Responsibility For Your Health

Personal Responsibility and Your Health

With the current debates and formulations on what healthcare in the U.S. should look like, little rhetoric has been produced on how we as individuals can reduce illness and healthcare costs, and improve our own health. Accepting personal responsibility for our health takes more than getting that annual flu shot. We must first define some aspects of personal responsibility, including:

• Acknowledging that you are solely responsible for the choices in your life.

• Accepting that you cannot blame others for choices that you have made.

• Realizing that you determine your feelings about events or actions addressed to you, no matter how negative.

• Recognizing that you are your best cheerleader or coach.

• Letting go of over responsibility for others.

• Taking an honest inventory of your strengths, abilities, virtues, talents, and positive points.

Now that you have reviewed some critical aspects of personal responsibility, let's be more specific about taking responsibility for your health. The following statements are vital in striving for optimal health:

• Take preventative and maintenance measures to ensure personal health.

• Control weight and over-eating.

• Stop smoking, excessive drinking, or substance abuse.

• Take measures or steps to ensure healthy relationships with others.

• Take steps to protect yourself from being victimized.

• Manage your time, so you have a balance of work, recreation, physical exercise, and fun to prevent burn out.

Participate in ownership for your health. Take advantage of your Annual Wellness Visit to review with your doctor all the indicated preventative steps that could optimize your wellness and preserve your Quality of Life. Your insurance provides a free home visit by one of their nurses annually, so take them up on it. The nurse can work with your doctor if other needs are discovered. If your insurance offers 24/7 access to a Nurse Hot-line, use it before going to an emergency room or urgent care center. If the nurse directs you to the ER, that is a company referral, and the visit will be covered even if it turns out not to have been an emergency. Otherwise, you may risk paying the entire cost. They can also direct you to urgency care centers with which they are contracted with so you don't get surprised by an "out of network" fee.

The following pages go into how you can take responsibility for your health.

• • Healthy Lifestyle Habits.

  • Healthy Diet

  • Healthy Exercise

  • Healthy Mental Health

  • Own Your Medical Records

Below there is a PDF document containing all the information regarding taking responsibility for your health.

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