What Problem?

Written by David Junno Psy.D.


What Problem?

"So what if I have high cholesterol, I don't notice any problem. Anyway, we all have to die eventually."Sound familiar? Many of us have said things like this when we have been faced with having high cholesterol. There are two problems with these statements.

First, high cholesterol is a silent killer. You only notice a problem when it is too late. One ofrepparttar first signs of heart disease is death. You will not noticerepparttar 115783 cholesterol building up in your blood stream until it blocksrepparttar 115784 blood vessel and you have a heart attack.

So not noticing any symptoms is not a realistic assessment of your risk of heart disease.

Second, we might say it is our choice to not change our lifestyle to improve our health. But are we really making a choice or avoiding a problem? Prochaska, Norcross and DiClemente, in their book, Changing for Good, suggest asking yourselfrepparttar 115785 following questions to determine if you are making a choice or have a problem.

1. Am I willing to talk aboutrepparttar 115786 issue?

People who are really making a choice are able to discussrepparttar 115787 issue. They are open to learning about it. People who have a problem avoid discussingrepparttar 115788 issue and don't want new information.

2. Am I aware ofrepparttar 115789 consequences of not taking action?

This includes being willing to fully consider what it might be like for you to have a heart attack, and if you are lucky, be rushed torepparttar 115790 hospital. What it might mean for you if you end up disabled and unable to dorepparttar 115791 things you currently enjoy. What it might mean to your friends and family if you are disabled or die.

What Makes It Hard to Change

Written by David Junno Psy.D.


What Makes It Hard To Change? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Many of us have been given news by our doctors that we need to make some lifestyle changes to ensure continued good health.

These changes can include:

·Losing weight ·Exercising more ·Stopping smoking ·Reducing stress in our lives ·Reducing drinking

All of these are great suggestions and could improve our health. The problem is most of us are not ready to make these changes just because we hear they are helpful.

Prochaska in his book, Changing For Good, cites research that ofrepparttar people needing to make changes in areas like those mention above only about 20% are ready to do it.

Why might that be?

There are a number of reasons we might not be ready to make a change to improve our health. Here are just a few:

·We do not see it as a problem ·We see a problem but are not what to do to help ·We fear that we won’t be able to makerepparttar 115782 repparttar 115783 necessary changes and don’t want to risk failure ·We have tried before unsuccessfully so are discouraged and feeling we can not makerepparttar 115784 necessary changes

These are just a few reasons. The bottom line is they all lead torepparttar 115785 same result- doing nothing.

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