and download your copy of our new program 15 Minutes to Better Health.

Yours in good health,

Elaine R. Ferguson, MD