Our Many Roles
Wife, Mother, Friend, Sister, Partner, Breadwinner, Homemaker, Family Caretaker – these are just a few titles of the different roles in our lives as women. With the numerous roles we play it’s not always easy to find the time and energy to take care of ourselves. However, our health matters to us and our health matters to our families. We can’t give our loved ones the care and attention they need if we don’t take care of ourselves. A friend once told me, “You can’t pour from an empty cup, take care of yourself first”. This should be the first rule in Mom Care 101. I have thought of my friends wise advice during my toughest times as a mom. It’s so true because we simply can’t pour into others from an empty cup! I am a Kaiser Permanente Orange County Thrive Ambassador, all opinions are my own.
I recently had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates, a Family Medicine doctor with Kaiser Permanente Orange County about women’s health and the importance of routine check-ups. Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates assured me that taking care of ourselves and our families doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of time. However, getting all of our recommended health screenings and living a healthy lifestyle can reduce our risk of preventable diseases and also help keep us feeling our best at every life stage.
Me and my youngest, taking a moment out of our busy day to catch our breath
Leader of the family
According to Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates – we, as leaders of the family, often overlook taking care of ourselves. We often ignore our needs and reduce ourselves to a lower priority than the rest of our loved ones. Therefore we often don’t catch things as early. Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates suggests that (although the official recommendations vary depending on the patients age) women less than 50 years old with no complications receive a preventative care checkup every 4 to 5 years. Of course popping in to your doctors office whenever you have any health concerns is always ok too.
Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates says it is important for women in particular to pay attention to their health because we often brush off symptoms of serious conditions. When you’re busy, it can be easy to think something that’s bothering you isn’t a big deal. But there are signs and symptoms that you should not ignore. Heart Disease, which is common in women presents itself differently in women as apposed to men. The typical presentation of Heart Disease in women is fatigue, which as moms we know is easy to brush off as being “too busy”.
When you’re busy, it can be easy to think something that’s bothering you isn’t a big deal. But there are signs and symptoms that you should not ignore. I recently stumbled across the Kaiser Permanente online Symptom Checker which is an amazing online tool for helping decisions to see a doctor.
Taking time out just for me at the mud spa!
Doing What You Can, When You Can
When the days are particularly long, stressful or busy it’s easy to get caught up and overdue it. Sometimes, all it takes is doing something I enjoy every day – even if for just a few moments to have the ability to de-stress and recalibrate. The best piece of information I received from Dr. Liza Eshilian-Oates was the emphasis on self-care we need to do as women when we’re younger. The child-rearing years can be some of the best years of our lives, but they’re also the most stressful. If we are able to take care of ourselves along the way that will help our overall health in the long run. Now I don’t feel so bad going to the spa once every few months for a completely free kid day!
Kaiser Permanente Orange County
Kaiser Permanente Orange County are the experts in medical care. Whereas we’re the expert in ourselves. Thankfully Kaiser Permanent cares about our overall health and well being. At Kaiser Permanente Orange County, all our care is connected. Our primary care doctor will work together with us and the rest of our care team to diagnose conditions that affect our overall health and wellness and coordinate all aspects of our medical care.
