Become the Project Manager of Your Health

Four ways to be the project manager of your health:

Know Your Body

When you experience a symptom, look at your whole body not just where the pain is. What other symptoms, large or small, are you experiencing? Our bodies are complex interconnected systems. When one area is off, it may be caused by something else – or may be affecting something else. I remember when I was having heel pain eventually I learned that it was caused by a tight muscle in my thigh. It I focused on relieving the pain in my heel, I would have never found the true cause of my pain – and it would have come back.

Be aware of how your unique body works. Be a detective of your distinctive body and its functioning. How do you feel after different foods? What happens just before you notice symptoms? How does your exercise or sleep affect your body’s functionality? Take the time to uncover correlations to help you understand the cause and effect of your discomfort.

Look Beyond Your Body

Remember to look beyond the body itself. The way we eat, exercise, sleep, move, believe, think, and act all have an effect on our body. In my own case, my inability to decrease my stress level was the key factor of my physical body pain. Don’t immediately blame your body or some disease for your issues. Sometimes the culprit is our lifestyle. Our bodies are designed for perfection, how are you helping or hindering this perfection?

The power in looking beyond your body to your habits and way of living is in empowering you to minimize or remove unwanted symptoms. If you always have acid reflux after eating pizza, try to stop eating pizza instead of adding a pill to your diet. The pill is only covering up the symptom and may be negatively affecting other parts of your body. Instead, try making lifestyle changes and see how you can positively affect your health.

Inform the Doctor

Doctors have degrees in medicine but they don’t have a degree in your specific body; only you do. Trust yourself. Know that you are the expert of your body and what is good for you. It is your responsibility to let the doctor know about other issues, other reactions you have noticed, and ways you have found to bring relief. Speak up and help the doctor understand how your unique body works. Remember that the doctor is not with you every moment of every day. Only you are. Your responsibility is to ensure all of your healthcare practitioners are aware of your unique situation and needs.

Doctors are magnificently specialized, which means they have vast knowledge in one area, but it also means they may only look at one part or system. Help the doctor to see the whole picture of your unique case. Just like a project manager, coordinate different teams (doctors) to ensure the project is being handled properly.

Look to the Long Term

In our current immediate gratification society, we often want easy and quick results. A personal trainer I know was working with a few women on their New Year’s resolution weight loss goals. These women were disappointed when they only lost two pounds the first week. In other programs, the women often lost eight pounds the first week. However, they also often regained the weight as quickly as they lost it.

Our health is a marathon, not a sprint. Short term fixes may also lead to fast-paced reversals. Quick solutions may also create other issues in other parts of our bodies. As the project manager of your health, look to the long term. Take the time to create a diet, exercise, and mental health routine which slowly and surely creates a strong foundation for your health. This may take longer and take more willpower than simply popping a pill, but it also allows your body to heal itself and maintain better health for a longer period of time.