Listening to Yourself

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me a cautionary tale about health. He reported that he had just had major, emergency, cardiac surgery and was recovering well. This man would not be someone you would suspect as having a cardiac problem. He is on the younger side, fit and diligent about both nutrition and exercise. I said “Thank goodness they found the problem. It saved your life.” He responded that he had actually saved his own life.  He had been feeling “off,” so he made an appointment with his doctor. The rest, as they say, is history.

I told that story to someone else and, within a week or so, a similar story occurred. While the diagnosis and circumstances were different, it was another case of not feeling “right,” getting medical attention and finding a life-threatening issue within days of it becoming a crisis.

How often have you heard stories like this? I suspect many of us have heard them often. Most of these stories don’t have happy endings. Too often someone says they feel unwell; they ignore it, and it costs them their life. They ignore symptoms and the result is that timely care, for either prevention or treatment, does not take place.

Most of us are guilty of thinking, or saying, “It’s nothing.  I’ll be fine.” But if we are really paying attention, we often know when something is wrong and something needs attention. Everything and everyone else demand our attention so that is where we place it. And we fail ourselves in the process.

How do we learn to listen to our bodies? First, we have to create some quiet space and time in our lives. Maybe it is just a few minutes as you go to sleep at night or before you get up in the morning. Do a little body scan. Not a judgmental inventory, but one that acknowledges how you feel physically and how you feel emotionally. Ask yourself how you felt during the course of the previous day or days. If you think thoughts like, “Wow, I really had a moment where I was lightheaded yesterday” or “Climbing the stairs made me feel short of breath” or “I am just so stressed and anxious,” know that these may be indicators of a need to follow up. If you think “I am tired. I never feel rested,” that may be a sign you need a break, maybe a vacation or even a day off.

Whatever the answers, the questions are yours to ask. What matters most is that you ask yourself the questions . . . and you listen to the responses. We put ourselves last on the list, always. Staying well, being strong, saving our own lives, it begins with each and every one of us.