The Gagon family is excited to ring in the New Year! We’ve put together a few recommendations to help you achieve a healthy and positive year!

Donna Mathis, FNP-BC, Recommends:

Focusing on Positive Choices

As I move forward into the new year, my thoughts automatically channel into lists of resolutions, goals, and self- improvement. After making my list of lofty aspirations for 2024, I came across my list from 2013. It was the same list!

Lose weight
Exercise
Save money
Eliminate stress

I realized that while my previous goals seemed positive when I considered the end result, the process I chose was doomed to fail. Losing weight conjured up memories of endless, perpetual dieting; saving money meant reflexively cutting back on luxuries — but to what end? What was I saving for? Suddenly I felt I had stumbled into what Thoreau referred to as “our lives of quiet desperation” – climbing an endless treadmill towards unattainable goals.

“If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal,—that is your success.” – Henry David Thoreau

This year I’ve decided to restructure my resolutions around positive choices with realistic goals. Instead of dieting I want to focus on enjoying healthy and delicious foods. Rather than generic exercise, I want to participate in physical activities and hobbies I actually enjoy, especially with friends and family! I’ve chosen to prioritize my mental through fostering positive relationships, volunteering and practicing gratitude, learning to forgive myself for mistakes, and appreciating loved ones.

Who knows? This year I may finally check a few things off the list!

Another Positive Choice? Blood Pressure Monitoring & Prevention

Hypertension or high blood pressure is the most common reason for office visits and prescription drugs of nonpregnant adults in the United States. Over 50% of people taking medication to control their high blood pressure still do not have adequate control. To help keep your blood pressure under control, stay active, watch your weight, decrease salts and fats in your diet, and quit using tobacco. To monitor your blood pressure at home, follow the steps below.

Do I have High Blood Pressure?

Use the chart below to determine your blood pressure range.

Happy New Year!

On behalf of everyone at Gagon Family Medicine, we wish everyone a happy and safe New Year!