Raise Your Standard On Health

The inconvenient truth about beliefs, attitude, and commitments

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

“Look at your life right now. Whatever you see, that’s what you are committed to. Whatever you currently weigh, that’s the weight you are committed to. Your commitment in life, is reflected 100% by the results you are currently getting.” — Benjamin Hardy

A severe case of Health Excusitis

The age of my patient was around 40. He received unit after unit of red packed blood cells. Despite multiple blood transfusions, he remained anemic; his numbers could not be stabilized. After each transfusion, his hemoglobin and his hematocrit (H&H) levels were measured. The numbers would go up and then suddenly drop below therapeutic levels.

This kept him in the hospital for an extended period of time. I was a new nurse, and I felt profound sympathy for the patient and his family members.

To prevent multiple stabs in his arms for intravenous access, the doctor ordered insertion of a Hickman Catheter. This is a soft, flexible tube, often used for chemotherapy and frequent blood draws for laboratory tests. The catheter, placed in his chest area, improved the comfort level for the patient. It also made it easy for the nurses and lab technicians to transfuse and draw blood.

His attending physician was baffled. He could not figure out why the H&H could not be maintained. Neither could the specialists on the case. A hematologist, a blood disease doctor, and an oncologist, a cancer doctor, were called in for a consultation. All diagnostic tests proved to be normal.

My patient had a private room. This wing, in a small community hospital where I worked for 30 years, had 11 rooms with single beds. All rooms had an anteroom with a sink and a private bathroom. These rooms were used for patients who needed isolation; HIV, infectious diseases, or low immunity. They were also used for privileged patients; doctors and their friends and families.

One day I walked into his room. My knock on the door must have been too soft for him to hear. I did not see the patient in his bed, so I walked into the bathroom. What I saw blew my mind, and the mind of every person on his health care delivery team.

The man was standing, leaning over the toilet. While supporting himself against the wall with his left hand, he held the Hickman catheter in his right hand. It was open. Blood was coming out of the catheter, running into the toilet bowl. The patient was bleeding himself.

Do not be shocked; Excusitis is not uncommon

Author's photo

In the book, The Magic of Thinking BIG, David J. Schwartz, PH. D, writes about what he calls the failure disease. He uses the term Excusitis to describe a condition in humans when we make excuses because we are afraid to face reality. Successful people do not suffer from this.

Another term that describes people using illness for their benefit is called Malingering. This is when a patient uses his or her condition to escape social duties or attain personal gain. Coping with life is harder for some than others.

Excusitis and malingering are more common than anyone is aware of. My patient received the help he needed with other consultations, pertaining to his mental status along with the physical. Remembering that we have a body, a mind, and a spirit, physical challenges can be rooted in any of the three.

But not all cases are severe. Making excuses that prevent us from doing something that we should do, but do not want to do, is part of the human makeup. Did you ever stay home from school, using a stomach ache as an excuse to skip school because you were unprepared to take a scheduled math test?

I sure did.

My mother saw right through me, yet she let me stay home. When my twin sister returned from school and reported the events of the day, I felt like a coward. A coward a person who lacks courage and is afraid of taking risks.

Being a coward in the adult world is common and easy to get away with. Unfortunately, our health can go to hell when we become too comfortable, skipping acts and events that require effort. We don’t have to be a hypochondriac to complain that our health is not up to par. We can just say, “I don’t feel good “or “I am sick because of X.”

• With less than good health, I am too tired to go to the gym; not the other way around.
• The high blood sugar is due to Diabetes; not to the food I eat.
• My excess weight is due to a side effect of medication, not from overeating.
• My blood pressure is high, which is expected, because cardiovascular disease. (CVD) runs in my family.

CVD is the leading cause of death in the world and it is highly preventable. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, our chances of not becoming a statistic are in our favor. Why do we die like flies when we know we can improve our health with a few simple lifestyle changes?

Excellent health is a privilege of few and Excusitis does not help the less privileged

This is not a loose statement. Based on these facts from the American Heart Association (AHA), 2023 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update.

• Heart disease and stroke claim more lives each year in the United States than all forms of cancer and Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease (CLRD) combined.
• Between 2017 and 2020, 127.9 million US adults had some form of CVD.
• According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), nearly 96% of adults over 60 and older have at least one chronic condition, while nearly 80% have two or more.
• Common chronic conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, depression and Alzheimer’s disease/ dementia. Learn more about what chronic diseases are and what you can do about them here.

There are more older people, who live longer, than ever in history

The American Psychology Association (APA) reports that the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to double from 46 million to more than 98 million by 2060. That year I turn 110. I still have my eyes, and commitment to living to the ripe old age of 113, when my youngest granddaughter is 50.

Chances are that I just may live past 100. According to the same report from APA, “One out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past 90.” Why not make the best of it by raising our standard on health, leaving less room for Excusitis.

Raising our standard

In the book, The Magic of Thinking BIG, Dr Schwartz writes that in order to become successful, at our health or anything else, we must develop the power of belief. Thinking success rather than failure prepares the mind to make plans that work. We must believe big and remind ourselves that we are better than we think we are.

Believing that we can do something changes our attitude to yes, I can, rather than I cannot. After all, we become what we believe. This helps us to become vaccinated for Excusitis. Learning to manage our thought process by not focusing on health aspects that are less than optimal, improves our health attitude.

“Talking about bad health is like putting fertilizer on weeds”, wrote Dr. Schwartz.

Our belief system, attitude, and commitment to health standards may not save us from CVD or any other disease. People do get sick and die prematurely, with no fault of their own. But we don’t have to talk about, more than necessary.

Doing what we can to optimize blood sugar and blood pressure, with or without medication, reduce risk factors for CVD. So do weight and activity management that work for our own personal tolerance level.

A case of belief, attitude, and commitment in the life of a Boomer

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

A picture on the television screen caught my fancy the other night. I noted that the scene was from a television series, and I started to watch; episode after episode, after episode.

After a couple of hours, I pushed the pause button and took a quick break to complete my evening routine. Without delay, I hopped right back on the sofa.

Before settling in for the evening, I had carefully evaluated the situation. I knew that watching the television show would mess up my REM sleep, impede the morning writing process, and keep me from an early yoga class.

Yet, without hesitation, knowing that Excusitis is part of human nature, I uttered my newfound relief words. I said, ”Fuck it’, and enjoyed watching the rest of the story.

Thank you.

. . .

🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.

Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.

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