Twelve Ways to Stay Well

Posted on May 16, 2007 by Dave Pollard
 Well-Being Mindmap

It took 55 years and contracting a chronic disease, but I’ve finally learned to look after my health. The steps required to stay well are pretty intuitive, and it makes sense to invest effort and money keeping people well, instead of treating them when they get sick. But you’d never know it from reading most healthcare websites. While some might believe that’s deliberate (Big Pharma and a lot of doctors would be out of business if we stopped getting sick) I think the main problem is the blind spots that those in the healthcare industry have, because they’re too close to one perspective to see the forest for the trees.
 
So here’s my simple, obvious list of twelve ways to stay well:
  1. Don’t manage your stress, reduce it: Live simpler. Get an easier job close to home. Do less. Learn to say no. We are not by nature well-endowed to handle chronic stress, so managing it is a losing battle. Get rid of the stresses that come from self-imposed demands and expectations.
  2. Keep the right company: Avoid or dis-associate yourself from people who are vexatious and demanding. I appreciate that if you’re a caregiver for a needy child or senior that’s impossible. But for the rest of us, life is too short to put up with people who get pleasure from others’ unhappiness. Surround yourself with loving people. Be physically affectionate. Don’t spend too much time alone. And cherish the excellent company of young children and animals.
  3. Exercise.
  4. Eat well: At least eat moderately, foods with variety and balance. Better still, eat local foods, those that you know where they come from, and organic foods (I know, sometimes you have to choose between local and organic). Even better, go vegetarian or vegan, and free yourself from unnatural and addictive products.
  5. Drink lots of fresh, clean water: Remember, bottled water isn’t necessarily better. Do your research on what you drink.
  6. Live in the right place: Probably not in the city or downwind or downstream from it. And probably not a place where you have to spend most of your life indoors or in your car. Visit and live in different places so you know what you’re missing. When you find a place that’s peaceful, unpolluted, natural, you’ll know it’s the right place. Discover it. Explore it. Make it where you belong. But avoid spending too much time in the sun.
  7. Get rid of the toxins: The pesticides and herbicides and artificial fertilizers in your yard. The poisonous, antibiotic cleaning substances that you soak your body and clothes in. The carpets and upholstery and paints and other ‘home furnishings’ that make the air in the average house unhealthier than the average smoggy outdoors.
  8. Wash your hands often: Wash for at least fifteen seconds with a natural soap and hot water. You wouldn’t believe what the average handshake, shopping cart, door handle or deck of playing cards can transfer.
  9. Self-monitor, self-diagnose, and self-manage your health: Don’t rely on the experts. Every body is different, and health professionals (including a lot of shady ‘alternative’ medicine practitioners and snake-oil salesmen) can only guess what’s really right for, and wrong with, you. Take responsibility for your own health.
  10. Avoid crowds: That sounds like silly advice, but it’s true. Travel as rarely and as short a distance as you must. Skip the malls and the bars and other crowded, anonymous places. Bicycle. Stay away from doctors’ offices and hospitals unless you have no choice. Spend time with the people you love in the place that you love.
  11. Take as few drugs and other unnatural substances as you can: More on this tomorrow, when I reveal some astonishing data on the fatality risks you run when you unnecessary ‘preventative’ drugs. Don’t buy Big Pharma’s “ask your doctor if X is right for you” bullshit.
  12. Get lots of rest: Sleep in. Do calming things. Enjoy doing nothing but enjoying the passage of time and the beauty of the world.
I’m doing all these things, and I’ve never felt better, never been in better physical condition and (according to my recent tests) never been in more perfect health. Don’t wait until you’re 55. Stay well.
 
Categories: Let-Self-Change and Health
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13 Responses to Twelve Ways to Stay Well

  1. Tim says:
    May 16, 2007 at 17:23

    “The poisonous, antibiotic cleaning substances that you soak your body and clothes in.”Interesting idea. I hang dry my clothes, but I use the detergent for cleaning clothes and soap for bathing. What products are good alternatives to what you advice not doing?”Travel as rarely and as short a distance as you must.”I have to disagree with you on this one, because when you travel as rarely as you must then you are not experiencing other ways of life and not relieving yourself of mental monotony. However, if you mean daily commute to say a J-O-B, then I am in total agreement.

