If You Liked This Post Please Subscribe For Weekly Updates
Good health is important for everyone but let’s face it sometimes taking care of yourself can take a lot of time and effort. Disabled people often require more maintenance than abled people and sometimes people slack because they convince themselves it’s not that important or are just lazy and don’t want to which creates medical problems that were totally avoidable. I sympathize with disabled people on how much time and energy it takes to do simple self-care but putting your health on the back-burner because it’s harder is not the solution. If you are busy and don’t have time to do a whole lot of extra self-care it’s okay to neglect it temporarily but do it long enough it will come back to bite you. There are a lot of things that I have to do regularly to take care of myself that I am consistent with but are not fun at all and I would rather be doing anything but that. In this post, I am going to talk about some things I have to do to take care of my health that I don’t love to hopefully encourage you to prioritize your health even if it requires you to things that you don’t like.
Having regular bowel movements- Abled people often aren’t going to love having a bowel movement because I would imagine it’s not comfortable for anyone but you’re not going to hate it as much as someone with Spina Bifida who struggles to go to the bathroom and I could a list a million things I’d rather be doing than sitting on the toilet for an hour. Bowel movements are necessary for everyone but when you have Spina Bifida it’s not as easy as sitting on the toilet for five minutes and calling it day and it’s a whole process that takes several hours for some people but they are so necessary for avoiding hospitalizations. Some people with Spina Bifida hate their bowel regimen’s so much that they slack and don’t do it as much as their doctor recommends they should which creates avoidable constipation problems that sometimes need medical attention to get relief. If you have Spina Bifida I understand your frustrations and sympathize with you but neglecting your health because you are lazy and don’t like it is a sorry excuse because sometimes you have to do things in life that aren’t your favorite things. Bowel regimens can be time-consuming and there are no guarantees that they will be successful but I wish people would understand that not doing it is what makes it take longer because you are creating constipation problems that you wouldn’t have had if you were consistent. You can still have problems if you are consistent because you can’t change your condition but when you don’t allow yourself to get really sick you are less likely to create a major problem that you can’t solve.
Going to the dentist– If you were to ask me what medical appointment that I hate the most it would be the dentist without hesitation and I would rather see any of my specialists every single day for the rest of my life than the dentist once! I like my dentist and have nothing against them personally and I just hate what they do and that is okay. I don’t know if it’s the few bad experiences I’ve had at the dentist that make me feel like they all are dishonest when they say that you need dental work or if it’s the scraping of the plaque that triggers my sensitive teeth but I like most people I really hate it! Dentist offices often are some of the most inaccessible medical offices and some disabled people can’t go to the dentist because they quite literally can’t navigate it but if you are able you shouldn’t avoid it because you don’t like it. Regular dental cleanings are important for oral health because they can help detect oral health problems early before they get serious and untreatable.
Working out– Before I had hip replacement surgery I kind of liked my routine but now since I can’t move one of my legs well I don’t like it as much because I can’t workout in the same way and have to do a form of exercise I hate. Some people wonder how I can stay consistent and motivated with exercise as a disabled person when it’s twice as hard for me as a disabled person. The truth is I am not always motivated and some days I quite literally have to remind myself of the health benefits of exercise and force myself to do it because I’d rather be napping! Finding the time to prioritize fitness as a blogger can be challenging because the last thing you want to do after writing all day is to lift weights but if you are able fitness routines are so important especially if you have a job where you sit most of the day. When I first started experiencing chronic pain I was not consistent with exercise and it wasn’t until I got a FitBit that realized my health was suffering because of it. I had a dangerously high resting heart rate and for several months my FitBit would congratulate me for doing a workout when I was doing nothing. I knew I had to make a change but it took several months of major diet tweaks with consistent exercise but it’s finally in a normal range! Some people can’t work out and that is okay but most people can and choose not to because they don’t want to invest in the time to take care of their physical health. Fitness is not everyone’s favorite thing to do and that is okay and I am not saying you have to like it but not doing it is never a solution. Some medical problems are not preventable and can’t be cured because you are born with them but many health issues are created from not moving enough. I don’t do ridiculously lengthy workouts because it’s not necessary to get results but I do try and do some movement every single day even if it’s only for a few minutes.
Going to doctor’s appointments when it feels unneccessary- As a disabled person, I have to go to the doctor more than most people because I take a lot of medication and my insurance requires physicals at least once a year. I have nothing against my doctors personally because they are nice people but when nothing has changed and I have to go to the doctor just for them to say yep you still need those meds it feels like a waste of time. I think yearly physicals are important for everybody and everyone should get them because they can help detect medical problems that you can’t easily see but if you just need a script from your doctor there isn’t a lot of rewards for that and just feels like a waste of time. It’s important to occasionally check in with your doctor to make sure nothing has changed but sometimes you know nothing has and you still have to go to your doctor anyway.
Taking your medication- Thankfully I don’t have to take a lot of medication to manage my disability but I do need some to function and stay out of the hospital. Some of the medications I need like my Renacidin ( medication for bladder stone prevention) I don’t mind using because it doesn’t really affect my day to to day life that much but some of the other medication I need like my preventative I hate with passion because it makes me so tired and if I could I would come off of it in a heartbeart. Medication is necessary for some people but it can give horrible side effects that no one want to have to put up with.
Going to therapy appointments- I have had my fair share of physical and occupational therapy appointments that have truly helped me improve my quality of life and I have no regrets with doing it because without out my therapists I wouldn’t be near as independent as I am now. Therapy is necessary for some disabled people to improve their mobility and occupational skills but it’s not fun and sometimes you just have to do it knowing you will probably be bored to tears! Therapy is not there to entertain you but to help make your life better so you won’t be as independent on others!
There are many things in life that you should do to improve your health but not everyone does it because it takes too much time or seems pointless. As a disabled person, it can take even more effort to stay healthy than it would for abled people but just because something is hard that doesn’t mean you don’t do it. Some people struggle with their health because they were born with a medical condition, but others create problems by not drinking water and doing things that their doctor told them they should. Your health is important for you to function optimally and sometimes for better health you have to do things that are time-consuming and eat food that you find gross because it’s good for you. I do tons of things on a regular basis that I hate doing and would rather be doing anything else, but I don’t do them because they are fun and I prioritize because it’s necessary. I hope I encouraged you to prioritize your health and to do things that would better your health even if you don’t like them because it’s okay not to like something, but you shouldn’t be avoiding it. What things do you have to do to care of your health that aren’t your favorite things?
Leave a Reply