Hello Friend,
Welcome to the last week of March. Happy Easter celebrations to you and your loved ones. Easter is the most important celebration in Christianity. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith and the hope for our future.
Thinking about keeping both the bodies and minds of our men in top-notch condition. Our men often pride themselves on strength, resilience, and ability to tough it out when things get rough.
But just like a well-oiled machine needs regular maintenance to keep running smoothly, our bodies and minds also require a little Tender Loving Care (TLC) to stay in tip-top shape.
Consider a pie chart that has all the pillars of good health.
- Sleep
- Diet
- Exercise
- Spiritual wellness
What will you score yourself out of 10 points on these? how much time do you invest per week in ensuring your body and mind work well. Do you need supplements? Accountability? A faith community?
Now, let’s talk about why physical and mental health checks are absolutely crucial.
Think of your body and mind as your ultimate allies in this adventure called life. They’ve got your back through thick and thin, but they also need a bit of attention now and then to ensure they’re working in sync.
Physical health checks are like pit stops for your body, where you can get a tune-up, top-up, and make sure everything’s running as it should. But let’s not forget about mental health checks – they’re just as important.
Your mental well-being plays a huge role in your overall health and happiness. Just like physical ailments, mental health issues can creep up on you when you least expect it.
There will be no loud alarm to ring in the day you will breakdown mentally..it will happen on a regular Tuesday.
Regular check-ins with a mental health professional can help you catch any potential issues early and provide you with the tools and support you need to stay mentally resilient.
I know what you might be thinking: “But I feel fine! Why bother with all these check-ups?” Trust me, I get it. It’s easy to brush off those nagging little aches and pains or ignore that creeping feeling that something might be off and you feel more anxious and irritable. Let’s not do that.
Types of health checks and why they’re absolutely crucial for your well-being.
1. Blood tests, physical observations, mental health screening and examinations
When it comes to physical health checks, there are a few key tests that every man should consider. These may include blood pressure measurements, cholesterol screenings, blood sugar tests, and regular screenings for conditions like prostate cancer or colon cancer.
These tests can help detect potential health issues early on, allowing for timely intervention and treatment. For example, high blood pressure or cholesterol levels can be indicative of cardiovascular issues, while abnormal blood sugar levels may signal diabetes. These illnesses can also be more likely if other members of your family have them, they are linked to genetics.
My advice is to book these tests around your birthday yearly so you always remember them, save the appointment on your phone calendar, add alarms.
Buy yourself a digital blood pressure monitor you can use at home and check it yourself once a week and more often if you are hypertensive on medication.
Mental health checks typically involve assessments of mood, stress levels, and overall psychological well-being.
Mental health professionals may use various screening tools and techniques to evaluate a person’s mental health status and identify any concerns that may require further attention or support.
Find someone qualified to do these screenings with you, who understands their significance and how to use the results obtained.
It may be useful to build a relationship with a counsellor or therapist so that you can learn new skills for managing life’s stresses and transitions. They will always be worth whatever you pay for the service.
Therapy is most useful before a crisis. In the midst of a crisis, there is so much we are unable to do due to our brains being overwhelmed by the threat.
Book a session, do the assessment, set some goals and see it through the 6-8 week course, then continue with more spaced out sessions and do all that hard work.
2. Why Should People Care About Doing Them?
You might be wondering why you should bother with these checks if you’re feeling fine. Well, here’s the thing: many health conditions don’t show obvious symptoms in their early stages. By the time symptoms do appear, the condition may have progressed to a more advanced stage, making it harder to treat and also significantly affecting the quality of life you have worked so hard to have. The time you don’t make today for your health, you will be forced to make at an inconvenient time.
Health checks allow you to catch potential issues early, when they’re more manageable and treatable.
They also empower you to take control of your health and make informed decisions about your well-being.
Remember, your health is your greatest asset, and investing a little time and effort in preventive care can pay off big time in the long run.
3. How Often Should Men Do checks?
The frequency of health checks may vary depending on factors such as age, medical history, and risk factors for certain conditions.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to schedule a comprehensive health check-up with your healthcare provider at least once a year. Remember book it around your birthday.
This annual check-up can serve as a baseline assessment of your overall health and help identify any changes or trends that may require further evaluation.
In addition to annual check-ups, certain tests may need to be done more frequently based on individual risk factors or health concerns. Your healthcare provider can provide personalized recommendations based on your specific needs and circumstances.
Gentlemen, let’s make a pact to prioritize our physical and mental health. Whether it’s scheduling that annual check-up, getting those screenings your healthcare provider recommends, or taking time for self-care and stress relief, your future self will thank you for it. The other men around you will benefit from it, your family and community will bless you for it.
After all, life’s one heck of an adventure – let’s make sure we’re in it for the long run, both physically and mentally!
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Until we meet again next week,
Stay authentic, Stay resilient,
Be yourself and keep getting better at it.
Live wholeheartedly,
Amaka
2 Cor 3:2(MSG)
You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.
