Growing up, I was told if you stay active and eat nutritious foods then you’ll have no problem living to 100!!
I’m sure you’ve heard something along these lines too.
Nutrition and physically activity are the keys to a healthy life…
We hear a lot about the impact our diet and movement can have on our well-being, but we often neglect one of the most important components to our wellness…
Let’s chat about Mental Health!
Where does it fit in this wellness puzzle?
Mental well-being is a tough topic to talk about. Mostly due to lack of awareness.
But now, our world has become filled with anxiety, depression, phobias and a plethora of other mental illnesses.
With mental illness on the rise, we have no choice but to shine a spotlight on Mental Health.
We have to acknowledge it.
And I’m sure glad we are, because it is the real ‘kicker’ when it comes to maintaining our health and wellbeing.
Dr. Gabor Mate, physician and author who specializes in childhood development and trauma, reported about a study of smokers in one of his books.
The smokers were separated into 2 groups:
Smokers who were more emotionally stable
Smokers who were emotionally repressed and had significant stress
… And the findings were shocking!
Although we KNOW the impact smoking has on our health, there were significant differences between the health of the two groups.
The emotionally stable smokers lived longer, healthier lives- not necessarily guaranteeing lung cancer and other diseases.
The emotionally repressed smokers were 5x more likely to develop these diseases!
Smoking alone does not cause lung cancer…
Smoking + Poor Mental Health does!
Woahhh…
This doesn’t mean I’m telling you to take up smoking..
I’m telling you this to remind you how powerful our mindset can be. Our thoughts and emotions have the power to override unhealthy habits – like smoking!
This is why it is so important not to disregard our good ol’ friend ‘Mental Health’ when it comes to our well-being.
Our thoughts can make us sick, but they can also make us well.
Adding in positive mental health practices to our lives is just as essential (if not, more essential) for our overall wellness than physical activity and nutrition alone!
Mental Health is the missing piece to our wellness puzzle.
Are you aware of the thoughts that cross your mind on a daily basis?
We take our thinking for granted. We think useless thoughts. Thoughts that don’t benefit us. Or move us forward in life.
Instead, we allow thoughts in our minds that hold us back.
But, Our Thoughts Are More Powerful Than We Think!
Our thoughts have the power to manifest our reality…
“Great men are they who see that thought is stronger than any material force; That thoughts rule the world…”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
And we have the power to wield our thoughts.
To use them for good. Or for bad.
Ours Brains Are Always Listening To Us.
Whatever we say. Whatever we think.
When we speak the same words and think the same thoughts, over and over again, our brain sends these signals that begin to form neural pathways.
The more often we think the same thoughts, the stronger these neural pathways become.
And the stronger these pathways are, the harder it is to deter from having these same thoughts.
Which is Why The Most Detrimental thought we can be telling ourselves is “I Can’t.”
“I can’t do this…”
“I can’t do that…”
“I can’t ever be happy..”
The more often we are telling ourselves these things, the stronger these neural pathways of “I can’t” become.
And our brains will automatically take us to the thought “I can’t” for everything.
We are putting limitations on ourselves and our capabilities.
You Create Your Own Reality
You can break the cycle. The cycle of negative thinking. The cycle of “I can’t”…
Just by being aware.
And putting in the work to reverse it.
Keeping in mind, that the longer you’ve been in the pattern of negative thinking, the stronger your neural pathways are… which means you’ll just have to be consistent!
Happy Monday to all you Mindful Minds.. Miss T, here!
You may have seen my post last week, where we jammed a bit about mindfulness and why I’m a big advocate of it. Especially when it comes to practicing it with our kiddos.
Well, today, I’d like to get a bit into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of mindfulness and explain how it works and what it can do for our body and mind.
mindfulness, in essence, is our natural state of being; it is living in and embracing the present moment.
It releases us from all those swirling thoughts in our heads, and brings our focus into the now.
Don’t get me wrong, I know it is an extremely simple concept but it can seem complicated and hold more weight than it seems!
There are even a ton of benefits from incorporating mindfulness practices into your life. Some, you may haven’t even realized.
Yes, Mindfulness is bringing awareness to what is going on around you. And of course, focusing on the world around you brings you out of your own head and reduces anxious and fearful thoughts.
