Your Body Is Talking. Are You Listening

By Lawal Opeyemi Martha U21mm2009

Most health issues start out as whispers rather than loud cries. Unusual exhaustion here, a dull ache there, possibly a loss of appetite or irregular sleep habits. These minor indicators are your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.

Therefore, health issues do not just explode, it’s usually a result of symptoms we fail to give attention to. Our body speaks, but we are either too busy to listen or too carefree to notice. Many of our medical conditions today are simply communication from our body that we failed to acknowledge.

According to Professor Ifeoma Okoye, a Professor of Radiation Medicine at the College of Medicine, Nsukka/University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu State says “one out of every five persons with cancer die because of late detection due to lack of planned and structured screening programmes.” This reminds us that failure to listen to our body’s early signals can cost us our lives.

“Health is wealth,” they say, but just like money, health that is not maintained will be lost. Ignore your health, and it will quietly fade away. Just like a car requires regular servicing to function, so does our body. There is a Spanish proverb that says, “A man who is too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” The more care you give your body, the better the results it gives back.

Many adults continue with the same habits they had in their youth such as unhealthy eating, constant stress, poor sleep, and hustle culture. Unfortunately, as the body ages, it begins to lose its resistance and strength. Eventually, these habits overwhelm your organs, leading to issues like kidney failure, high blood pressure, and more.

Most medical conditions originate from what we eat and how we eat. As we grow, we must become more careful with our diets. For instance, too much cholesterol may not affect us as youth but becomes dangerous as we age. Sugar, too, is tolerated less by the body with time, leading to diabetes and related conditions.

We often endanger our hearts by combining poor eating with excessive worry and hustle without rest. Over time, this takes a toll. Even nutritious food, when eaten at the wrong time or in excess, can become a threat. Add in emotional stress and lack of rest, and you’re setting yourself up for a crisis.

It's important to know when and what to eat. It's crucial to combine this with enough sleep. Early warning indicators like frequent headaches, exhaustion, or changes in bowel habits are often disregarded. They turn to self-medication to provide short-term respite from potentially fatal conditions.

Hence, self-medication can hide bigger problems. Many of us treat symptoms without visiting the hospital. We assume it’s “just stress” or “just malaria,” when in fact it could be the early stages of hypertension, diabetes, or cancer. Regular medical checkups can help detect hidden illnesses early and allow for quicker treatment.

Finally, pay attention to your body's whispers. Prevention is always more cost effective than treatment. Get regular checkups, eat healthily, get enough sleep, and exercise frequently. Your body sends quiet warnings before the explosion. Listen early. Act quickly. Live healthier.