Health Essentials
A NATION MOURNS WHILE BATTLING A PANDEMIC
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The year 2020 will always be remembered for the wrong reasons but even in the midst of the chaos there are great lessons that one can learn and many of us will find inner strength that we never knew existed deep within us.
Thursday, November 12, 2020 started beautifully just as most days do then by mid-morning the skies became cloudy and soon after news started trickling in that our former president, Jerry John Rawlings has taken an unexpected trip to his maker. The mood in the country mirrored that of Tuesday, July 24, 2012 when we lost our sitting president Professor J.E.A Mills. This comes at a time when the pandemic is already causing enormous mental health challenges and we need to marshal all the resources available.
Sometimes we are preoccupied with many unnecessary things and never pause to appreciate a person until it is too late. Some people may even be angry because they think things should have followed a different path. That is not ours to determine; it is the sole right of the bearded one above. Whichever group you may belong to, it is your right to express yourself. We all grieve differently and I can assure you there is no right or wrong way to grieve, neither is there a specific grief path that we all need to follow but one thing remains possible, there are healthy ways to cope with pain that in time can renew you and permit you to move on. Time definitely heals many wounds.
Grief is a natural response to loss. It is the emotional suffering that one experiences when someone you love is taken away by death for instance.
Remember these as you grief
- Ignoring your pain will not make it go away faster. It will rather make it worse in the long run. Express your emotions even if it means you have to do it in “private”
- There is no need to be “strong” in the face of loss; crying does not make you a weak person. Feeling sad, frightened or lonely is normal at such a time.
- There is no appropriate period to grieve: for some it may last only a few days while for others it may take over a year. It varies from one individual to another.
- The fact that you are not shedding tears does not mean you are not deeply hurt. You may be equally or even much more affected than someone who is raining tears.
Over 40 years ago, a psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross described 5-stages of grief. Definitely many of us were in DENIAL on the morning of Thursday, November 12. Remember we all grieve differently and we may not go through all the stages. Some of us will also not go through grief in the order listed by Kubler-Ross, a fact that she pointed out herself.
- Denial – “this can’t be happening to me”
- Anger – “who is to blame”
- Bargaining – “make this not happen and in return I will…”
- Depression – “I am too sad to do anything”
- Acceptance – “I am at peace with what happened”
Common Symptoms of Grief
- Shock and disbelief
- Sadness – this is probably the most universal symptom
- Guilt – you may regret or feel guilty about what you said or did not say or do
- Anger – even if the loss was nobody’s fault you may experience anger and resent
- Fear – a significant loss may trigger a host of worries and fears. One may feel anxious and even insecure.
- Physical symptoms – grief may go beyond emotions and we may experience inability to sleep, body pains, fatigue and even nausea.
Together we can cope in a healthy way
- Get support
- Seek comfort in people who care about you. Fortunately in our current situation, we have millions of people to share our thoughts, feelings and fears with. This can ease the pain. The media houses are doing a fairly good job at that.
- Draw comfort from your faith – this is a great time to pray, meditate, read words of inspiration from the Bible, Quran etc. it helps to know that there is a superior God whom we can cast our burdens on. Those who do not have a religious leaning may have some challenges in this area.
- Take care of yourself
- Face your feelings instead of avoiding or suppressing them all the time
- Express your feelings in a tangible way – it is refreshing to read or listen to people share their thoughts on radio, television, in newspapers, on facebook, twitter and a host of other avenues. If you do not have access to any of these or it may be inappropriate for you at this time, you may write your feelings down on paper
- Physical health is important – when you feel good physically, you will also feel better emotionally. Combat the sadness and fatigue by eating right, exercising and getting enough sleep. Do not use alcohol or drugs to numb your feelings; you may be asking for trouble.
- Do not dictate how others should feel and neither should they determine what you feel. We all grieve differently.
- Plan ahead for grief “triggers”. It is important to know that we will occasionally find ourselves in the woods even after it appears we have overcome our pain. You may need to be well psyched in certain situations; in our case when the National Anthem is played or sang, when speeches by our departed president are replayed or as factors leading to his demise are “interrogated”
- Remember that all humans grieve and you have done nothing wrong by grieving
When to seek professional help
Time is a great healer of many things including pain. After a while we expect that the intensity of our pain etc should wane. If it does not and we have any of the feelings below then we need to seek urgent professional help.
