While working in the EMT and Paramedic industry and other Allied Health professions, it can not escape your notice how important your own physical and psychological health is in serving others. In fact, if you are studying to become a paramedic or getting a political science major, your own personal health should always be your first priority. The various states of good and ill physical health can be viewed as points on a continuum. At one end is early and needless death; at the other is optimal wellness, in which you feel and perform at your very best. In the middle, individuals are neither sick enough to need medical attention nor well enough to live each day with zest and vigor. For the sake of optimal physical health, we must make positive steps away from illness, and toward well-being. We must feed our bodies nutritiously, exercise them regularly, avoid harmful behaviors, and substances, watch for early signs of sickness and protect ourselves from accidents.
Our psychological health is just as important as physical health. Like physical well-being, psychological health is more than the absence of problems or illness. Psychological health refers to both our emotional and mental states such as; our feelings, and our thoughts. It involves awareness, and acceptance of a wide range of feelings in oneself and others, the ability to express emotions, to function independently, and to cope with the challenges of daily stressors.
While working in a line of work that cares for others, it is often easy to overlook our own health needs. Please take the time to care for yourself and your body.
