Planning Your 2022 Hep C Health Goals

2022 – has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Every new year, millions of people set out with ambition and excitement to transform their lives.

Most new year resolutions revolve around health aspirations. However, as we know, most people can’t get these resolutions to permanently stick.

What are some ways you can increase the likelihood of achieving your health goals in 2022?

Defining your goals

Before starting the new year, sit down with yourself and really think about what your goals are. The goals can’t be vague; vague goals tend to go unmet.

For example, if one of your goals is to “feel healthier” and you have just been diagnosed with hep C, outline what that would entail. This may include:

• Getting treated for hep C
• Ensuring you are engaging in liver-friendly habits, such as exercise and healthy eating, and keeping up to date with the recommended vaccinations
• Identifying barriers that may impede this goal, such as ingrained habits and associated behaviors

Looking at your goals in depth

The steps listed above are paramount in themselves; getting treated for hep C, for example, involves many steps. Some people put this off because it can be extremely overwhelming to go through the process of getting cured.

However, just like any goal in life, small steps can amount to great changes. For example, if your goal is getting treated for hep c, this may involve smaller steps such as:

• Getting a referral to a gastroenterologist or a hepatologist if you don’t already have one
• Joining a support group of like-minded people who have gone through similar experiences, such as us here in our community
• Discussing your treatment options with your doctor, including potential side effects that can arise from your prescribed medication
• Coordinating with your clinic to eliminate or reduce any barriers, such as financial costs of the medication
• Selecting a pharmacy where your prescriptions are picked up or delivered from
• Understanding what happens once your treatment is over

Knowing when to seek professional help

If there is a specific habit that you have been attempting to implement for several years, it may be time to seek professional help. Help can come in many forms, such as:

• A psychologist, who can offer cognitive behavioral therapy
• A pharmacist, who can provide access to nicotine replacement products for smoking cessation
• A doctor, who can provide a prescription for anti-anxiety medication
• A dietician, who can help outline meal plans and a weight loss regimen

Changing habits can take longer than we would like

When the new year starts, we may have unrealistic expectations that we will quickly change all the ingrained habits we have built up over decades. However, most habits cannot be changed overnight.

Most require a slow transition or at least a few failures before we can consider the new habit as ingrained in our lifestyle. For example, most patients I have worked with who have successfully quit smoking attempted to quit many times before they were finally successful.

It is important to keep trying, even if the first few attempts do not work out.

What new habits or resolutions are you attempting to implement in 2022?