- Feel like life is not worth living
- Wish you had died with your loved one
- Blame yourself for the loss or failing to prevent it
- Feel numb and disconnected from others for more than a few weeks
- Having difficulty trusting others since your loss
- Are unable to perform your normal daily activities.
Nana Konadu and children, Ghanaians share in your pain and we will continue to pray with you. It is our prayer that God keeps JJ in His bosom. May God bless Ghana.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/Mobissel/St. Andrews Clinic
(www.healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr Essel is a Medical Doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise.
Thought for the week –“Every individual in this universe experiences grief at one stage or the other. Death is the universal truth and no one can avoid it.”
Reference:
- Helpguide.org – “coping with grief and loss – understanding the grieving process”
- www.people-health.com
I have over the past two decades looked beyond mainstream medicine to assess other options that lead to holistic health, and I must say it’s been exciting and revealing but it’s not an easy path.
As I matured and my knowledge expanded, I have changed my opinion on some aspects of wellness and many findings have been humbling. We all continue to learn each day.
I will share some of the life-changing skills that we take for granted. In our quest for wellness there appears to be more questions than answers, but moderation still remains key in our daily lives.
The power of prayer, praise and worship of God cannot be taken out of the equation.
Ready. Set. Let us do this together.
- Strength training is a must for ALL of us
- Yes, we all need to dig into the various aspects of exercise; strength training, cardiovascular training, stretches or flexibility training and balance training. If you asked me about a decade ago to pick the king of all exercises, I would naively have answered cardiovascular such as walking, cycling etc. but I am certain now that strength training trumps all and we need to incorporate at least a bit of that in our exercise programme.
- Take a short walk after each meal
- Many of us (your truly included) after dinner barely get to wash our hands before the miracle of the Lotus Eaters sends us to dreamland. Our fingers will be signaling to rats and cockroaches to come out and party.
- Walking a few minutes after eating may hold the key to helping control our blood sugar levels and reduce the spikes in insulin that come with a myriad of issues. At the very least the short walks after eating will add up to increase the energy you expend daily.
- Eating your vegetables and proteins before your carbohydrates may be helpful
- Well, how true may this be? I suggest it is worth trying. I am not saying clear your plate of all protein before you even take a spoonful of carbohydrate. The fibre will slow the absorption of the sugar for hours and even better, you may feel full after the vegetables and protein and not be able to gobble down the mounds of carbohydrates you had planned to dismantle.
- Eat slowly but do not get your boss angry
- Eating slowly does not mean spending hours at lunch and courting the displeasure of your superiors. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realise you are full so dear friend, take your time to chew and enjoy your food. A meal “downed” in less than 20 minutes may cause you to virtually suffocate when you top up with water. This is a message to myself and all those who like me eat so quickly that Usain Bolt will envy our speed.
- Eat from small, colourful plates
- Small colourful plates make an impression on our brains. Since the little food appears loaded on a small plate our brains tend to “believe” it’s a lot of food and we feel full for a strange reason. Put the same amount in a large plate and you are likely to be asking for second servings.
- By all means make friends
- The power of social wellness and its role in longevity and an enviable health span is no longer in doubt. By all means make a few good friends and enjoy life! Thank me later.
- Sleep!
- Yes, I do agree there are at least seven forms of rest, and they are all equally important BUT start off with sleep and we will gradually rope in all others.
- Keep your eyes on your numbers
- I have written and spoken about the miracle of knowing our numbers and keeping them in check; blood pressure, blood sugar, lipids and BMI. Today I suggest you look at your heart rate closely. A low heart rate may be an indicator for staying here on planet earth for a long time. Also keeping glycated haemoglobin (long term blood sugar) low is another feather in the cap of longevity.
