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NewsDay

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Doctors on call: Living a healthy life with purpose

News
The holiday season can be a time full of joy, happiness, parties and family gatherings. But for many people, it is a time of depression, loneliness, reflection on past failures, self-evaluation and anxiety about the up-coming year. Even more people experience post-holiday depression resulting in additional stress and exhaustion. Lack of sleep, limited meal ideas, […]

The holiday season can be a time full of joy, happiness, parties and family gatherings. But for many people, it is a time of depression, loneliness, reflection on past failures, self-evaluation and anxiety about the up-coming year.

Even more people experience post-holiday depression resulting in additional stress and exhaustion.

Lack of sleep, limited meal ideas, poor time management and stress, all play a significant role in the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is a key messenger that creates an anti-depressant effect in the brain. It makes you happy.

We need to identify and resolve the effects of inadequate sleep, abundant stress and negative self-confidence on depression and realise that this would not happen through medication.

This can only be accomplished through living a life with purpose.

This is the time of the year to get focused on creating a championship game plan for your health. You were born with the ability to have a championship marriage, children, business and mission. It’s a tragedy to see a person’s destiny fall short because their health has failed.

We need to start by creating a championship winning body and self-image with limitless potential.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary,” said Steve Jobs.

It has been said; absent, a destination, any road will take you there. Specific goals in life give you a destination.

If the goals are clear, tangible, visible, vivid and well planned, you are destined to hit them. Develop big, audacious visions with near-term, attainable and deadline driven goals. A vision with a deadline is just a goal. Each goal you achieve should move you closer to the vision.

List exactly why you have created goals. You must be specific. You can’t just have a family goal. There has to be a goal for you and your spouse, you and individual children, and you and individual extended family members. Create a vivid, clear picture. Develop a plan.

Build trust in yourself, but apply forgiveness. In order to begin trusting yourself, you have to consistently hit your goals. However, if you miss some, demonstrate self-respect, forgive yourself and move on.

Measure your key health risks and indicators. Get out the dreaded scale and tape measure and record your measurements. If your goal is to normalise blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid and insulin levels, you will also need to get your most recent blood work reports to accurately gauge success.

You may be hearing a lot of “you can’t” messages from your doctor, the news and maybe even your own family, but we’re here to tell you that you can! You are not a victim of bad genes or bad luck. You have more potential inside of you than you know. If you desire to make a positive change, you can! A new year, a new you!

Please email [email protected] with further questions and topics for future columns