Last night we watched the President’s “State of the Union” speech. For those of you expecting my personal opinion about the quality/substance of the talk, that ain’t gonna happen here. I am your doctor and my personal political opinions should have no place in my role in trying to help you become healthier.
The “State Of The Union” delivered by the President is actually mandated in the U.S. Constitution and George Washington delivered the first SOU in 1790. Actually, most of the SOU were delivered in written form until Woodrow Wilson’s presidency and except for Herbert Hoover, every President has provided the SOU as a speech. Since Franklin Roosevelt, every SOU speech has been delivered in a joint session of Congress.
Okay, enough history of State of the Union speeches and now focusing on health: Do YOU, at least once a year, take time to focus on the state of “YOU”? I am referring to self-evaluating or having a professional(s) dive deeply into how you are physically and psychologically doing. Have you had:
- A yearly thorough physical exam?
- Lab testing to ensure there is no diabetes, high cholesterol, liver, kidney or other abnormalities?
- A body composition analysis to see how high your percentage body fat is?
- Cancer screenings?
- Mental health evaluation?
It is vitally important to regularly check on the state of “YOU”. Way too often I have seen patients that fail to do this periodic health “audit” due to lack of time. They are so focused on their families, their jobs and other responsibilities to the point of not focusing in the least on themselves.
The last several years have tried us in so many ways. Between the pandemic and its reverberations, the inflation rate and the potential of World War 3 with threats of nuclear devastation, we have all been subjected to more stress than ever. Please take the time to prepare, focus and evaluate the “State Of YOU” and take the necessary steps to ensure that next year you can honestly say that you are “better off” now than you were the year(s) before.