- Appropriate supplementation
- The golden rule is to get all your nutrients from your food but for many of us that may not be possible hence the need to supplement ( note that supplement overdose does exist)
- It is ideal to discuss supplementation with your healthcare professional and your discussion should look at probiotics, magnesium glycinate, Vit D3 + K2, a good multivitamin and in some instances creatine or whey Protein. I am in no way suggesting you take all these, each individual is unique and that is why it is crucial to discuss your options with a professional.
- Make a conscious effort to be HAPPY
- Happiness affects our entire being in positive ways; smile, say a kind word to someone, be grateful, surround yourself with people who make you happy and not ones who sap your energy, volunteer to support people and by all means get a hobby eg gardening, playing a game etc and the best get news yet; you don’t even have to be good at your hobby to benefit.
We are not waiting for a magical or ideal day to start working on our Health and Wellness, we start today bearing in mind that “the most efficient way to reach our realistic health and wellness goals is to make small healthy choices daily.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “WHERE YOU LIVE SHOULD NOT DETERMINE IF YOU LIVE.”- WHO
Very often we leave the doctor’s office only to remember that we left out a major complaint. Some patients immediately rush back to the consulting room totally oblivious of the privacy that the next patient is entitled to.
They expect that as they walk in, the doctor should ignore the seated or positioned patient and attend to them. That is totally outrageous. Others go home and continue to live with the condition hoping to be healed miraculously.
Most of us will be extremely lucky to spend 15 minutes with our doctor and this time is often much shorter in countries/communities where the doctor-patient ratio is so low that at best it can be described as criminal.
We are now in the second half of 2026, and I highly recommend that you see a doctor not only when you are unwell but as a means to assess your state of wellbeing and take the needed precautions. It is critical that you find a good primary care doctor who is knowledgeable and proactive and will also be able to coordinate specialist care that you may require.
To make the most out of our time with the doctor we need to PREPARE. If your condition is an emergency, then you do not have the benefit of time to prepare.
A must do!
Kindly ensure your personal hygiene is excellent.
- Take a good bath and brush your teeth
- Wear clean clothes that also make undressing easy, especially if you need to expose some areas for inspection/examination.
This may sound ridiculous, but the opposite does happen in real life.
Remember that doctors are human and when you are unkempt you may not get adequate contact with your doctor.
Research on the symptoms
If you have access to the internet or a book worth its salt you may read about your symptoms or wait to read after your doctor tells you your diagnosis.
Remember that if you need to research on the internet, it is essential that you use a reputable site.
In tune with your complaints
- Write down your complaints/symptoms if you think you may forget.
- If you have had a similar problem and have the results of any investigations e.g. Laboratory tests, x-rays, CT scans etc kindly carry them along
- Let your doctor know if you react to any drugs.
- Be truthful about any medications you have taken for the condition, if you do not remember the names make sure you go with the containers.
- If you have any other medical conditions (and medication) make the doctor aware.
- Remember to make a note of the following
- When did the symptoms/complaint begin?
- How long have you had these symptoms?
- Is it getting worse?
- Does anything make the condition worse?
- What makes you feel better?
- Is anything related to their onset?
- How often does it occur?
- How long does it last e.g. in pain conditions as well as rash, allergies etc.
- Does anyone else in your family have them?
- How do they affect your daily life?
- Is it related to work or home?
You may need to modify these slightly when you have skin lesions, swellings etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, and you may not need to find answers to all of them before getting help, but they will definitely help you ace the visit to your doctor.
If your doctor books you for surgery, do not leave his presence without finding out the following:
- Will you go home on the same day of the surgery?
- Will you need assistance to go home or can you drive unsupervised for instance
- What form of anaesthesia will you be given?
Then, if your visit is for a medical examination, do remember that also being aware of disease conditions in your family will help your doctor select the appropriate tests and make the whole experience and time useful.
Finally do not leave your doctor without finding out:
- How much physical activity/exercise you require; the Almighty “FITT” prescription
- What you need to eat or avoid.
- Some basic information regarding SLEEP.
See you in the consulting room soon.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)/Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “The next big thing in Healthcare in Ghana is the Medics Clinic. Visit https://medicsgroupgh.com/ for more information.”
References:
