Maintaining health behavior change is difficult for many people. While some of us succeed at weight loss or quitting smoking, in just a few weeks or months we’re back to our bad habits. You may wonder whether there are steps you can take to keep engaging in healthy habits once you’ve adjusted your lifestyle. In fact, there are.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” Only 12% of Americans have proficient health literacy skills, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. We live in an increasing consumer-centric health care environment and must collect, assimilate and take action on health information for our personal health.
very woman who has ever yearned to be someplace else, but dutifully shows up where she is asked, or any woman who sits in a boring meeting, nodding with consent while secretly visualizing her hidden talents being applauded by thousands, knows the struggle only too well between the social self and the essential self.
How can you live a healthy lifestyle when you spend a great deal of time sitting at a desk and have a mile-long list of household and family obligations?
It seems the norm that everyone despises their job, and yes, the occasional grumble is to be accepted. But when your job begins to raise your stress to abnormal levels, you could be putting your personal relationships, safety and health at risk.