Healthy is The New Happy

In this hustle and bustle so-called busy life, we barely take any notice to what exactly govern our lives and help us stay fit and healthy. We pay the least attention our health and when we finally fall sick, we discover that our ignorance towards our health issues was to blame and more often than not, by the time we take notice, conditions have manifested into full-blown, sometimes chronic, ailments.

Besides the loss of time due to sickness, falling sick has a lot of financial ramifications. New Zealand incurred the total loss of $1.51 billion in the year 2016 due to the absence of workforce instigated by illness. The scenario in Nepal may be relatively worse. Given the lack of medical insurance, poor healthcare infrastructure and an extremely passive response to healthcare needs, the figures in Nepal may be leaning towards dire straits. However, the government has been making some efforts by starting health insurance schemes, relief funds for destitute patients for critical diseases, but they all appear futile against the alarming growth of various diseases across the country.

Good health means people may enjoy a longer, healthier and happier lives. However, the currently popular term ‘Wellness’ is more than being free from illness. It is the strong-willed progression of change and growth that lasts a lifetime. Wellness addresses the broader spectrum of the body, encompassing the overall balance of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It speaks to the way one lives her/his everyday life. It is not an end to be achieved, rather it is a lifestyle that one adopts and thus, maintaining an optimal level of wellness is absolutely crucial to living a higher of quality life.

Health and wellness are possibly the utmost significant aspects of a person’s life. Barring a few exceptions, a person’s well-being is the single most crucial prerequisite for her/him to be able to lead a normal life. In simple words, if you are not feeling well or if you are unwell; it inhibits you from any and all the activities which you would have been able to do easily, had you been healthy. In such a scenario, one may wonder, what is our role and if there is anything that we can do to make a difference. And the good news is, yes, there are many small things that one can do, even on a personal level, to create significant differences regarding the above-mentioned issue.

For the longest time, people have been dependent on various public awareness programs which are rolled out by the government despite little or no monitoring of its effectiveness. These messages about public awareness carry very important notices, however, the information may not have been paid attention to. Moreover, it has been found that when this information is discussed among peer groups, and families and friends circles, their impact is elevated and people tend to pay more interest as the message is coming from one of their own family or friends.

The religious effort to routine preventive checkup can help in keeping track of various key parameters of one’s wellness and diseases can be diagnosed early for their timely treatment – wherein the cure rates are higher and cost for treatment is relatively less. Tools like “Breast Self-Examination” can help women check for any differences they may have noticed, which can be early signs of Breast Cancer. Other routine tests, like Pap smears and Colonoscopies, can help in detecting Cervical Cancer and Colorectal Cancer in advance, respectively. Having the necessary information about such tools are important and equally important to share the knowledge with friends and family.

As an educated generation, the onus is upon the youth to play an active role in driving the earlier generations towards leading a healthier lifestyle by decent and periodic surveillance of their key health parameters. ‘Healthy workforce for a prosperous nation,’ is an apt motto specifically for a country like Nepal with ambitious plans for progress. Obviously, it is not possible to attain prosperity while the citizens are on sick leaves and seeking prolonged medical attention. More of a personal approach can make a substantial difference. It is further obvious that individuals need to take it upon themselves and commitment to following basic norms of improving one’s health along with ones’ family. The idea of running to a doctor only when someone is in serious medical condition needs alteration and the importance of regular health checkups and routine screenings to avoid serious and advanced diseases needs to be highly emphasized.

It is time to take charge of your own health. Schedule an appointment with your health care provider to discuss specific screenings and exams you need and when you need them.

Works Cited

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