Emotional Health = Physical Health: 10 Ways To Feel Great!
"The root cause of 85% of illness is related to emotional or psychological issues." -- Dr. Norman Shealy, MD
The intimate connection between body, mind, and spirit
has been known and honored in Eastern medicine for millennia. But only
relatively recently have we begun to see that emotional health is
directly connected to physical heath.
Now we
know: Neglect your emotional and spiritual health, and sooner or later
it will take a toll on your physical body. Thousands of Western studies
have now finally proven this mind-body connection.
Yet
many people have not yet made this connection or been exposed to the
power of this information. However, as the information discovered by
quantum physics continues to become more widespread, more and more
people are starting to understand that at our root level we are energy
beings. Thus, energy has a big impact on how we feel, heal, and thrive
in our environments.
We're finally beginning
to see the human being as not just a body that is machine-like and gets
“fixed” when it breaks, but a complex energy field that is constantly
interacting with its environment on a multi-dimensional level. Thus
every single disease comes only after enough emotional, mental and
spiritual imbalance has occurred within and was not addressed.
Here are a few tips for maintaining emotional balance:
1. Maintain good physical health.
This
point is so basic it's often overlooked. Our physical health affects
our emotional health much more than we realize. Make sure to eat well,
exercise and get plenty of sleep.
As Virgil said: "The greatest wealth is health."
2. Learn to release anger and let go of grudges.
Vent
if you have to then shake it off. Walk it off. Harboring anger or ill
feelings builds emotional toxicity, which ultimately affects your
overall health.
"For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness." -- Anonymous
3. Be aware.
Look
for the hidden message or lesson in negative or difficult situations.
Learn from them. Experiencing adversity is meant to alert you to
something or teach you a new skill.
As legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre said, "Life deals you a lot of lessons, some people learn from them, some people don't."
4. Keep your brain active.
Don't
let complacency or boredom set in. In order to feel alive and vibrant,
we need to keep our minds active by learning new things and challenging
ourselves.
"If I had to live my life again,
I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music
at least once a week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied
could thus have been kept active through use." -- Charles Darwin
5. Stimulate your senses.
As well as keeping your mind active, enjoy beautiful art, listen to
music that lifts your spirits or try a new gourmet dish. Our senses need
to be reawakened every now and then too.
"Man
has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion
of Soul discerned by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this
age." -- William Blake
6. Have fun and don't take yourself too seriously.
Balance
in life is important for maintaining emotional health. Too much
emphasis on work causes stress as well as wear and tear on the body and
mind. Take time off; go to the beach, the park or a movie to take your
mind off your current quandaries. Chances are when you come back you
will see things from a fresher, more productive perspective.
"I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it." -- Jack Handey
7. Maintain supportive relationships.
Maintain good relationships
with friends and family for much needed feedback, a shoulder to lean on
or a different perspective. Often we get so caught up in our own
problems and misery we can't see the forest for the trees. Having an
objective pair of eyes and ears can give you a whole new way of
thinking.
"Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings." -- Miles Franklin
8. Share.
Donate
your old clothes, furniture or items you don't use anymore to your
local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or charity of your choice.
It
will make you feel good, first by helping someone out and secondly by
cleaning out your closets and basements of 'stuff' you haven't put to
use in a long time.
"For it is in the giving that we receive." -- St. Francis of Assisi
9. Relax.
Take some yoga classes,
learn to meditate or incorporate a relaxation technique into your
routine. Besides having fun and not taking yourself too seriously, it's a
good idea to integrate tools for relaxation into your routine for those
times when life gets somewhat overwhelming. Having many methods to fall
back on ensures emotional well being.
"If
a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit
of fun or relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without
knowing it." -- Herodotus
10. Learn to have gratitude for exactly where you are.
How
many times have we heard that life is too short? We get so caught up in
the whirlwind that we forget to live in the present moment and realize
how lucky we really are. And in those times we're not caught up in the
whirlwind, we're worrying about the future. It's time to slow down and
enjoy the now!
"Life is a memory except for the present moment that goes by so quickly you hardly catch it going." -- Tennessee Williams
Choose to take good care of your mental and emotional health. It can determine the quality and enjoyment of how you experience your physical body and everyday life.
