If you’re picking up this magazine, you’re likely interested in educating yourself to enhance overall health and well-being. But have you ever considered your health esteem?
How do you feel about your body’s ability to repair, renew, and rejuvenate? What about maintaining vitality and cultivating longevity in the years ahead?
Do you feel anxious or calm when thinking about up- coming medical screenings for cancer, heart disease, or diabetes? How do you envision the next decade of your life? Can you imagine yourself vibrant and energetic in twenty or thirty years?
Your thoughts and beliefs around these scenarios cre- ate your health esteem. Health esteem refers to the belief you hold in the strength, resilience, and vitality within you across your physical body, mind, and heart. It’s about recognizing that your body is capable of thriving, even enduring challenges and growing stronger from them. It also includes your mental and emotional resilience.
What messages are you sending your body and mind about their ability to thrive? Do you cultivate a spiritual life, an inner space that, while unseen, might offer valuable insights for your well-being?
These elements present opportunities to dive inward, examine what needs attention, and heal the self, possibly becoming even healthier.
Health esteem is about believing in your body and mind’s ability to endure and grow stronger, regardless of the challenges faced.
Why does your health esteem matter?
Past experiences can sometimes leave us feeling anx- ious about our health. Whether it’s the illness or loss of a loved one, a medical test revealing something concerning, or the feeling of betrayal.
When previously healthy conditions change, these events can impact our sense of health esteem.
If we don’t process these experiences, they remain in our subconscious, influencing our behaviors and decisions unknowingly. What might this look like?
You may avoid routine medical tests, saying, “I’m just so busy! I’ll get to it next week.” If you’re not worried about what you’re delaying, you likely don’t need to be concerned, and fear isn’t consuming your thoughts.
However, if you’re avoiding tests or conversations about your health, that can drain energy and take a toll on your overall health.
You may find yourself frequently getting colds, feeling exhausted, or having panic attacks when random symp- toms arise.
You might lie awake at night, wondering if you’re avoiding taking care of your health because you’re scared of what you might find — perhaps an advanced disease lurking in your body.
Fears and worries cause us to contract, pulling us away from being present in the moment. This not only limits our ability to enjoy life but also depletes our energy and life force.
Emotional support and health esteem
Maintaining emotional health is another key aspect of fostering health esteem. Surround yourself with friends, colleagues, or relatives who support your health journey and encourage you to keep up with medical appointments.
If you’re feeling nervous, ask a friend to drive you. Seek out people who will listen to your fears or joys and who can provide consistent, reliable support.
Fear of the unknown is a major barrier to strong health esteem, even when it comes to routine preventive tests like colonoscopies.
Mild sedation or mindfulness techniques can ease the anxiety before a procedure.
Do your research, read about others’ experiences, and talk to those who’ve been through it. Trusting your loved ones — whether it’s a spouse, friend, or parent — can also help alleviate the anxiety of medical tests or procedures.
Keep in mind, everyone faces health challenges, and you may be surprised by how reasonable and supportive people are when discussing your concerns.
There’s no single right way to approach health, and the wellness industry can sometimes be overly judgmental.
Good health esteem means being comfortable with the choices you make for your physical and emotional health, without feeling pressured by others’ opinions.
Signs of low health esteem
- Avoiding discussions about symptoms that worry you and keeping them secret
- Isolating yourself out of fear of a negative health diagnosis
- Worrying about new symptoms without taking action, spiraling into more worry
- Overestimating the risk of disease without solid evidence or health data
- Fearing that your worries will manifest into illness or disease
- Underestimating the impact of your actions on your physical, mental, and emotional health
- Delaying preventive medical tests, such as annual blood work, mammograms, colon cancer screen- ings, etc.
- Believing something is wrong with your body because you’re highly sensitive to stimuli, foods, medications, people’s energies, and more
What is high health esteem?
High health esteem means feeling confident in your overall health and making it a priority to care for yourself — physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
It involves accepting the things you cannot control about your health and life, and finding peace in knowing that uncertainty is part of being human.
What you can do to boost your health esteem
1. Start with daily practices
Begin by incorporating small, healthy habits into your daily routine. Review the five pillars of health: food, sleep, movement, purpose, and connection.
Find environments that support a positive mindset, such as a gym class you enjoy or a walk with a neighbour. Simply booking a necessary medical appointment is a sig- nificant step — celebrate that!
2. Reflect on what energizes you
Take time to reflect on what makes you feel fulfilled and grateful. What types of foods, activities, or social inter- actions contribute to your well-being?
Keep in mind that as we grow, our preferences can change, so remain open to new approaches.
3. Educate yourself
Increase your understanding of your body’s pillars of health. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious about a health issue, find resources like podcasts, therapy, or medi- tation videos to ease your mind.
Don’t be too hard on yourself — change is difficult, and addressing your health story takes time.
Final thoughts on health esteem
Remember, the messages you believe about your body’s ability to repair and thrive are key to your health es- teem. Taking control by researching options, understand- ing health markers, and learning from others’ experiences are all part of the process.
Don’t be afraid to change what isn’t working for you whether it’s switching therapists, finding a new dentist, or trying a different approach. Change, when reasonable, supports your health esteem.
As you grow in health esteem, sharing your journey with others can inspire them to do the same. Offer advice, share experiences, and spread tips that worked (or didn’t) along the way. Together, we can foster peace of mind and enhance our health esteem.
Esteem is to hold some- thing in high regard — so give that same attention to your health journey and enjoy the benefits of improved health esteem. —LP
