Information provided by Dr. Diana Bitner, true. Women's Health:
Takeaway tip: Call out the barriers which make it hard for you to be well and figure it out!
August is National Wellness Moth and it's a good time to focus on not just your plan to improve wellness, but to look at your barriers to wellness.
Many people focus on excuses and feel shame: why they don't eat healthier, why they don't get enough sleep. Instead of looking at it negatively, instead it can help to think of these challenges as barriers. Once you identify your challenges, they can be solved or overcome.
For example, one barrier is access to healthy food. For a person in need, that may mean having a community refrigerator with fresh produce and prepared meals. For someone without food insecurity, it means thinking ahead to a busy week, making a menu, and food prepping on the weekend. If you are running all week with work and sports, then have health foods to go. That can include wraps loaded with good protein, fresh veggies, and high fiber fruit like berries and pears.
Potential barriers:
- Food security
- Meal planning
- Time/knowledge/resources for exercise
- Back pain/tight hips/shoulder pain
- Poor sleep
- Depression or anxiety
- Low energy
- Low motivation
- Untreated menopause
- Poor community support, no exercise buddy
- Childcare
Once you identify your barriers, look at each one critically and ask yourself how it can be solved. Think about the issue, what resources can you use, and next steps to put your thoughts into action.
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