No more pills but a financial breakthrough

Actually, medicines do not solve everything since human well-being cannot be completely disassociated from habits developed over time. Our habits, both good and bad, can slowly become very ingrained without us noticing their effect until it is hard to modify them. Little wonder Samuel Johnson remarked, "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Addiction sometimes starts with apparently insignificant acts and decisions rather than always from a sudden, dramatic event. Regular habits, therefore, slowly accumulate and provide a fertile ground for the development of addiction. Whether it's the daily use of a seemingly harmless substance, the reliance on a specific coping strategy, or even the constant exposure to some surroundings, these behaviors may unconsciously set the ground for addiction to develop and eventually call for medicine.

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I clearly remember a period when a change in my habits caused my life to be healthier. This happened when I finally got a job after many years searching for jobs on the streets of Lagos, I couldn't be healthier because I was always buried in my thoughts, headaches were the order of the day in my life then. Tough, hard for me to satisfy some financial needs, which makes me agitated somewhat, and over time, but when I got a job, it disappeared without treatment.

You can call it financial sickness. Still, the quote by Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," speaks volumes during this difficult time: "It is not how much money you earn, but how much money you retain, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you hold it for." Based on this quote, my view evolved, and happily, when the Lagos State Government hired me for a job that changed my daily dose of paracetamol over a constant headache.

To my utmost surprise, a month after landing the position my neighbors in my then street told me that many things have changed in me. That is, continual financial concerns might have harmed my well-being and mental health, perhaps resulting in daily sickness. The above experience implies that a lack of money can cause several diseases and health issues that may negatively affect physical and mental well-being, therefore adding to chronic illnesses and other health problems, and requiring drugs.

Stress and lack of sleep are other issues that can cause the use of constant medication since chronic stress and insufficient sleep can undermine the immune system, raise the risk of mental health issues, It is worth noting that overuse of electronic devices, particularly in the late hours, may disturb sleep patterns leading to sporadic medicine taking. "Health is a priceless treasure; invest while you can." --Bryant McGill.

To sum up, Aristotle once stated: "We are what we regularly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." Habits are quickly formed, and we cannot see how they affect our lives. Some people cannot live a day without taking paracetamol or any pain relief, even when they are healthy. But as years pass, these routines get so entrenched that they may be challenging to alter, even when we acknowledge they are damaging. Recognizing the effects of negative behaviours on health is crucial, as is intentionally trying to live better to avoid or reduce the chances of sickness.

Prescribed medications could not get me total well-being, but being happy got me an everlasting peace and state of mind.

This is my entry to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic: No medication

The image is sourced.