Not all of us think an apple day a day is enough for health. Some of us go the extra mile to reach our fitness goals. It’s nothing to be shy of if you care about your well-being. From maintaining a good diet and being active, to pursuing medical via an online science degree, all of it is beneficial for you. But sometimes you can go a bit too far. So to assure you whether you are on the right path, we enquired medical professionals. We asked them about indicators that highlight the difference between a positive relationship with health and obsession with it. These are the 10 gold-star seals they identified:
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Online search machine:
If you reach for the internet as you feel something out of the ordinary, and search our symptoms on google, then it indicates that you yearn to be healthy ASAP. This shows that you are not ready to waste any time and suffer. This is good to the extent of self-knowledge and but not self-cure. It is not healthy to find a cure online as a professional visit is a must; it is an obsession that can go out of hand if you start typing at the slightest ache or delusion. You will find yourself consumed by the depth of big data and succumb to it. So only search to the extent of finding the cause of your suffering and leave the rest on your doctor!
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Obsession with a healthy diet
Eating good food is beneficial for your health but being afraid of food is completely another story. If you watch your calories and eat a well-balanced diet, that’s a good sign. But if your patterns are very strict and stress you out, then this means you are obsessed with food. Some of the indicators of this are; you have a list of food you can eat or not eat, you get anxious if you eat something other than your pre-decided meals, you work out extremely if you cheat on food, etc. All these signs are not good as they have been clinically diagnosed by the American Psychiatric Association as Orthorexia. Instead of having a positive effect on your health, this extreme form of diet consciousness will ruin your mental peace.
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Extreme workouts
Being active has never done any harm. But there is a vast difference between an optimal level of activity for fitness and extreme workouts. Half an hour a day of balanced exercise is considered healthy. But you cannot categorize 2-3 hours in the gym doing intense exercise as a healthy habit. So if you spend more time with your gym machines than with yourself then that means you are obsessed. If you feel anxious if you miss a workout, or try to burn every calorie you consume, then you are on the wrong track. This obsession will only drain you and leave you with an overtired body and stress.
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Frequent doctor visits
Doctors can only be beneficial when needed. Going to them when symptoms are visible and having a yearly checkup is ideal. But if you are calling your doctor at the slightest delusion of pain, then this means you are going too far. You will end up just wasting both your time as well as your doctor’s time. Moreover, if you haven’t visited any health practitioner in a month and this frustrates you, then it is a sign of your obsession as well. Instead of being thankful, you are adamant about finding flaws that are not there!
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Fanatic about sleep
Having ample rest leads to good health. But being fixated on your sleep routine can ruin it. This is because you will not be able to functions after your self-set sleeping time. Your brain will be become habituated to sleep for specific hours and won’t be able to shut down at unprecedented times. Your body may be tired, but your mental state won’t let you sleep because you have conditioned yourself to sleep at only specific times. This obsession can harm you both physically and mentally as you won’t be able to adapt to different sleep patterns. It will either lead to over or undersleeping and might cause insomnia as well.
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Addicted to supplements
Having a balanced dose of all nutrients is necessary for growth and proper functioning. As you cannot get all minerals from food, supplements have become necessary for an optimal diet. But becoming dependent on them and taking them in excessive amounts can do more harm than good. If you are taking them without a doctor’s prescription and in large amounts frequently, it is a sign that you are obsessed with your health. You are going too far and are consuming supplements just to gain short term benefits. This obsession is unhealthy, as anything in excess can cause harm. You never know when the wrong dose will take its toll. Thus it is advised only to try to break off the habit once the deficiency is eliminated
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Avoiding eating out
It’s good if you prefer home-cooked meals instead of dining out as it is healthier. But to completely avoid eating out and rejecting social gatherings just because there will be food is a mere obsession. So if you evade dining out just to avoid food, it is a sign that you are becoming an extremist. Eating out once in a while doesn’t bring more harm than worrying about it. There are organic dishes to try, as well. So if you are afraid to go out and try them, then that means you are boxing yourself in and missing out on both mental and physical well-being
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You detox erratically
Detoxifying is good as it cleanses your body. But it should be done in an optimal manner. If you are doing so when you “need to get back on track” then it can be harmful. Detox is not a child’s play and cannot be carried out whenever you like. So if you are obsessed with it, then it can drain beneficial nutrients and leave you malnourished. Erratic detoxification caused by the desire to lose weight is a sign of a disorder. You should only carry it out after giving an ample gap for your body to recover!
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You lean on only one set of food
Staying away from some nutrients and leaning on just one set of macronutrients is also a sign of obsession. These usually take the form of specific diets such as Atkins, keto, etc. So if you chose only carbs or ate only protein, this means that you are immoderate. This might not affect you in the short run, but with time your body will become deficient as it demands a balanced diet!
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You preach and preach
Caring about others’ wellbeing is a noble cause. But demanding them to follow the same health routine as yours can is fanatical. If you preach excessively about health without being a skilled practitioner, then you are crossing the limits. You are passing your obsession to others which is radical. So try to be moderate yourself and let others follow their own lifestyle!
Conclusion
People think it is a good thing to delve more into something. But with heath, there has to be some limit. You can go overboard easily. So adopt a balanced approach rather than an excessive one as great things come in small packages!
