I have always had a lot of anxiety about my health.

I wouldn’t consider myself a typically anxious person, but as soon as I think I’m coming down with something, my panic level hits the roof.

I’ve never been diagnosed with any kind of anxiety condition, but despite the fact that I’ve never been a particularly unhealthy person, I worry on a very regular basis about my health and well-being.

Most people get nervous when they think they might be catching the flu, but my head takes that fear to the extreme. A sore throat can turn into tonsil cancer, a semi-rapid heartbeat turns into a heart attack, and even something as minor as a sore back or a tooth ache can often become much more extreme than it needs to be.

Don’t get me wrong, some things do help. A healthy diet, occasional exercise, a good night’s sleep, long bubble baths, hot tea, and hot water bottles can provide me with some peace of mind. I recently purchased John Hancock life insurance with Vitality and with it came an Apple Watch that monitors my vitals and you’d be surprised how nice it is to get minute-by-minute updates telling me all is well. I also take time to monitor how I feel and think every day, and see the doctor as often as I need to to set my fears at ease. These are just things that I do because they are necessary for me not to worry as often about waking up one morning with some life-threatening condition that I couldn’t have predicted or prepared for.

The reasons that I say all of this are really two-fold. First, I want to share my experiences in a light-hearted way, so that others who might be going through similar things can know that they are not alone. Plenty of people out there feel similar things to these, and worry the same way that I do, and it always helps to know that you’re not crazy or alone.

Secondly, this is just a friendly reminder of how important our healthcare system is for people like me and for everyone else. One thing I’m learning as I’m getting older is that it’s important for me, and for everyone else, to take our heath into our own hands. If I think something is wrong, I need to get it checked out. Not long ago, someone I care a lot about found out that a small health concern they had was actually far more serious than we could have ever dreamed. If they hadn’t gotten it looked at when they did, it could have escalated and gotten much, much worse. And that’s true for all of us, too. Fevers can spike and infections can spread. Going to the doctor and talking about your concerns is very important and we can’t always just think that taking some over-the-counter meds and drinking more water is going to cure us all the time.

And equally as important is making sure that your concerns are heard and addressed properly when you’re speaking to a healthcare professional. Far too often I’ve heard of instances where people go and speak to their doctors or specialists about what they think is wrong with them and end up hearing that there isn’t anything that can be done, or there isn’t anything wrong at all. Don’t ever accept answers that you truly believe aren’t helpful or correct - keep asking questions until someone answers them. It only benefits you in the end.

All in all, I just want to make it known how grateful I am to live in a place where healthcare is accessible to me and helpful for me. I can’t imagine what I’d do without my doctors who have listened and helped me through some of the scariest moments in my life and helped my friends and family through the scariest moments in theirs.

I speak often about the importance of taking care of ourselves. Self-care is critical, and a large part of that is making sure that you are healthy and feeling good. I’m not saying that every person should become a borderline hypochondriac like me, because I wouldn’t wish my worried mind on anyone. But take it from me - the best part about being someone who often worries about being sick is that I am ten times as grateful for the times when I’m not. So don’t be that person who has to find out what it’s really like to be ill before they realize how great it was to be well. And when ever, and if ever, you think something might be wrong, don’t wait until it’s too late to get it checked out.

In the end, just remember to always take care of your body, friends, because you only get one of them to begin with and it’s gotta last you your whole life.