Life is a gift and best enjoyed when we are in good mental and physical health to taste the sweetness it has to offer. However, this is easier said than done.
We’ve all had that moment in the wee hours; a prodding thought asking us to change our life. Eat healthier, diet, alter our working habits or sleep schedule, and whatnot but to no avail. We pack these thoughts and leave them for a tomorrow that never seems to come.
The next day when we wake up, all that determination has turned to dust, and we go on about the daily grind of work and social commitments the same way as before.
Forging good habits and practices requires time, patience, and, most importantly, repetition. A longer, healthier, and happier life is not a far stretch to imagine if you know what, when, and where to start.
Let’s explore four ways to improve your odds of long and healthy life and build long-term habits that stick.
- Seek professional help for addiction
Before picking up a new habit, leaving old, toxic ones behind is even more integral. Addiction to anything, be it drugs, smoking, alcohol, or even your phone, is extremely detrimental to your mind and body. Especially since addictive habits are very hard to eliminate and often creep back into our lives even after we think we have given up on them.
If you are having difficulty getting rid of drugs on your own and you don’t have many friends to help you, or they are the source of your addiction, you can seek professional help. For instance, if you live in Massachusetts, where drug addiction is prevalent, and your friends might be one of them, you should opt for a decent treatment center in Massachusetts to help you in this regard.
Similarly, if you live in any state, look for a treatment center near you to curb your addiction habit.
- Love yourself and take care of your body
Thankfully, with greater awareness and positive communication, people are learning to accept their appearances and gradually learning to love the bodies that work hard to sustain them.
Loving your body and taking care of it is hard when you are hyper-fixated on what you- or society- consider its flaws and imperfections. The ideal body size, color, texture, shape, etc., are part of a pointless checklist that is ever-changing and self-deprecating.
Therefore, for a long and healthy life, it is extremely necessary that you first learn to love your body and care for it the way you would care for any other beloved possession. A few reminders to start you off:
- Eating a balanced diet suited to your body’s needs
- Not torturing your body with unreasonably hard diets to fit into that “ideal image” of yourself
- Allowing your brain to rest and capping your caffeine to 400 mg a day
- Switching fast food and junk with homemade meals and organic snacks
- Taking personal hygiene seriously. Don’t miss out
- Keeping yourself physically active, even a short stroll outside or squats at home count
- Establish Healthy Boundaries
Throughout our lives, we come across a variety of people. Some lift us while others do their best to drag us down in the dirt with them. Unfortunately, the most hurtful and unexpected jab comes from those closest to us and from whom we have the highest expectations.
Often past relationships leave us scarred, and the emotional baggage we carry seeps into our current lives, souring them. Past trauma and unresolved conflict can manifest in a variety of ways, such as
- Lack of confidence in career and relationships
- Self-destructive behavior
- Distrust and insecurities bubble up
- Losing sense of time and space
- Missing out on good times
- Anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders
Therefore, in any relationship, be it at work, home, or with a friend or partner, it is important to establish healthy boundaries and be mindful when others violate them. Establishing healthy boundaries puts your mind to ease and wonders for your mental health. By eliminating stressful people, relationships, and situations in your life, you can look forwards to a brighter future and a happier, content you.
Communicate what makes you comfortable and what doesn’t to the people around you daily. Remember that you are allowed to say no, and to separate yourself from toxic conversations and people whenever and wherever you feel like it.
To cope with life transitions and improve their mental health, people can and most definitely are recommended to opt for therapy. A professional will help you understand your triggers and boundaries you need to set if you need help figuring them out.
- Get health insurance
Life pelts us with many problems, but poor health cannot be slept on. Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, and chronic conditions due to compromised mental health are rising. More often than not, the expenditure involved in treating them is extremely high, and even high-income workers can find themselves low on cash when it comes to them.
Healthcare costs in America are one of the world’s highest, meaning many families go without adequate facilities and medications that fit their budget. In this way, good health insurance allows you to keep some money aside for you and your family for health emergencies. It also makes you feel more in control of an uncertain future, as now you can save yourself from the worries of medical inflation and protect your savings from the vicious blows of healthcare expenditure.
Health insurance covers costly surgeries or procedures, annual checkups, and vaccinations. Health insurance keeps you fit, running, and healthy in the long run, so you won’t have to beg at anyone’s doorstep to pay for a healthcare agency.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to improve the odds of living a healthy, happy, and carefree life, you must keep the four things mentioned above in mind. By seeking professional help to sort out addiction and mental health issues, you make yourself more emotionally available for life’s joyful experiences. With a good diet, exercise, and personal hygiene practices, you make sure your body is in optimum condition to help you live longer and not let a physical weakness become a roadblock to enjoying life to the fullest.
