Whether it's my physical health or my mental health, I always seem to be struggling with something on a day to day basis. I'm not here to complain about the things I deal with but rather shed light on the fact that it's important to put your health first.
I'm a full-time college student along with having a part-time job and responsibilities outside of school. I have Type 1 diabetes as well, which means that my body doesn't produce insulin on its own so every day I must inject insulin into my body to keep my blood sugar levels in check. I have been dealing with my diabetes since I was 9 and it will continue to be ongoing. I have a pretty set routine for stuff dealing with my diabetes, I deal with some issues popping up here and there but for the most part, it's doing pretty well. My health when it comes to my diabetes is important.
Recently, I've been dealing with some physical health problems. On any given day I can be dealing with nausea, severe headaches or even both on some days. I've been trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with me, googling my symptoms and ending up in the black hole of the internet health scares. On some days it's my mental health giving me problems. It's usually a mixture of anxiety and stress towards getting a homework assignment or presentation done.
What I've learned from all of this is that it's OK to give yourself a day off or even just to cut yourself some slack and relax for a bit. I'm the type of person where I enjoy going to the gym and working out but if I feel nauseous it's OK to skip the gym that day or to cut back on my workout a little bit. Yes, it's great to have self-discipline but if I just keep pushing and pushing myself to go harder and harder, I'm just going to burn myself out really quickly. I learned that if I have a wicked migraine it's OK to push that homework back a little bit more and tackle it when I can actually focus on it to my full potential. You shouldn't feel guilty for putting your health first because, in the long term, it will pay off.