But what else does mindfulness do?
I want to introduce a new term to you (maybe you’ve heard this one before… it’s quite the mouthful!).. It may help you understand the power that lies behind mindfulness.
Psychoneuroimmunology:
The study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease
I heard about this term about 3 years ago in a book I read by Dr. Gabor Mate. If you don’t know who he is, Dr. Gabor Mate is a physician and internationally renowned speaker who specializes in addiction, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness to the body. His book, that I read, is titled: When the Body Says No – The Cost of Hidden Stress.
This term stood out in my mind. I mean, just look at the word! It took me a couple of tries to make sure I was getting the pronunciation just right.. But mostly, it gave a name to something that I had understood, but couldn’t quite explain.
Even though I had never heard the term psychoneuroimmunology before, now that I understood it, I realized I had already read a lot about it…
I love learning about the inner workings of us humans and our biology. In the past, I’d studied the placebo and nocebo effect a lot. As well as epigenetics (the study of how our behaviours and environment influence our gene expressions). Realizing, all of those were perfect examples of psychoneuroimmunology- where mindset and thoughts dictate reality.
I read many books with stories of instances where a patient’s mindset can have a direct impact on their healing process. And their likelihood to get ill again. Even instances where a particular mindset was the reason for illness in the first place.
Even within my classroom walls, I realized teaching my students to have a growth mindset was psychoneuroimmunology hard at work! Aiding kids to think in a positive mindset makes them more likely to reach their goals, AND creates happier and healthier kids!
I’d seen it all around me and learned all about it in my reading endeavors, but never really knew it had a name… until now! After naming it, I began to see patterns of psychoneuroimmunology all around me!
In my classroom, in the books I read, and even within my own family.
My sister is someone who has suffered from depression and chronic migraines almost all of her life. She has them quite regularly and was even put on a prescription medication to help her ease the pain of her migraines. It helped for a short while, but overtime, her body adjusted to the medication and she wasn’t getting results.
I started to pay more attention to her migraines. When she got them, and how often. I started to notice an interesting pattern… Her migraines always subsided when she had good days. And they flared up when she had bad days- bouts of depression or when something was causing her extra anxiety, or even when getting into arguments with someone she cared about.
It became very clear to me that her migraines were in direct correlation with her thoughts and overall mental health.
After studying psychoneuroimmunology and conducting some of my own experiments, I am even more confident that with the practice of mindfulness, we can positively influence our mental wellbeing and, in turn, achieve optimal health!
Mindfulness allows us to strengthen our mind by disassociating from our thoughts. It reminds us that, although we are full of thoughts, it doesn’t mean we ARE those thoughts. We simply have them and we can, just as simply, CHOOSE another thought. Mindfulness is about the power of choice. It brings about awareness- about ourselves, our lives and the people around us.
I see Mindfulness as exercise for the mind. Just as we would train our muscles by going to the gym, we can train our mental toughness through mindfulness.
And once again, we can benefit in so many ways from Mindfulness!
By using mindfulness to increase our mental resilience, it initiates a domino effect that translates to an abundance of other health and life improvements!
Improvements like:
Reduced anxiety and depression
Improved immune system functioning (and other bodily systems!)
Boosts confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness
Better memory and cognitive abilities
Better physical health- increases strength and flexibility
Stronger and more positive relationships
Builds resilience – overcome adversity
Enhances mind/body connection
Increases focus and attention
Maybe you’re thinking.. Really? I can gain all of that just from the practice of Mindfulness?!
The answer is YES!
I believe that mindfulness is the key to health and wellness!
And just like the study of psychoneuroimmunology reminds us: Our thoughts and psychological processes have an impact on our overall health.
But don’t forget, mindfulness is not a ‘one and done’ activity. Mindfulness is for life. It is about practice and getting those reps of mastery in. Building a solid foundation of mindfulness to live a mindful life.
It includes building a daily practice that fits into your life, that fits your schedule.
Start off slowly, and eventually, you’ll be practicing mindfulness throughout your day, without even thinking about it!
Before you know it, you’ll be a mindfulness ninja!
Mindful Miss T. 