It’s all about our individual susceptibility…

 

 

Yes, there are a list of general risk factors but how they affect each of us will be different. Both in terms of the particular risk factors that affect us AND ALSO their combination and relative strength, if that’s the right word. 

 

This means that even if one or more risk factors are affecting us, it’s still not guaranteed that x, y or z will happen. The likelihood – susceptibility – may have changed, but the end result is never guaranteed. And, yes, we know we’ve rather laboured the point but it’s really important to understand that nothing in life is 100% certain to happen. 

 

If you’re wondering what the risk factors are, they’re all the things we talk about regularly with Clients and in this blog such as: 

 

Our medical history, as well as any current medical issues and any treatment we may be having / had for them. 

 

Our Lifestyle, which covers all the things we do on a daily basis, usually without ever stopping to think about them. Diet, hydration, sleep, exercise, stress and the like. 

 

Our personality and outlook on life. Whether we’re a “glass half empty or glass half full” person. Yes, a less than positive outlook on life really does have an impact on our Immune System and susceptibility, as well as how well / quickly we recover from any illness or other challenge. 

 

But here’s the rub. These factors – and often a combination of them – not only affect our general health but also our overall susceptibility, particularly to infectious diseases. Whether Coughs and Colds, or something more serious… 

 

And, while we’re talking about risk factors, here are the top three medical ones which fuel many other chronic – long term – health problems: 

 

Obesity, for many different reasons, not only the strain it puts on the body as a whole, but also as it lowers immune function and increases susceptibility to infections generally. 

 

Diabetes, also has a knock on effect on immune function. In addition, increased blood sugar levels affect blood pressure, heart function and makes the blood more acidic which, ironically, also affects the immune response. 

 

Hypertension, high blood pressure, disrupts the immune function as well as affecting the Heart and Cardiovascular System. 

 

Sadly, it’s all too easy to see how poor lifestyle choices fuel these problems. That’s not to say it’s an easy message to hear… 

 

Other medical risk factors include any chronic – ongoing – illness for the simple reason of the strain it places on the body as a whole.  

Top of the list would be those with: 

 

 

Finally, here are two other risk factors which you may not have thought of: 

 

Those of older years (!), say, over 70 years of age, as the body functions less efficiently overall as we age. Although, having said that, the good news is that older people in good health and without any chronic health issues, do not usually have any greater susceptibility than those of younger years (!). 

 

Pregnancy, again, due to the greater demands already being placed on the body by the pregnancy although with the same caveat as for older people. 

 

And here’s something else that often surprises people. How much our underlying – or long term – susceptibility, fluctuates on a day to day basis. This is in response to what may be happening to us – or around us – at any particular moment or on a particular day and, just as important, how we feel about it. 

 

We’ve all experienced this firsthand. Feeling our energy / mood drop during a stressful day, or in response to a stressful experience, whether expected or not. Finding that things which wouldn’t normally affect us – or press our buttons – seem to be doing so. These, in turn, all hit our individual susceptibility, whether for that particular moment or, if it’s more of an ongoing issue, on an ongoing basis. 

 

This is the reason why people often find they unexpectedly have a Cold after a stressful experience. Or, where the stress is more ongoing, this can really hit their ongoing susceptibility. Often leading to one Cold after another or one that drags on and never quite seems to clear. 

 

It also explains how you can be in the same room, bus or train with someone with a Cold – or other bug – and not then go on to develop it. You simply weren’t susceptible to whatever it was at that particular time. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t be at another time… 

 

This is why lifestyle issues and choices are so important. Not only the ongoing ones – however much you may try to ignore them (!) – but also the small blips. A broken night – or night’s – sleep. Eating the “wrong” things. A night out on the tiles (!). An emotional upset, regardless of size and how much it seemed to affect you at the time. 

 

And we know what some of you are thinking. What about all those people who seem to be exceptions to the susceptibility “rule”? 

 

The ones who seem to make all the “wrong” choices health wise in life but seem to escape unscathed? Well, while this may seem to be the case now, things do tend to catch up with them in some way and at some stage; even if it’s many years – or decades – later… Smokers, drinkers, stress bunnies, couch potatoes. 

 

Or, those doing some of the “right things”, while being careful to keep the “wrong things” hidden. And, however much people may like to think they can out exercise a poor diet or heavy drinking, this is never the case. You know who you are! 

 

Similarly, there are also those who seem to be doing all the “right things” but don’t reap the benefits. Ironically, the reason for this is often that these “positive” choices are being made negatively. In other words, are fuelled by fear and not wanting to be ill, rather than focussing on what they really want, to be healthy. “I don’t want to be ill / to succumb to x, y or z.” While these may sound like the same end result, unfortunately, focussing on avoiding what we don’t want will never bring us what we do… 

 

Added to this, all the negative energy being poured into the situation on an ongoing basis PLUS having to work at making the “right” choices, quickly erodes away the positive effect of all the “right” things being done. This is why we talk so much about Mindset, as this is often the difference between someone doing well or not. 

 

The bottom line – and good news – is that we all have much more control over our lives than we would like to admit. Once we know a little about how our bodies work AND what the general risk factors are, we can easily take steps to address the ones which affect us in particular. 

 

And, as an aside, for those of you who still want a Bogeyman “out there” to point the finger at, let’s quickly dispel another all too common myth before we finish for today. One that has been getting a lot of attention in the mainstream media in recent years. That your genetics are fixed at birth and determine your lifelong health. So, your genetics mean you’re virtually guaranteed to suffer from certain issues – or similar ones – to your parents and wider family. 

 

Well, research is increasingly showing this is not the case. The fascinating – and still controversial, as far as mainstream medicine is concerned – field of Epigenetics demonstrates that our genes can be turned “on” and “off” at different times. And guess what determines this? Yes, the simple things we do every day. The way we live our lives…. 

 

So, once again, we’d like to leave you with a very positive message. There never was a Bogeyman out there waiting to strike, it really is all down to each of us, our individual susceptibility and the choices we make every day. 

 

As always, the choice is yours.