Connecting your Physical and Emotional Health

If you are seeking to improve your emotional wellbeing then consider giving your physical health some attention.  Your physical health directly impacts your emotional health and vice versa.   There are many different facets connecting these two.  Some of the major players are:

• Exercise- When you workout it does wonders for your emotional health. It releases natural serotonin and dopamine which is responsible for regulating your mood.
• Nutrition- Think of your body as a well oiled machine. Feeding it with the proper foods helps to regulate your mood and overall well being.
• Sleep- It is important that you make getting enough sleep a top priority. When we sleep the body is able to repair itself.

Connecting your Physical and Emotional Health

Sleep and Your Emotional Health

Having a regular sleep schedule and nightly routine will help to set you up for good quality sleep.  It’s all too easy sometimes to stay up later on the weekends.  But shifting the time you go to bed, by too many hours and too often can have a negative impact on your circadian rhythm, thereby reducing the quality of your sleep.  When the quality of your sleep is impacted it effects everything else that you do.  Simply put- the brain just doesn’t function at it’s best if you’re sleep deprived.  So if you want to set yourself up to successfully engage in the homework you were assigned in therapy, you’ll want to be well rested in order to experience the best results.

Exercise and your Emotional Health

Once you’re rested you will also have the needed energy to incorporate exercise or some kind of physical activity into your day.  When you’re anxious or tense, exercise is a great way to burn off some of that excess energy and stress.  It is also a fantastic tool to give your mood a boost if you’re feeling depressed and unmotivated.

Moving the body and increasing your heart rate helps to clear the mind.  Think rays of sunshine peaking through the clouds.  There are many ways to engage the body physically.  Going to the gym can be a great practice, but it’s not the only way to exercise.  Going for a walk, run, swim or bike ride can be just as beneficial.

Exercise videos by way of YouTube or an app can be a great place to start, especially if exercise is foreign to you and some additional guidance is needed.

Nutrition and Your Emotional Health

There are two main components of nutrition: Eating the right foods and limiting the wrong foods.  Whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer something salty and savory, it is important to know that what you eat (or don’t eat) has an impact on how you feel.  Certain ingredients like sugar, trans fats, simple carbohydrates and highly processed foods induce or at the very least increase the likelihood of sadness, lethargy, and anxiety.  So by limiting the intake of  these ingredients you give yourself the opportunity to feel better emotionally.

One simple rule to follow is to “eat the rainbow of Whole Foods”.   Sadly, no not skittles.  Eat as many colors of natural foods as possible.  When you do you consume the vast array of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.

Even if you do eat relatively healthy diet, sometimes the body is lacking in a few key nutrients.  Lethargy or low energy could be attributed to low levels of vitamin b, d iron or magnesium.  If low energy is a chronic problem for you it could be quite helpful to have your blood levels checked for nutritional deficiencies.

Adding vitamin rich foods and/or a supplement is sometimes the missing link to bring your mood and energy level back up to where you want it to be.

Connecting your Physical and Emotional Health

At High Expectations Counseling we understand the importance of taking a holistic approach to treating both the physical and emotional aspects of the individual. You cannot isolate one without focusing on the other. there are many methods such as meditation, Breathwork, yoga, work