Health
Your mind depends on your body. So, to a fair extent, do your emotions. If you let your health slide down the drain, your academic work and your ability to deal with life will suffer.
Things you might need to keep in mind:
- You need light to be healthy. Too much light, though, or the wrong kind, can wreck your eyes.
- You need sleep to be healthy.
- You need food to be healthy. In particular, be aware of what kinds of protein, vitamins and minerals you may need or be lacking. Your body already knows what you need. It's really quiet, so it's hard to hear, but if you listen carefully, you will hear the different foods talking to you, and your own body talking to you, telling you what foods have the right nutrients for you. Learn to know what you need to eat and not what you crave. If you are trying out vegetarianism for the first time, learn from friends or books what to be aware of in terms of nutrition.
- You need water. Dehydration is difficult to recognize if you don't know what it's like, and carrying around water seems like a chore, but there are places where it is vital to do so.
- You need to be aware of what kinds of poisons you are taking into your body. Food additives, car pollution, magnetic fields from computer screens, stuff in the tap water, smoke, and drugs like nicotine, miraa, or alcohol.
- You need a certain level of cleanliness to be able to count on health. Wash your dishes and clothes, bathe, brush your teeth, etc. Keep your living space and work space clean enough that you aren't likely to catch diseases from them.
- Prevention is the best cure. Have the right kinds of clothes, learn what is safe to eat and drink and do in the area where you are, protect yourself against insects that can give you diseases, be aware of how you feel so you can start taking care of yourself BEFORE you actually get really sick and waste precious time.
- Your health is also dependent on your mental and emotional well-being. You are more likely to get sick if you are really stressed (section H.3)or have been tiring yourself out with too much work (whether mental or physical).
- This is not the place for a discussion of anti-malaria drugs. Friends World cannot give advice on these kinds of health issues. Friends World's policy is to refer students to their doctors and to the Center for Disease Control (in the United States) for up-to-date information. The CDC Malaria Hotline number in Atlanta, Georgia, is (404) 332-4555. The CDC home page is at http://www.cdc.gov/ and their malaria brochure is online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/publications/brochures/malaria.htm . These pages can give you lots of information, but are not a substitute for up-to-date info from the phone number above, or from your doctor.
Workshop Discussion Sparks
- Know and discuss all the local health risks.
Inspired and Creative
Rigorous Training
- Experiment a little with how hard you can push yourself with sleep and stress, long before the crisis hits, to find out what your limits are so that you can stay within them.
AAAAAGGGHHHH!
- If you're a little sick, sleep extra. If you're very sick, see a doctor, now!
See Also
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