A Journey to Health: Defining Health and Wellness

A couple of weeks ago I published a newsletter and blog post titled A Personal Note from Jen in which I began to tell the story of my (continuing) journey toward health and wellness. I promised that I would talk about the different elements in that journey on this blog, and so I begin with this post.

Before diving into my personal story, I want to first explore what "being healthy" means to me. For starters, being healthy is not something that can be defined by someone or something else.

• Health is not about an "all clear" at my yearly physical.
• Health is not about being "in range" on blood or other lab tests.
• Health is not about a revolving (and evolving) schedule of medications.
• Health is not about a number on the scale or a size on the tag.
• Health is not about feeling "okay."

Quite simply, health is about feeling I'm at my best--just about all the time. It's about being able to do what I want without limitations. It's not about feeling good, it's about feeling great! And I firmly believe that if you don't feel great the majority of the time, then you're not healthy.

I felt unhealthy at many points in my life. Specifically focusing on my life as an adult:

• I felt unhealthy when I was in my early 20s, fresh out of school and new to the corporate world, and I simply couldn't handle all the stress without burning out
• I felt unhealthy in my mid 20s when I started to feel powerless over PMS
• I felt unhealthy when I started to gain weight in my late 20s--more than just the few "extra pounds" that I carried most of my life
• I felt unhealthy when I was in my early 30s and I couldn't lose that extra weight--no matter what I did right
• And I felt unhealthy when, beginning last year, I felt like I lost all my energy and motivation

During these times, my blood tests and other labs were fine. My doctors and other health care providers couldn't pinpoint a problem. They told me to eat this, or don't eat that. They told me to take this pill, or don't take that pill. Exercise more, exercise less, exercise differently. Sleep more, sleep less, get more sun, stay out of the sun...aaargh! Everyone had advice. No one had answers.

And all I knew was that I didn't feel well. I didn't feel like myself. And that's really what health and wellness is all about to me: feeling like myself. Sure, my metabolism might slow down as I age. And no, I can't really stay up all night like I used to be able to. But despite getting older, I still want to feel like myself. And I don't feel like myself when I'm chronically stressed, overly emotional, unable to lose weight, or tired all the time.

In my quest to feel like myself again, I've seen many different professionals, taken many different pills, and tried many different strategies. I'm going to highlight some of the more important ones in the coming months. Some things will be related to ADD, and some things won't. But I do think that the topics will be of interest to a lot of people, especially because I'll be sharing my lessons learned.

Now, I have just one favor to ask of you and everyone who is reading: please don't try to "diagnose" me. Yes, I know it sounds a lot like a thyroid problem. It sounds a lot like a different problem to a lot of different people. And yes, I know that you're only trying to help. But I ask you to please understand that there are many more pieces of this puzzle that I haven't revealed (yet). There are hopefully some solutions, too.

As I share elements of my health and wellness story, I would absolutely love for you to share elements of your story. I welcome you to comment on these posts with your own personal experiences. While I'm not able to respond to every comment, I guarantee that I will personally read every comment!

And in particular for this post, I'd like to know how you define "being healthy." Please share your thoughts, and anything else that feels right, in the comments field below.

Thanks for being a part of this journey with me. I think this transparent discussion of health and wellness is going to lead to some really cool things...I just don't know what they are yet. ;-)

Comments

[Kathy W.]

Jen -
I appreciate you sharing your story and look forward to hearing more about it.
I have a request that doesn't relate to your issue but I would love to see you cover at some point. Could you please put something out on addictions? (Especially alcohol) I have read that ADHD and addictions are linked and I'd really appreciate your comments on the subject.
Thanks, Kathy