Marla the Blogger

I think in general I've been making good choices to help promote my overall well-being. However, there is one area I still need to make improvements in: taking care of myself when I'm sick. You'd think with all the emphasis I've been placing on taking time out for myself and trying to maintain balance in my life that taking good care of myself when I got sick would be a no-brainer. Well, as I found out this past week, that isn't the case.

I started feeling sick at work on Friday and instead of going home early to take care of myself, I stayed at work and kept up a hectic pace that I would have had trouble handling when well, much less while sick. Why did I do that? Because I was the only one in my department at work that day so I thought I couldn't leave and had to get everything done myself. Then on Saturday we had planned to have a small party for my sister-in-law and her husband who were in town. She said we should cancel it since I was sick, but I insisted we have it and I over-exerted myself and stayed up too late Saturday night. Why? Because I didn't want to disappoint everyone.

I paid the price for not taking it easy while I was sick; Sunday I pretty much laid on the couch all day and did nothing. Except I didn't learn my lesson completely, because I still insisted on dragging myself out to the grocery store. I'm not sure if I didn't want to fully admit I was sick, or if I had convinced myself that I just couldn't take a day off completely without everything falling apart, but regardless of the reason, I know now it was stupid. If I would have just crawled into bed and stayed there for a few days, I probably would have gotten better a lot faster. I'm still not 100% and now my son is sick, so I need my energy to take care of him. Next time I get sick, instead of trying to stubbornly power through it, I'm going to try to actually allow myself to take a sick day. I know this is one area where I need to take much better care of myself.

My co-workers and I tend to gripe about our jobs from time to time and joke that we can't wait until we can retire. When my dad "retired" a few years ago, I couldn't understand why he continued to work part-time since he really doesn't have to. I kept asking him, "wouldn't you rather just relax and enjoy your retirement?" and worried that he would wear himself out having not really retired. Turns out, though, that his continuing to work is actually probably good for him. A recent study found that people who work past retirement, especially in fields related to their careers, are more physically and mentally healthy.

The brief article I read didn't say if the study determined why working past retirement had positive benefits. I would guess, though, that part of it is the financial benefit retirees get from working and the social contact and mental stimulation they get from it. I know my dad tends to worry about money and even though he could still live comfortably on his retirement savings, he likes having the added security of the additional income in case he needs it. And I know that even though being retired sounds great to me, my dad is very social and especially since he lives alone, not working and getting out of the house as much would make his life very boring for him. I also think about my grandfather who, in the last few years of his life, was unable to work or even continue some of his hobbies. He definitely seemed less happy than he had been when he was building a house earlier in his "retirement".

I know retirement is a LONG way off for me, and who knows if I'll be able to "retire" completely. It's nice to know, though, if I have to or want to continue working into my old age, it will be beneficial for me both physically and mentally. And it gives me something to discuss with my mom, who just fully retired this year. She's been debating about finding some part time work for the extra income and now it looks like she might get other benefits from working again, too.

Last week I was reading Dr. Rippe's post about being a good partner with your doctor. He has some good tips about taking an active role in your healthcare and communicating effectively to get the most out of your doctor visits. It was all good advice, but it made me realize how bad I've been about getting my regular checkups. Just like getting the oil changed and tires rotated on your car regularly, you need routine maintenance yourself to make sure your body is running as well as it can.

I know the main reason I'm bad about making appointments with the doctor: not enough time. There's always something else that needs to be done and takes precedence, or I concentrate on making sure I get my son to all his scheduled doctor visits. It's easier to get his appointments scheduled because I know he needs to go at certain intervals to get all his immunizations. As an adult, I have less "required" appointments and since I generally feel healthy, I tend to let scheduling my own check ups slide.

After reading Dr. Rippe's post, though, I realized I need to make my own health and doctor visits a priority. So, I planned one day off of work where I can get all my appointments taken care of and out of the way. I have a dentist appointment first thing in the morning, a visit with the eye doctor afterwards, and an appointment with my regular doctor in the afternoon. As much as I don't like giving up a vacation day to go to the doctor, I knew if I didn't get them all scheduled at once, I'd make one appointment and then drag out the other ones too long.

I'm not a fan of going to the doctor; I don't know anyone who is. But I know I need to take care of myself so I can live a long, healthy life. And I know I'm lucky in that I have good health insurance so I can afford to go in for routine checkups and "maintenance". So instead of putting off making appointments and treating it like a chore, I'm going to make an effort to keep current on my doctor visits and use it as an opportunity to take some time to take care of myself.