Health

Do you often suffer from headaches or sore throats and don’t know what caused it? Are you used to feeling foggy or just plain crappy? Do you ever wonder what it would feel like to feel healthy all the time but it seems like such a foreign concept?

I suffered from post nasal drip, allergies, and dry skin for as long as I could remember until I was about 26. I was convinced that allergy medication and special creams and ointments for my skin was part of life and something that was part of my daily routine in order to keep myself functioning. I was diagnosed with ‘exercise-induced asthma’ when I got to middle school because I couldn’t run for more than a minute without hyperventilating or needing to stop. My back and neck hurt constantly and slowly got worse starting when I turned 8. I had a number of other minor health nuisances and always kept my medicine cabinet stocked for whatever was going to bother me that day. I was raised to believe that it was normal to take a handful of medications every day because there was something wrong with me and there always would be. I thought I was broken and didn’t belong in a world meant for healthy people unless I did something to correct myself.

What started turning everything around for me was a reduction of stresss and an improvement in my nutrition. Straight out of college I had trouble finding a steady job and worked part time in events while waiting for my dream job to appear. Catering and events typically pays little and the schedule is highly variable, so the stress of money and the feeling like I wasn’t good enough to get a good job had me panicking and losing sleep. I ended up working two jobs for a while. I had to take medication to keep my panic attacks under control. My muscles were so tense and I overworked my body to the point where I had to quit because my shoulders were spasming and my neck was always out of wack. Thankfully, I got a full-time job working in my field of study and was able to relax.

Having a stable income and a steady schedule allowed me to find a more stable living situation and helped me to afford better food and have more time to cook. I began using a meal kit service called SunBasket (affiliate program sign up here). The meals had fresh produce and good quality ingredients and taught me how to better plan my meals and taught me about many new ingredients and cooking methods I had never thought of trying. Before I started using SunBasket, I remember noticing when I forgot to eat vegetables for a few days I would start to get weak and foggy so I would microwave a can of green beans to get my daily helping of veggies.

Over the next couple years I worked on improving more aspects of my life and the things I expose myself to. I now only feel the familiar post nasal drip if I decide to splurge and eat or drink something that I know is less than good for me. But the point is that I know what caused it. For too long my normal state was feeling crappy and I couldn’t pinpoint what was causing it - it was many things compounded on top of each other. Once I began the process of peeling back the layers of chemicals and unhealthy habits I could feel myself heading down the right path.

You don’t need to completely change your life today. Do a little bit here or there and see how you feel. Be kind to yourself and remember that improving your health is a process and unless you sell everything and start your life over or go to some super fancy spa it will take time to see results and it will take time to adjust your style of living and your ways of thinking. You might even save money now or in the long run. This is your quest.

Here is a list of topics to get your started on your Better Health Quest. Click on them to learn more: (Build in a way to generate this list with tags…)

Stress
Exercise
Medical Care (link to: medicalIndustry)
Nutrition (link to: food?)
Water (put a water page in the food category?)
Cleaning products
Personal care products
Bedding
Clothes