Traditionally, women have been cast in the caring role in society. We care for our partners, children, and parents and make their health a priority. It would be nice to be able to say things have changed in this area, but with the added pressure of work, it can still be tough for us girls to put our own health and wellbeing first. With that in mind, check out some of the biggest mistakes we make in this area, and how we can change these patterns and achieve better physical and mental health as women.
Diet disasters
There is a massive pressure on women regarding their, and in particular, their weight, and this can lead us to do all sorts things that can damage our health in both the short and long term.
One such issue is yo-yo dieting where we adhere to strict and restrictive diet plans, only to lose the motivation and willpower and go back to our old unhealthy ways of eating. Of course, such a cycle is great for the diet industry, as it means we are always looking for the next method that will finally help us shed those last 15 pounds, but for our bodies is can be ruinous.
In fact, studies have shown than yo-yo dieting forces the body into a cycle of starvation that means when we do consume more calories we are much more likely to store them as fat. Something that only goes to compound the problem further and makes it hard to break the damaging cycle, and can in some cases lead to more complicated psychological issues such as eating disorders.
Instead, what is really needed is a change of lifestyle where healthy food and the occasional treat are balanced, but to do this, we as women not only need to be committed to the process but also have high enough self-esteem not to be desperate to lose weight right away.
What this means is that we need to address the psychological issue and become more adept at resisting societal pressure to be perfect before we can break the cycle and be more healthy with our eating habits.
Put too much trust in medical professionals
Sometimes, the trust we place in medical professionals when it comes to female health problems can be a tricky issue to negotiate. Especially because of the widening access to medical information that the internet provides.
Of course, medical professionals do have years of training, experience, and expertise, but this doesn’t make them anything more the human, and this means they can still make mistakes. Something that while unintentional can cause severe suffering and even long-term damage to their patients lives.
Luckily, if you do find yourself in the rare, but unfortunate position, you can contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer to fight your case. In fact, the best ones will often review your case for free, so you don’t end up getting billed for hours that are unlikely to result in a conclusion that pays compensation for your discomfort and inconvenience. Compensation that can be put towards paying for any additional treatments you need to receive, and to getting your life back on track.
Suffer in silence
On occasion, as women it can be easier to suffer in silence than to make a fuss about what we are going through with our health, especially when it relates to hormones and our menstrual cycle. However, while it’s important to recognize that most of us go through a few days a month where we feel a little off, some people can struggle with a much more amplified version of this known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD for short.
In fact, this disorder can present in depression, anxiety, and other mood disturbances all the way from around the time that an egg is released to well into menstruation. This is usually around 12-14 days, and so this can mean that women suffering from PMDD experiencing this for almost half a month, something that can make it very difficult to live a normal life.
Of course, if you recognize these symptoms well as the ones at www.verywellhealth.com in yourself is it definitely worth going to see your doctor, and getting an appointment with your gynecologist or endocrinologist as well. Remember, this is a condition that you can receive treatment for, and just because you are female it’s doesn’t mean you have to differ in silence!
Don’t accept and celebrate themselves
One of the saddest things that women do to endanger their health is not to appreciate and accept the body, minds, and personalities that they have. In fact, many women spend a lifetime trying to modify the way they look, and the way they behave to make themselves more acceptable to society at large and to those that are meant to love them most in life like their mothers, partners, and friends.
Of course, the toll of this on their sense of self, happiness, and body can be vast and exhausting at best. At worst this quest for an ideal version of themselves can interfere with a woman fulfilling her true potential and purpose in the world, all because they are so focused on changing the essence of who they are.
Obviously, this is not a problem that can be sorted with a quick fix, and it isn’t something that is just down to the individual woman either. In fact, it’s an issue for the whole of society to consider and embrace.
This is because we need to start teaching our daughters’ different ways of thinking about themselves, and their worth. We need to show them how to take positively to themselves, and how to brush off the extreme pressure society puts on womankind to be a certain way.
Yes, as individual women we can change our own lives, and fight the conditioning that has oppressed us for centuries, but even more importantly, as a group, we can start to relate more healthy to each other as well. Something that has the potential to transform the mental and physical health of an entire generation of women.
