I’ll cut right to the chase. The best way to make your aches and pains permanent is to ignore them.
That’s right ... “Ignore them.”
Does your back hurt? Ignore it, and maybe that simple surgery that you need (but are afraid of) will become so serious that it is no longer an option. We had an elderly friend that had that very situation. Her back was in desperate need of a surgical procedure that really wasn’t all that difficult to endure. She was afraid of it, though, and put it off and put it off until the condition was too advanced and she was too old to go through it. The result: she had to live with her considerable discomfort, which had become much more serious because of her fear of correcting it. She suffered until the day she died.
Feel a lump in your breast? Ignore it and, if it’s cancer, it will take hold in your body so that no matter what you do or when you do it, it won’t help. I have a friend who is a former surgical oncologist who had just such a patient. The woman had noticed the lump OVER A YEAR EARLIER but ignored it, so when it was finally so large that she came in for an exam it was too late. The cancer had spread throughout her body and she died after six miserable months of treatments trying to knock it down. The truly sad part is that removing the lump would probably have been a minor bump in the road for this woman had she come in when she first noticed it. In other words, SHE DIED because she chose to ignore the lump. It doesn’t get much more serious than that.
Whatever your ache or pain, if it’s something new have it looked at right away. See a new spot on your skin? Let the doctor decide that it’s nothing to worry about, don’t “decide” that for yourself. If your knee suddenly starts to “click” when you walk, have it looked at before it becomes so bad that you can’t put any weight on it.
And on and on and on ...
You have the ultimate responsibility for your own health, and it’s not just for your own welfare but also for the welfare of all those who depend on you.
It can be scary to learn the truth, but the reality is that it’s scarier to avoid it.
Edited by Jody Smith
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