Why YOU should turn up every day !

There was a bracing chilly wind this morning, down by the estuary. You will regularly find me there doing my daily walk. I love to be out in a natural environment. I always find this time a rewarding experience. It helps to clear my mind and creates a real sense of being present. Many fellow walkers share a cheery smile and a few greeting words, on my daily trips out.

Why have I titled this “turn up every day”? Some of you will know I live with an autoimmune condition called Multiple Sclerosis. You can learn more about my journey here

I have found by changing my beliefs, especially concerning my physical condition. ?Has enabled me to take control. I am no longer solely reliant on our health services to provide answers and solutions to my health issues. ??As I approach my 64th birthday, I cannot remember a time when I felt healthier and frankly more alive. ?How can that be? I have an incurable disease! This is true, but it does not control me! ?Within this brief article I hope you will find some motivation to take a long hard, honest look at the choices you are making. Is the way you are living your life one that promotes health and wellbeing, or is it leading you on a path towards poor health and disease? I realise the choices I had made played a huge role in creating a life of illness, for me. I will go into the steps I took to regain my health in future articles. However, today I want to focus on choice!

I decide to turn up every day. How I turn up depends on how I am feeling. Several years ago, I said “enough was enough”, I made a promise to myself to do whatever I could to move forward every day. I started small, after all I was in a wheelchair. ?I was determined to not loose any more of my strength and mobility. Just to explain, I still had some mobility I just did not feel confident enough to be outside without my wheelchair. You see I would fall over all too often which can be dangerous at times, so using a chair had become my normal.

As I reflect back to a time before I regained my power, I realise how the decision to not do too much exercise was based on the advice I had been given by the health professionals. Unknowingly this did affect my body’s ability to heal. Simple because it created a mindset that I was powerless to fight this disease. I truly believe many of the people who face similar conditions feel the same. ?I hope from the bottom of my heart that people newly diagnosed with a chronic condition receive a more lifestyle empowerment message. The one thing I knew was I did not catch MS as you would a cold or flu. With that in mind it made sense to me that the choices I had made must have played a part in creating this dis-ease within my body. The stress, poor choices I had made, all added up to my downfall. ?Unfortunately, the information available to me was that MS is incurable, progressive, and debilitating. All these elements became my reality at an alarming rate!!!

?I started to research positive stories associated to my condition. I am happy to say they do exist. This was the start of a new outlook for me, if they can do it so can I. It was slow at first with small changes however I was not going to give up! Hence the title why you should turn up every day.

We all should start to look at the choices we are making and head off dis-ease before it becomes our reality. ?We are facing an explosion of chronic health conditions in western society, today! ?The shocking fact is that many of these conditions are caused by a poor diet, inactivity, and a sense we have little control over our health. We are now confronted by a stark fact. More people will die of an illness related to overeating than undereating. It is time we took more responsibility for our health and wellbeing and that starts with the choices you are making, today!?Let’s stop sleep walking towards poor health. What I am saying is “ask not what our NHS can do for me but what I can do to take the pressure off our NHS”. This can be achieved simply by being honest and taking a long, hard look at the choices we are making. Limit or cut out those unhealthy habits and replace them with healthy ones. I do not promote a diet; I think it is important to find what is right for you to eat. Source the most natural whole foods you can. ?Start to listen to your body, understand how the things you consume affect how you feel. Is that sugar laden food something you need or is it feeding an addiction? How are you sleeping, how are you feeling, are your limbs creaking? I have found my body seems to work best when I consume a mainly vegetarian diet, with some fish. However, you may find that does not work for you. All I ask is that wherever possible eat the cleanest products you can find. If you choose to eat meat, have you ever thought of making that the side dish and the fibre and nutrient rich veg the star of the plate? ??Make a promise to yourself to be kinder to yourself and your body.

Turn up for change!

#truth #choices #hopeandhealing #selfcarematters

I look forward to reading your comments both good and bad.

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