Written by Dr. Leone Elliott
I saw a patient (let’s call her Melinda) roughly about four months ago and she used these exact same words. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!” She’s in her 40s and it struck a nerve with me because I understood exactly what she was saying.
I get it! Let’s face it. The stress of our everyday lives is really taxing on the body. Between finding a balance with work and our lives, our families and communities, carpool, baseball, piano and dance practices, life can get hectic pretty quick and stay that way for a while.
Before you know it you are rushing to get to bed at night. Add to the late nights, bad food, little to no sleep, excess caffeine, excess sugar, snacks high in sodium, social media distraction and sugar addiction, and we have a recipe for a very unwell existence.
We are chronically fatigued and for some people, add heartburn, migraines and bloatedness and we are cooking. We start to realize that we have less and less days of feeling absolutely great! Feeling like then becomes the new normal way of life.
It gets better. Melinda began to notice that she was also now getting colds more frequently. It seemed to her that if someone sneezed around her, she was getting a cold.
Yes! A lot of us have a weakened immune system because of the fast paced lifestyle we lead. It also makes us more prone to colds, flu and more serious illnesses. It puts us at risk for depression, anxiety, hypertension, diabetes and the list goes on and on.
Did you know that when your stress hormones are high and your body is not in homeostasis (natural balance), the body will struggle to lose weight even though you may be working out several times a week.
Anyway, I had her take my Wellness Score quiz and she was mortified to see her score. OMG! She had a “D minus”. When we went over the quiz together, without me pointing it out, she realized that she was probably drinking a little too much, sleeping poorly, not drinking as much water, not eating a balanced diet, etc., etc.
This was eye opening for her. What I’m most proud of her about is that she had that look in her eyes and I could tell she was determined. We mapped out a plan for her and I am pleased to say that 8 weeks later, on her re-test of the quiz, she scored a “C”.
To most people, that might not seem like much but let me walk you through it. She traversed from a D minus to a D, a D plus, a C minus and finally a C. Wow! 4 rungs of the ladder. That is no small feat ladies and gentlemen!
While I’m very proud of her, the win here is that she feels sooooo much better. She is less anxious, has less headaches, and is working on her sleep quality everyday by doing these little things I suggested to her. Her diet has improved and she has lost 5 pounds without even trying. Wow!
She is stoked and I cannot be any happier! I see nothing but great things for her in the future and if you can imagine, she is now more motivated than ever!
I tell you about Melinda not to tell you how great we are but because this was the reason I went into medicine. I wanted to help people put the pieces together so that it makes sense for them. She realized she did not need another pill and her feeling not well was not all in her head.
I am here to tell you that you can be feeling your best as well too!! Be like Melinda!