Small steps you can take to start 2020 with the healthiest version of yourself

Surveys conducted at every start of the year reveal that people's resolutions often include: becoming healthier in mind and body, quitting vices, and practicing more health-enhancing activities.

Everyone goes through it—a sudden realization to act on their health, an impulse to run a mile, hit the gym, or go organic for a week. But once this spontaneous willpower fades, what is left is the urge to cave in to cravings and go back to old habits.

Do not lose hope, here is a guide to help you get to the healthiest version of yourself.

Physical care

Never rush through a lifestyle change. This is a process that needs conditioning and gradual adaptation. For instance, jumping to veganism right from a meat-centered diet may create negative effects and changes that one's body will not be able to quickly and properly adjust to.

If you wish to subscribe to a diet or a new exercise routine, it is better to consult a health professional so that you will know if the plan will suit you and how to properly implement it.

Go for regular check-ups. This significantly minimizes the chances of illnesses to come about, or from developing further if already present.

Indulge in a healthy hobby and invest in it. Enjoying life's pleasures outside of work or any routine uncovers self-realizations and skills, building a well-rounded life in the process. It helps relieve stress and teach the value of patience.

Emotional care

Secure a reliable support system by building healthy relationships. This is a constructive way to achieve holistic wellness, as medical experts note that sharing healthy connections enriches heart health, at the same time lessens pain through quicker healing.

Express your feelings and listen objectively to advice. Oftentimes, life brings events that can trigger very strong emotions, which for the most part, get bottled up for fear of being misjudged. While there are toxic ways of expressing one's feelings, other ways such as engaging attentively in stimulating and encouraging conversations, is one that can efficiently embrace expression.

Take a step back from time to time and reassess your life goals. By tracking your progress, you will be able to identify the factors that supposedly hinders you, and those that positively push your goals to the right direction. Emotions are put on the most suitable timing when priorities are aligned regularly.

Mental care
 

Face the problem, do not run away from it entirely. Mental health is all the more compromised when worries compound until there is no room left to think of anything else other than the problems at hand. Go easy and start managing one problem, before proceeding to find solutions for another.

Do not hesitate to ask for help. By nature, humans are supposed to lean on each other. This is not to say be completely dependent on someone else, but rather be more accepting of people who willingly offer their time, effort, or resources for your betterment.

Drink water substantially. Hydration is a necessity that has been overlooked more times than it should. When it comes to mental health, hydration is of critical essence since the mind relies heavily on it. When the brain is dehydrated, mood is greatly affected and cognitive and motor skills decline.

Secure a health insurance plan

Stress is doubled when emergencies happen, which opens the door to financial vulnerability—a standard root cause of a dramatic decline in physical, emotional, and mental health. One effective way to counteract an emergency is by securing a health insurance plan well in advance.

AXA, among the country's leading players in the health insurance industry, offers several health plans to choose from depending on one's needs and lifestyle.

Because emergencies or accidents are unpredictable and unforeseen eventualities, they could take a heavy toll on one's finances. AXA takes care of this through its recently introduced Health Start—a health plan that offers coverage for the top three major critical conditions which are cancer, heart attack, and stroke, and some of their minor forms.

Moreover, customers up to 65 years of age can still apply and get a coverage that can last until they turn a hundred years old.

For a minimum monthly payment of as low as P1,500 for Health Start (individual coverage) or P1,950 for Health Start Family, one is already protected and will be provided the best possible coverage, not only for themselves but also for their family.

Health Start also offers life insurance to ensure that one's family will receive the life benefit in the case of their untimely demise. Standard premiums will be returned by age 75, while the remainder will continue to be their coverage for illnesses or death until age 100.

It also offers child coverage, with a one-time P200,000 benefit for covered child conditions. This is on top of the plan's overall sum insured.

There is a suitable plan for everyone—from single persons to families. Health Start for individuals covers critical illnesses and comes with a built-in child coverage against select child conditions and is available for one's child now or in the future. Health Start Family, which can be shared between spouses, a parent, an adult child (18 years old and above), or a sibling, also includes a built-in child coverage.

To know more about other services and products provided by AXA, talk to an AXA Financial Advisor today or visit www.axa.com.ph/healthstart.

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