Information + Inspiration = Better Health

September 30th, 2008

There’s nothing better than a dose of inspiration, mixed with helpful information to get us motivated to take better care of our health.

And when I say health, I’m talking about all areas of our life - our financial health, physical health and mental health.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with my colleagues Jill Jordan and Katana Abbott (pictured here with me) to inspire and motivate women into action.

We teamed up with HAP, the Health Alliance Plan, a large HMO in the Detroit area, that’s committed to women’s health. We were part of their “Wise Woman: Finding Your Balance” seminar on Saturday and it was a blast.

What I loved is that these awesome women had a chance to take a break for the day and practice some much needed self-care. I don’t know about you, but often I say I’m going to do some self-nurturing things but then I get busy and don’t make it enough of a priority - and that’s in all parts of my life, especially mental health. Simply taking the time to get quiet and clear my mind does me a world of good given the hectic pace at which I’m often working. This was a reminder that I need to do so a lot more often.

And here’s a great example of how information and inspiration equals better health for me. The first speaker at the event, Dr. Cathy Frank, did a great presentation on mental health, focusing specifically on a variety of anxiety disorders. Did you know, for example, that women suffer from anxiety at much greater rates than men? For years, I’ve been convinced that I’ve got some kind of anxiety problem because I tend to be a worrier. But lo and behold, it looks like what I made out to be a huge problem, isn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I don’t have OCD, general anxiety disorder or many of the other disorders she mentioned. Frankly, it was a relief to understand where I fit in. And simply getting that information inspired me to think differently about my own health within a broader context.

What about you? Have you had the opportunity to get some information about your health that’s informed your thinking or motivated you to get into action? In what way has that helped you? I’d love to hear about your experiences and what you have to say!