Note: This post has nothing to do with writing or release dates.

I’m sure many of you have experienced this scenario – you’re driving along, and all of a sudden your car makes a strange noise/shudders or stalls/etc. If it’s still driveable, you probably make a mental note to have it checked out, and how fast you do that depends on how ominous the sound/shudder/etc. was, or when you next have some extra cash. But still, you rarely assume the problem will work itself out and thus ignore it completely. When our cars warn us that something isn’t right, we tend to act as fast as we can because we know that ignoring the problem will only make it worse.

And yet, how often do we ignore or put off entirely those warning signs that tell us something isn’t right with ourselves? Many times, we treat our cars with more care and respect than we do our health.

I am SO guilty of this myself. Last year, I had a lot of things going on. I turned in two full novels and a long novella, moved out of state, went to two conventions, went on two additional signing tours, had three new books release plus had six – count ‘em, six! – digital re-releases of previously-published stories, all which required their own promotion (if I forgot to mention anything, it’s because 2011 still feels like a blur).

I also landed myself in the Emergency room four days after turning in that last novel, as I mentioned in a previous post. Originally, the doctors thought I had pleurisy (something I’d never heard of). I found out several weeks later, when I was concerned over still being in pain, that what I actually had was costochondritis (something I’d also never heard of). I’m doing several things to treat this condition until I – hopefully – get over it, including diet, stretching, heat and massage therapy, plus taking over-the-counter meds. But the point of this post isn’t to talk about what’s going on with me medically – it’s to talk about what goes on with some of us mentally.

See, I knew something was wrong weeks before that ER visit (costochondritis acute symptoms mimic those of a heart attack, which was what drove me to go to the ER that day). I’d previously had intermittent pains in my chest that I told myself were stress related because I was late on finishing a book. Those weren’t the only things I ignored under the I-dont-have-time umbrella. I also stopped getting my TMJ treatments, missed my Pap smear appointment, missing my thyroid checkup, and postponed getting a skin cancer screening even though I had a mole that concerned me because, hey, I was busy! And I was. Those last couple months leading up to that ER visit, I was working 10-12 hour days, six days a week. On the one day a week I forced myself to take off, I tried to relax, but I usually spent it worried about the work that still needed to be done.

Whether you’re self-employed like me, work for someone else, or are a stay-at-home mom, this may sound very familiar. We all have long To Do lists since life is very busy for everyone. On my To Do list, taking care of myself was at the very bottom. It didn’t move up until I was in the Emergency Room hoping that it wasn’t my last night on earth.

I’m very blessed because it turned out that I didn’t have a life-threatening condition. After I got out, I re-prioritized my To Do list. Yes, I still had work responsibilities (in fact, I returned home to find my Revisions letter waiting for me, with all the changes due back in less than three weeks). But I also moved my health from the bottom of my list to the second or third spot. I got all my postponed tests/appointments taken care of, and I’m grateful to say that putting them off didn’t have serious consequences. All the results were negative except for my skin cancer screening. The mole I’d be concerned about turned out to be nothing. Another mole I hadn’t given a second glance to came back as pre-melanoma, requiring a larger area around it to be excised. I think it’s an example of God’s sense of humor that this area was on my butt. No lack of real estate to carve from there, heh, and sometimes we need a sharp jab in the ass in order to remember that we can’t neglect our health indefinitely. I’ll require skin screenings twice a year now to make sure that nothing else crops up, and I intend to keep every one of those appointments when they’re due, not just when I get around to it.

If you’re at all like how I was and your body has been giving you signs that it needs a tune-up or some repair work, don’t put it off any more. Re-order your To Do list to include yourself as a priority and make the appointment(s). Then keep the appointment(s). If you don’t have insurance (and I worked for a doctor over a decade so I know how expensive visits and tests can be) because you have pre-existing conditions, there are still insurance policies you can get. As you know, unlike cars, we can’t save up to trade our bodies in for a better model if too many things break down from neglect, so please, don’t put off taking care of yourself any longer. I’ll try to do the same .

Mirrored from Frost Light.