In life, the healthier you are, the more you can achieve and accomplish without doctor appointments and medicines. This also saves time, effort, and money. As the saying goes, ‘Health is Wealth’, health is essential for a happy, stress-free life and a secure wallet. Although there are many ways and tips to stay healthy as an individual, there isn’t much out there detailing how to help people live healthier lives. If there is something that you know about or know the secrets to, it should be transmitted and conveyed beyond yourself to others so the community can benefit from it.

Helping people doesn’t cost or require anything if people do it out of kindness or compassion but if you want to make a career out of it and influence people to adopt a healthier lifestyle on a larger scale, professional qualifications are essential. A field of study that highlights this is social work that leads to a practice-based profession allowing you to bring about social change and empower people in any way, shape, or form for a certain demographic of people or for all. One such professional qualification for social work is Doctor of Social Work (DSW) which can be earned without going to university or school. This can be done by enrolling in DSW online programs if you meet requirements and continuing from there. 

But as far as helping people on a smaller scale is concerned and if you don’t know how or where to start, here are a few points to give you a little push.

1. Practicing healthy habits

The first step to live a healthier life is to gradually incorporate healthy habits in your own lifestyle. Some healthy habits include staying hydrated, eating larger servings of fruits and vegetables, exercising, or staying active, limiting your sugar intake, and taking care of hygiene. For a more concrete and structured approach towards the above-mentioned habits, you can also refer to the 5-2-1-0 model.

It’s also important to practice healthy habits in front of kids as they are significantly influenced by their surroundings and can often imitate or model the same behavior they see. So, practicing healthier habits will encourage them to take care of themselves too and they will then go on to pass the same habits to the next generation. 

2. Engaging in important and interactive health topics

Engaging in important health related topics within your community can also help convey the message across to a larger number of people. You can organize and host small meetings, gatherings or seminars that focus on discussing specific topics on health including ways to live a healthier lifestyle. You can make such activities or sessions interactive by including a question-and-answer session and bringing in an expert for a discussion. That puts your community in safe hands and it can also be fruitful. Along with people getting a broader knowledge of health and fitness, people will be able to apply that knowledge in their own lives practically.

3. Awareness of different health problems

There are many health problems out there that devastate lives and destroy people so it’s important to raise as much awareness as you can about different diseases, conditions, disorders, or syndromes in your community so people can get to know how these diseases manifest, their symptoms, prevention, and cure (if there is any). You can also promote support groups or refer people to one for terminal or chronic illnesses that can help them overcome or come to terms with their struggles. For example, we have many support groups and organizations for autism and cancer that aim to make it easier for those suffering from these conditions and help their caregivers or loved ones feel supported. 

4. Give back to your community

Giving back healthier options to your community is another excellent way to help others live healthier lives and encourage health and fitness. This can be done by supplying fresh produce to the community through a business. A Giving Garden can also be started that could provide fresh, healthy food options to those in need. You can also conduct fun exercise, yoga, or meditation sessions to encourage people to focus on their physical fitness and mindfulness. Both physical health and mindfulness play a key role in improving lives and leading to a healthier lifestyle. These activities can also be tailored accordingly to involve kids or teens and encourage health within them.

5. Engage with local schools

Collaborating and engaging with your local schools is another way to push forward for a healthier lifestyle and promote healthy living. You can contact your local school and ask them to include health and fitness in the curriculum. Volunteering or joining school committees or groups can help you communicate your point across and allow you to help people live healthy lives. Have health focused fundraisers and encourage your school to carry out non-food celebrations or opt for nutritious alternatives and limited fast food at events.

Conclusion

There are numerous other ways to help others in your community and encourage healthy living through participating yourself, encouraging others through activities and sessions. If you do a splendid job, all your imparted knowledge will move outward from you as an individual and reach many other people. This will encourage them to live a wholesome life by partaking in healthier practices. Helping in itself is a great service that anyone can do in their lives and helping people choose healthier options is directly responsible for the prevention of many diseases and illnesses. So, you can literally save a life and prevent grief or sadness from darkening anyone’s door. 

Main Image Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash