Health Essentials
A NATION MOURNS WHILE BATTLING A PANDEMIC
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
THE past few years I have been thinking a lot about how to make the life of elderly parents fulfilling and with less stress on our lives. How we should also prepare adequately for our golden years while we provide guidance to our children and grandchildren.
These thoughts have on several occasions shifted to peri-menopause and menopause, and the role of finance and wellness in all this cannot be taken for granted.
As Christmas draws closer, thoughts of people being “so busy” we neglect the elderly keeps flooding my mind. Age does creep up on us. One minute you are a toddler, then a teen, with neither fears nor cares, and in a blink of an eye you are a parent of teens who will remind you that being around for over half a century is old.
Is 50 that old? I do not think so, but a lot depends on what we have been doing for most of the 50 years. It is never too late to make changes.
As we trudge through life most of us never think about the challenges that our elderly parents may face, and we are just not prepared when reality stares us in the face. Every age bracket has its unique issues and between 40 to 65 years we often have quite a lot on our plate; supporting our elderly parents, putting our own lives in order and guiding our young ones.
Necessary steps to enhance life of elderly
- Never boss or try to “parent” your parents
- Think about this; we unconsciously start “ordering” our parents. Telling them what to do without finding their preferences etc. Parenting our parents is one of the challenges many elderly parents endure silently. Stop It!
- Ask for their opinion
- Being old does not mean one no longer has opinions. Ask. Argue in love, discuss issues such as exercise, medication, hospital visits, food, friends, religion, and politics. Everything. By all means seek their opinion.
- Do not over treat them medically
- Not every change you see in an elderly person requires medical intervention. Be careful what you buy medicines for and stay away from unnecessary tests. Make sure you speak to a knowledgeable health professional.
- Hospital stays should be as brief as possible
- Plan hospital or clinic visits to make them as short and convenient as possible. If possible, get tests and consultations done on the same day. If it is not an emergency find out if the medical facility has special arrangements for the elderly and also check the time of days with the shortest wait time. Many elderly people do not like the stress of hospital environments and why should they?
- When admitted for an illness, work together with the medical team to ensure they are home as soon as possible. Most of them do best in familiar surroundings and home is numero uno.
- Have them stay at home for as long as possible
- Sometimes children are in a hurry to send parents off to homes that care for the elderly. People often ask where they could get such support. I think we should all plan to keep parents at home for as long as humanly possible. Sometimes we do not have the option of having them at home, but we need to explore all our options.
- Help them to socialise
- Organise time with friends etc. at home and out of home. This brings a breath of fresh air to everyone including our elderly parents. This makes them happier, healthier and they live longer.
- …and the more time we spend with our elderly parents, the longer they live.
- Ensure physical activity
- No matter one’s age and medical condition, there is always a form of physical activity to engage in. It may be as simple as making fists or moving arms, but every movement goes a long way to make life better
- Sunlight is a must. Do whatever it takes to ensure at least one gets a few minutes of sunlight a day.
- The presence or chance to see beautiful plants is a bonus worth going the extra mile for.
- Spend quality time with the elderly this Christmas
- We are already in December and the world is already preparing for Christmas. Spending time with the elderly during the season is PRICELESS!! Yes, you can make some time for that.
Steps to prepare for our own golden years
- Start a wellness plan or continue if you already have one
- It is a must!! Learn to breathe, build muscle, move to ensure your heart is happy and even more important parts of your brain that protect you from dementia will grow.
- Keep in touch with your classmates
- They have known you for years and a phone call or occasional visit or gathering definitely ignites memories and it brings “warmth” beyond your wildest imagination
- Surround yourself with younger people
- They can support you in many ways and their visits brighten your day while your advice is priceless to them. It is a win-win situation.
- Avoid loneliness at all costs
- You are not an island. Even if you think you are better off on your own and with your thoughts, nature does not agree with that. Kindly make a few good friends.
- Protect your brain / memory
- Dementia is a matter of when and not if; exercise will enlarge the part of the brain that controls memory. Having a larger hippocampus means it takes longer for dementia to show up.
Age will definitely catch up with each of us if we hang around Earth long enough. It is a matter of when and not if so we should take steps to make our golden years and those of our loved ones happy and fulfilling. I will choose SUCCESSFUL ageing over USUAL ageing any day.
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)
(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 (1) – “Ageing comes with Psychosocial challenges such as neglect, abuse, sexual adjustment, emotional disorders, other mental health challenges, issues with living arrangement and several others. Let us all help to make life easier and more enjoyable for the elderly”-Kojo Cobba Essel
BY Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
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“Me nyare n’anso me nti ap)” is a popular Akan saying that can be translated into English as “I am not ill, yet I feel unwell.” It is that feeling when you just can’t place a finger on what is not right with you.
Today, I can confidently inform you that if you have felt this way in the past, you certainly had a point. Medical science has come a long way, and we know that health and wellness go far beyond the physical aspects such as pain, heart disease, or infections.
Other equally important aspects of wellness exist, and these may be classified as Social, Mental, Spiritual, Financial, and Digital Health and Wellness.
Do not be surprised when your doctor begins to ask you questions about your social network, such as those you have close ties with—family, friends, or both. Longevity depends to a large extent on one’s social support system or network.
As the American Heart Association notes, “lack of SOCIAL CONNECTION is associated with increased risk of premature death from all causes, especially among men.”
This is no open ticket to spend all of one’s after-work hours hanging out with friends under the disguise that you are prolonging your life. Moderation is key in all things, and your strong social ties need not be a whole village. All you need is a handful of loyal friends or family who know you inside out and have your wellbeing at heart.
If you are stressed out or have any mental health challenges, you should be able to speak to a close friend. Sharing your challenge may just be enough, or this friend may be able to advise you appropriately. It is easy to laugh with such friends and not be worried about being judged. Laughter, as you know, is medicine.
Close contacts may prompt you to take your physical health seriously, but even if they don’t, that bond you share produces feel-good hormones that protect you and prolong your health span.
I prefer health span to lifespan simply because lifespan refers to just being alive, but one may not be “living”—you could be bedridden, in a coma, or have multiple organ challenges. We should all aim for a long health span.
The art of building strong social connections is one reason we need to work on getting our children away from their phones and other gadgets that deprive them of the opportunity to talk to peers, share physical contact, and form lifelong relationships.
Dear friend, choose your friends wisely if you want to live a long, healthy, and happy life.
While you work on your social connections, let us breathe our way to great health by following the steps below. Repeat these steps daily:
- Sit in a quiet place.
- Avoid tight clothing (loosen your belt, necktie, or other constricting clothing).
- Take deep breaths through your nostril and exhale slowly through partially closed lips.
- At the peak of your initial inhale, take in another breath and hold for a count of 4 before exhaling.
- Expand your belly as you breathe in.
- Focus on your breathing and forget about everything else.
- When your focus drifts off (and it will about 50% of the time), acknowledge the thought but quickly return to your breathing.
- Continue breathing in and exhaling for five minutes.
- Increase the duration of this breathing/mindfulness over time.
…and remember to teach your friends to breathe too. After all, together you will live a long, healthy, and enjoyable life.
As always: laugh often, ensure hygiene, walk and pray every day, 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)
(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 (1): “Lack of sleep may predispose you to many diseases including a STROKE. Jump into bed an hour earlier and sleep a stroke away.”
Thought for the week (2): “There is no magic formula to being happy, but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.”
Join us at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel for our end-of-year Wellness Festival on Saturday, 29th November 2025, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. You should not miss this event. All six pillars of wellness will be at play.
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
