Psychology

Lifestyle Change

Choosing to enjoy a better health would be an interesting way of increasing the energy level, enthusiasm and enhancing a sense of well-being that appeals to an individual. Promoting a healthy lifestyle is a challenge to many primary care practices. Although most people understand the essence of physical exercises and healthy eating, most people appears to eve difficulties in changing their unhealthy behavior to reduce weight and recover from their chronic illnesses. Medications take a major role in the treatment of the patients although they may not achieve full results if applied solely on chronic illnesses. Lifestyle and behavior change has had the highest impact on morbidity and mortality rates for most chronic diseases. 

Type of service
Type of assignment
Urgency
Academic Level
Spacing
Number of pages
Currency
Total price: 00.00 $ 00.00
 

After a concise assessment of my lifestyle there are things that are required to change in addition to the prevailing health condition. When I was first diagnosed with mood disorder, I may have felt powerless or fearful. My weight is also a major problem to me. Behavior and lifestyle change suggests methods that I can apply to empower myself and play an active role in how I live my daily life with my illness. While I may not change the diagnosis, I may be forced to change some important aspects of my life in order to manage and lessen the symptoms and enhance quality in my life. 

Diet

In order to enhance my treatment, I will be required to adjust my mode of eating. Eating a variety of food daily would help me in getting the energy, vitamins, proteins, minerals and fiber that the body requires in plenty. More fruits and vegetables would be required as well as whole grain meals.  I have previously had a habit of eating too much fat, sugar, salt and cholesterol. This will have to be reduced significantly. Crash dieting would be completely avoided because they are likely to deprive me of one or more groups of food. Instead, I would adapt to radical food and smaller portions at each mealtime combined with regular exercises. Skipping meals and overeating has been a common practice but now, I will be forced to observe strict calendar with the assistance of the therapist. The doctor also advised me to moderate on my alcohol and caffeine intake and if possible, I would try to avoid them completely. The doctor’s recommendation of taking at least 8 glasses of water a day will be followed strictly especially when am taking certain types of medication.

Exercise

In my entire career, my work has been involved with less travel and more office work and little rest. This means that most of the times, I have always been engaged in office work which at times i work beyond the recommended time. The job involves a lot of pressure and stressful operations that demand high observance on deadlines. Therefore, I have had little time to exercise and the short vacation. 

Since I was promoted some months ago, I now have fewer operations to perform because much of the responsibilities are delegated to my juniors. I will seek more time from work to enjoy my time in the company gymnasium. The doctor advised me to choose a method of physical activities i enjoy more. In particular, I like jogging, cycling, swinging and other activities that one is engaged in motion. I will focus on making my cycling experience as pleasant as possible by starting with morning jogs alternated with cycling back at home. However, I will seek more advice from the physician before thinking of joining a football team for the weekends. 

Job and personal stress management

According to Cambridge and Oliver, too much pressure and lack of communication are the major cause of personal and work-related stress. My previous work details required me to dedicate a lot of efforts and time performing certain activities in the office. The management had little time discussing with me about the requirements no matter the difficulty of the task. Most of the time, I was left alone to perform the work and deliver results within less than the required time under normal circumstances. 

Recently, I have been visiting a therapist who have repeatedly advised and guided me on how to manage stress. He has taught me how to recognize stress, such as on financial matters, high pressure situations, lack of time, and difficulty people in the work place. I have been reviewing my daily activities periodically in search of triggers that I may be aware of and identify patterns of my stress symptoms and levels with the help of my doctor. 

Risk factors 

Cardiovascular disease

There are many predisposing factors that can increase the possibilities of having cardiovascular diseases. Most of the risk factors I am exposed to can be treated with behavioral change. These includes taking unhealthy diets, tobacco exposure, overweight, physical dormancy, stress, hypertension and harmful consumption of liquor. 

Cancer 

Most of the risk factors for cancer can be increased by genetic characteristics or environmental factors. However, not all people exposed to carcinogens are at risk of developing cancer. In my case, environmental factors are the most likely risk of cancer. My previous experience as a tobacco smoker exposed me to carcinogens that may substantially increase my risks of developing lungs, throat, mouth, kidney, or bladder related cancers. In addition, the modern cities are full of pollutants in water, air and everywhere else. Asbestos, chemicals, industrial wastes among other impurities find their way to the lives of people living in cities man=king them more prone to terminal diseases like cancer. 

Diabetes

There are various factors that can increase the possibilities of having diabetes. To find out about my risk, I have to consider all possibilities and adjust what is within my reach. Overweight, stress, lack of physical exercises may be some of the pre-determinants of possibilities of suffering from Type II diabetes in future.  Therefore, in order to reduce the possible likelihood of the disease, I would observe the advice of the doctor at all levels and engage the service of a therapist. 

Family history and social support

In my family, there has not been anyone diagnosed with a terminal or lifestyle disease.  Apart from myself, most of them have lived most of their lifetime in the upcountry thus encountering less environmental contamination and processed food that would increase their risk factor for certain diseases. However, the members have been very supportive to each other in times of need at all times. After understanding my risk factor for common chronic diseases, I decided to exercise a significant degree of control in dealing with my self-esteem and other psychological issues. 

Recommendations

Personal lifestyle change appears to be the only solution to the current problems affecting me. Lifestyle is the only best defense against terminal diseases like cardiac problems and stroke. By following the simple steps and professional advice from physicians and therapists, my stress level and unnecessary weight will reduce. Understanding the final results would enable me get motivated to eat better, do more exercises, drink les caffeine and alcohol and make more positive changes in lifestyle. Probably, it would be declaring another new resolution in order to transform my health to the better.

Need an essay?
We can easily write it for you
Place an order

Related essays