Five Things Women Need to Know About Their Health

Five things Women Need to Know About Their Health (And it isn’t a secret)

Occasionally I am invited to speak to women’s groups. Most of the time whoever is hosting the event chooses the topic but there are a couple of things I always find a way to mention.

1, Take Care of Yourself – Women are notorious for taking care of everyone but themselves. They make sure everyone in the family has everything they need, but they don’t make time to have an annual physical examination, get a mammogram or a colonoscopy.

For the first time in a long time white women are dying at a slightly younger age than in the past according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Health Statistics. (report) For the age group 25 to 54, suicide went up and accidental poisonings which is alcohol and drug poisoning, and chronic liver disease.

There’s good news, too, though. There was a 25 percent drop for blacks in their overall death rate between 1999 and 2015. Thankfully, deaths from heart disease, stroke and cancer decreased sharply among blacks age 65 and older. In that age group blacks now have a lower death rate than whites according to the CDC. Which brings me to the next thing women need to remember.

2. If you or someone you love suffers from depression or anxiety get help now.

After one recent speaking engagement a woman came up to me afterwards and told me about her son. “We knew he was depressed,” she said, “but we never suspected he was suicidal. He killed himself when he was 27 years old.”

According to The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depression is treatable. It is an illness that affects the way a person feels, thinks, behaves, and functions. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. In 2014, around 15.7 million adults age 18 or older in the U.S. had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, which represented 6.7 percent of all American adults. At any point in time, 3 to 5 percent of adults suffer from major depression; the lifetime risk is about 17 percent. As many as 2 out of 100 young children and 8 out of 100 teens may have serious depression.

That’s a lot of depressed people and it’s a serious problem. It’s important to get help as soon as possible and here is a good place to start. Don’t wait to see if things get better-get help.

3, We all have problems and there are no perfect families. 

I don’t know why people believe that other people have perfect lives. Maybe it’s because social media makes us all look like we are happy all the time and we never have any problems. The problem is that’s a BIG FAT LIE. Every single person on Facebook has problems. Maybe they are late on their house payment, or their husband just lost their job, or their kid just got arrested for smoking pot at school, but guess what? They aren’t going to put that on Facebook. We only see what others want us to see and that’s okay as long as we realize it’s NOT real life.

More often than not it’s not really Facebook, it’s Fakebook.

4. Heart Disease is the number one killer of women. Know what the signs and dangers are and do something about it. These statistics can be viewed here.

• • Cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.An estimated 44 million women in the U.S. are affected by cardiovascular diseases.

• 90% of women have one or more risk factors for heart disease or stroke.
• Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men.
• 80% of heart disease and stroke events may be prevented by lifestyle changes and education
• Fewer women than men survive their first heart attack.
• The symptoms of heart attack can be different in women vs. men, and are often misunderstood – even by some physicians.
• Women who are involved with the Go Red For Women movement live healthier lives.
• When you get involved in supporting Go Red For Women by advocating, fundraising and sharing your story, more lives are saved.
• You can get involved with Go Red For Women here.

5. You are NOT alone. Talk to your spouse, find a friend, call a support group, talk to a counselor, doctor or minister depending on what your problems is. There is always someone who can listen and help. Always! You are NOT alone!

I believe these are five things women need to know about her health. What do you think? Can you add to the list? Is there something else women should remember?