Well Being, Being Well: Women's Wellness Across the Lifespan

How long will you live?

To what age is it possible for a human to live?

Women have changing needs for health and wellness information throughout their lifespan. Many of us are easily distracted from focusing on the important decisions that can affect our lives. Often we are bombarded with the disease of the day on our morning or evening news.

To focus on what is really important, a woman needs to consider:

BALANCE

her family history

the most common problems in her age, racial group (LifeScan)

the health and medical resources available to her

her social support system

the essentials of life

BALANCE (The Six Dimensions of Wellness)

BALANCE

Women today, more than any time in human history, have multiple intense demands on their time. Home management, family, work, social obligations are just a few common responsibilities assumed by many modern women.

Family History

It is important to consider one's family history. If there are certain illnesses common in your family, it is important to find out if you have an increased risk of these diseases. If you do, it is important to do the recommended preventive activities.

LifeScan

Using a health risk appraisal like LifeScan can assist people in identifying the top ten causes of death they face based on risk of death tables (individualized for age, race and sex). The data is further refined by individual behaviors, known risk factors and precursors. It is one way to objectively identify the problems that deserve careful attention during scheduled checkups.

Preventive Services Guidelines

There are certain recommended preventive services that may be important for early detection of diseases such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, and ovarian cancer. You can check the Recommended Preventive Services Guidelines

Social Support System

Research done by epidemiologists indicate that social support systems are critical positive factors leading to increasing useful longevity. Most women are skilled at developing close, supportive relationships. For each age group, there are older women who have successfully managed the issues of the next generation. Women could serve as mentors for other women.

The Essentials of Life

The essentials of life are those behaviors that are necessary for life to continue. It is amazing how many people ignore the importance of the essentials.

Air Breath the cleanest air you can.

Water Drink enough water to keep your urine light yellow to clear.

Food Balance your intake with your activity needs

Activity Exercise enough to keep your heart rate 60 or less

Sex Every family needs sexual activity for reproduction

In reality, it is not sexuality that is an essential of life. People actually have great needs for touch and intimacy. If a baby does not get touch, it will fail to thrive. Just like babies, adults need touch. Adults also need intimacy. Some people put up with horrendous sexual activity to get the touch and intimacy that they really need.

If you want to know what Americans really believe,

Don't read what they write,

Don't listen to what they say,

Just follow their money.

Last year, according to the February 10^th, 1997 issue of U.S. News and World Report,

$8 billion was spent on pornography. One could conclude that there is at least $8 billion worth of interest in sexuality. Much of this money is spent on hard-core videos. There were 8000 hard-core videos released in 1995. Last year it is estimated that between $750 million and $1 billion was spent on phone sex. AT&T is one of the biggest carriers of phone sex. The average call lasts 6 to 8 minutes. The cost ranges from 89 cents to $4 per minute.

BALANCE This is so important it is listed twice!

There are Six Dimensions of Wellness.

Social

Occupational

Spiritual

Physical

Intellectual

Emotional