  2. David Parkinson says:
    May 16, 2007 at 18:58

    This makes me feel pretty good, since I think I’m on top of most if not all of these, and at least making progress in the right direction if not “there” yet. I do realize, though, how lucky I am to be able to make these sorts of changes in my lifestyle. So many people are just trapped, powerless, in situations that exacerbate the downward slide. The greatest luxury is the ability to forgo luxury.Glad to hear that your health is improving after a scary past few months… or has it been longer than that? Time is elastic.

  3. prad says:
    May 16, 2007 at 19:06

    well done, dave!these are all good and doable steps to take and we’re glad you’re on a healthy path.

  4. Evan says:
    May 16, 2007 at 19:11

    Well said. I hope everyone that reads you will at least try one of these things. We did all of them and our lives have improved dramatically.

  5. lavonne says:
    May 16, 2007 at 20:32

    Excellent advice. I’m glad you included getting rid of the toxins in our homes. People have no idea how ubiquitous and treacherous they are.Tim, I use Seventh Generation for all my detergent/soap needs [even shampoo — the Free & Clear Dish Soap does an excellent job cheaply and with zero fragrance and other crap they put in commercial shampoos these days.]

  6. lavonne says:
    May 16, 2007 at 20:34

    p.s. Dave, what is the software you use to create your wonderful mind-maps?

  7. Barbara says:
    May 17, 2007 at 02:08

    Well done at least I am not alone. I too found myself close the wooden box if I did not change my ways. It was a sharp learning curve, more like a hair pin bend but I have made it. I only have to add that most of us are sensitive to some food we are eating on a regular basis (dairy, wheat, sugar etc). It is a good idea to have a sensitivity test done and then have a hair analysis to see what toxins your body is storeing (murcury, lead, nikel etc) Once you are armed with that info you can rid your life a lot easier and quicker.Thanks for the site it is great.B

  8. andy mill says:
    May 17, 2007 at 04:42

    You’re preaching to a very small group here. Most of us can’t get an easier job closer to home. I want to quit my job as soon as possible and stop selling my life away but it’ll be a while. I will testify that simplifying your life as much as possible ie. not driving the car, getting rid of cable, eating less crap and just generally eating less, not only saves money but allows you to appreciate life in ways never imagined. Riding my bike to work each day is a high point. Driving was drudgery, riding is joy.

  9. Jacob Haqq-Misra says:
    May 17, 2007 at 07:18

    Keeping the right company is certainly important and includes pets, as you mentioned. I’ve seen at least one report where people who keep cats have a longer average lifespan–and I would guess a less stressful one.

  10. Mariella says:
    May 17, 2007 at 10:39

    So, instead of finding a doctor you can trust….you found yourself to trust… there is no doubt that when we learn to listen to the messages from our own selves we realize that we are the real experts on our needs.

  11. Tony says:
    May 17, 2007 at 17:32

    Hi Dave,I enjoy your work. Thank you. With respect to this post, I have one minor quibble: “Wash your hands often…”I am strong believer in the remarkable power of a healthy immune system, and therefore, especially with children whose immune systems are not fully formed, I’d argue that exposure to all of those germs and bacteria are, on balance, actually a good thing.Along the very same lines, recent research has shown that the popular antibacterial soaps are (predictably) problematic.I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t wash our hands, particularly before eating, but in my view, you are pushing your readers too far in that direction.Regards,Tony

  12. Dan says:
    May 18, 2007 at 11:51

    Nice list, but number six is not so simple. People have a smaller collective impact on the environment when they live in dense big cities. It also makes public transportation more feasible and affordable. This might be one of those cases where doing the best thing for yourself isn’t necessarily the best thing for everyone.

  13. Joan says:
    May 18, 2007 at 12:17

    love this list, Dave, but more importantly i love the emphasis on taking personal responsibility for your own health. i’m on the other side of the hand washing issue than Dan. about three years ago i began washing my hands while i was away from home (and upon returning home) quite often. since i live in a big city, i’m sure i come into contact with lots of germs because of how often certain things are NOT washed (when was the last time the door handle to that office was washed? um, probably never). while i don’t use antibacterial soaps ever, i do think washing often is really important. my incidence of catching colds and flus has decreased dramatically since i began doing this!

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