New year’s resolutions are a time for people to make some positive changes in their lives to help give them the best year of their life, and this year health is top of mind.
“Public health is not just about pandemics. Public health is about everything that keeps us healthy, that has a community-based approach,” said Dr. Alan Katz with Max Rady College of Medicine.
“The safe water that we get through our taps is about public health, as are many other things that are parts of our lives.
“And it’s quite clear that public health has become increasingly more important over time.”
In 2022, Canada’s emergency rooms became overwhelmed with an influx of patients and with staffing shortages and a lack of readily-available hospital beds many people experienced very long wait times for care.
“The waiting room was jam-packed, the ambulance bay where our EMS staff bring in patients to be seen was full and there was no movement. And once again, we had many, many individuals who were admitted on a stretcher in the emergency department and waiting on a bed in the facilities.”
In an emailed statement from September to Global News, a spokesperson for Shared Health said the HSC emergency department saw significant demand from seriously sick and injured patients often in very close succession.
And as if being sick wasn’t already scary enough, the health-care crisis inflated fears of getting sick for many.
Winnipegger Hanna Anderson is immunocompromised and even the thought of having to go to the hospital is very anxiety-provoking for her.
“When I walk into a hospital, I am always concerned about the people around me because I have so much anxiety in my day-to-day life and a phobia that rules my life as well,”
Anderson also suffers from a phobia called emetophobia, which is an intense and often paralyzing fear of vomit. The fear can make a person feel like they are in immediate danger should they feel like they are going to throw up or if they are around someone who does.
Because of this, the prospect of long wait times is incredibly terrifying for her.
“It’s quite common for people in hospitals to have those vomit bags sitting with them, or people could just vomit at any point honestly and I never know,” she said
“So if I wait there for longer, the more chance I have to encounter my phobia and I don’t know what I would do if I did.”
Anderson said she is definitely prioritizing her health this year to prevent a visit to the hospital.
“I’m playing a sport and staying active and trying to better my mental and physical health,” she said.
However, beginning a new habit and making big changes to one’s life, especially when it concerns healthy habits such as eating well, exercising, and not smoking can be challenging for some.
“Those are all things that we can all do but are not necessarily easy to do if we have not if we’re not used to doing them if that’s not the way we’ve lived our lives for the last however many years,” said Dr. Katz.
And people tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves when it comes to new year’s resolutions which experts say can actually have a negative impact on your health.
“Our Instagrams right now are flooded with pictures of people at the gym and talking about clean eating,” said Dr. Riddel with the Manitoba Psychological Society.
“For many people, that can create a sense of, you know, I’m not enough or I’m not good enough or I’m not doing it right and can activate a lot of shoulds and inadequacy.
“So it can actually be potentially damaging or harmful for folks’ mental health.”
Dr. Riddel advises people to practice a healthy framework and think about their values and what really matters to avoid resolution disappointment.
“So before we kind of jump on the I-need-to-go-on-a-diet bandwagon, just because it’s new, there might be things that could actually bring us more long-lasting health and well-being.”
She mentions things like prioritizing sleep, starting new hobbies, and connecting with family and friends which are all things that can improve a person’s overall health, beyond just the physical.