How well do you listen to your body? Based on my experience, your body informs you of any disturbance in the body. The sensors ring off in different ways, depending on what your body is warning you about. It may be dizziness, chest pain, headaches, trouble walking or speaking, stomach upset, appetite changes, insomnia, watery eyes, pica, and so on. Most times, when we get these signals, we tend to wave them off as nothing serious. We relate it to stress, hunger, or thirst, which can be true at times but not all the time. As we grow older, our bodies will keep triggering more alarms to hint at one issue or another, and we do not have the luxury of ignoring these alarms. Curing is more expensive than prevention.
Recently, I suddenly developed cravings for meat. The cravings intensified with each passing day, and I immediately knew something was wrong. For some reason, I attributed it to the fact that PMS was around the corner and this craving was not strange to me. I completely forgot the origin of this trigger, which was not new to me. I went to the hospital some days ago to complain about a stubborn cough. Based on my discussion with the doctor, we narrowed it down to allergies, which I further narrowed down to the rugs in my office. To ensure nothing was amiss, the doctor asked for a full blood count (FBC).
An hour later, I went back to review my test results with the doctor. It turns out I do not have any infections. However, the FBC showed that I was skirting the limits of being anaemic. This made me smile, and I confirmed to the doctor that it wasn’t my first time dealing with being anaemic. My body has been screaming for lack of iron through my meat craving, but I didn’t pay enough attention to it. For someone with a unique blood group, I try as much as possible to include my iron supplements in my diet. It is one of the reasons why I like ugu and animal liver a lot. It’s also the reason why I cannot stand the smell of iron supplement syrups. My first diagnosis of anaemia was as a teenager, so my mother was very aggressive with iron supplements.
I admit that for the past 3 months, I haven’t taken care of myself as much as I should have, and for this, I blame my EMBA programme. My diet has not been balanced, my sleep has been irregular, and my anxiety has started showing up. With this recent development, I have no choice but to find a way of balancing everything going on in my life so that none is left behind.
Health is key, and it tops the priority chart. A healthy person can gradually cross things off their bucket list and live a fulfilling life. As we grow, we should pay attention to the small triggers and the red flags our bodies raise; it might just be the saving grace.
Life Lessons From a 5-year-Old