ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Americans are always searching for ways to lose weight and get healthy. But what if the key to success isn’t challenging your body but relaxing your mind? No negative self-talk.
Running, biking, and lifting are all great ways to stay in shape. But research shows inner fitness may also be an important part of good health. It involves focusing energy on your emotional well-being rather than performing a physical exercise or following a diet. Simply monitoring how you talk to yourself is one way to improve your inner fitness.
David Baker, PhD, LLC, Psychotherapist, says, “Negative self-talk is a problem every day and on a daily basis because it shapes our identity. It becomes who we are.”
If you struggle with negative self-talk, try replacing negative thoughts with reasonable ones. But first, identify the harmful voice that’s speaking to you.
Baker explains, “We don’t just want to replace it, we want to ask: ‘Why are you here?’”
Mindfulness meditation is another way to improve your inner fitness. Studies show it can lower blood pressure, improve sleep, reduce chronic pain, and lower the risk of anxiety. Mindful eating which involves tracking your feelings and habits around food can help you lose weight and keep it off. And yoga, which uses movement, breathing, and meditation, has been shown to reduce stress, improve flexibility, boost immunity, and lessen anxiety. With ways to enhance your inner fitness and your health, Ivanhoe reports.
Meditation and yoga classes are frequently offered at local recreation centers or health clubs. You can also check out different apps. Some popular ones are: Calm for Meditation and Glo for Yoga.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor and Videographer
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/well/mind/health-fitness-lessons.html
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga#TOC_TITLE_HDR_12
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2019/mindfulness-weight-loss.html
HARNESS YOUR INNER FITNESS: NO NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
REPORT #2980
BACKGROUND: There are many connections between mental health and physical health that can significantly impact a person’s quality of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” and says that “there is no health without mental health.” However, there are some common risk factors between the two. Poor mental health can be a risk for chronic physical conditions. People with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of experiencing chronic physical conditions. And people with chronic physical conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health. Some preventative measures include increasing physical activity, access to nutritious foods, ensuring adequate income, and fostering social inclusion and social support.
WAYS TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH: Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act as we face situations in life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. There are several ways to improve mental health like staying positive. This doesn’t mean that you never feel negative emotions. You just don’t want those emotions to take over. We need to feel them so that we can move through difficult situations. Practicing gratitude is another way to improve mental health. It’s helpful to do this every day, either by thinking about what you are grateful for or writing it down in a journal. Being physically active and getting enough sleep can help reduce feelings of stress and depression and improve your mood. Developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life can help improve mental health. This could be through a job, volunteering, learning new skills, or exploring spirituality. Meditation is a mind and body practice where you learn to focus your attention and awareness and can help improve mental health. There are many types, including mindfulness meditation and transcendental meditation. Finally, relaxation techniques are exercises to produce your body’s natural relaxation response. This slows down your breathing, lowers your blood pressure, and reduces muscle tension and stress.
(Source: https://medlineplus.gov/howtoimprovementalhealth.html)
TECHNOLOGY AND MENTAL HEALTH: Technology has opened doors in mental health support and data collection. Mobile devices like cell phones, smartphones, and tablets are giving the public, doctors, and researchers new ways to access help, monitor progress, and increase understanding of mental wellbeing. The downside is that this new technology includes a lot of uncertainty such as little industry regulation and little information on app effectiveness, which can lead consumers to wonder which apps they should trust. Creative research and engineering teams are combining their skills to address a wide range of mental health concerns. Some popular areas of app development include self-management, improving thinking skills, skill training, illness management, passive symptom tracking, and data collection. Researchers have found that interventions are most effective when people like them, are engaged, and want to continue using them. Behavioral health apps will need to combine the engineers’ skills for making an app easy to use and entertaining with the clinician’s skills for providing effective treatment options. While the apps are becoming more appealing and user-friendly, there still isn’t a lot of information on their effectiveness.
(Source: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/technology-and-the-future-of-mental-health-treatment)
* For More Information, Contact: David Baker, PhD, LLC
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