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Nowadays, more and more millennials are complaining about all kinds of health issues.
Mental health concerns are at an all-time high. And it is not a hidden fact that in a depressed or anxious mind-state, the physical health also takes a toll.
You just don’t “feel” fit, and it starts reflecting on your body. You cannot move around as freely as you would have otherwise. You don’t feel like going out for a jog or walk. One of the key characteristics of depression is lying on your bed all day long in a cluttered, dim room.
In that state, you don’t eat right, you sleep more than normal, and you don’t exercise. These factors combine to take a drastic toll on your physical health. With the rise in anxiety and depression, our physical health is also rapidly deteriorating. There is an explicit connection between the mental state and physical wellbeing.
But it’s not just depression or anxiety that can affect your physical health. Stress, is perhaps, the biggest looming danger in the human body. Stress can lead to a wide range of physical health problem, from stomach issues to fertility problems. All the major physical disruptions in the body can be attributed to a stressed lifestyle.
However, stress is not the villain. It is an innate bodily response that has helped us survive over eons. Stress triggers our fight or flight response that proves extremely useful to us in our everyday lives. The villain is our lifestyle. In our lifestyle, we let stress to accumulate more than it needs to in our body. When too much stress forms up, no wonder our physical and mental health disrupts. Our body does not know how to eliminate all that stress on its own, so it renders negative physical/mental reactions.
This means that to improve our physical wellbeing, we must improve our mental health. A dramatic change in the lifestyle of our generation is needed. It is the only way we can improve our mental peace, and in effect, our physical health.
Here are some tips on how to change your lifestyle and attain mental peace:
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is truly the modern medicine of this modern health crisis. Most people think of it as spiritual mumbo-jumbo, but mindfulness if far from it. Scientific research has shown how beneficial practicing mindfulness is for the human mind, and in effect, the human body.
In theory, mindfulness is a simple concept. All you need to do is be aware of yourself in a moment. Don’t judge. Don’t digress. Just be self-aware always. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. The biggest hurdle in achieving mindfulness is our “monkey brain.”
Every time you’ll try to practice mindfulness, you’ll find your thoughts digressing. At times we think without knowing that we’re thinking. And it is these thoughts that result in negativity in the mind, and then in the body. Our thoughts are the only reason we accumulate so much of stress. Thoughts are the major reason behind depression (where we worry about the past) and anxiety (where we worry about the future.)
Thinking without awareness is the inherent human nature. To beat that, you need practice. With practicing mindfulness, you’ll have a better control at your thoughts, which will result in a peaceful mind-state. This is extremely important for physical fitness.
Surround yourself with a positive environment
Our environment shapes our mental state much more than we think it does. Something as seemingly trivial as the air we breathe, or the way the sunlight reaches us, can play a crucial role in determining our mental peace.
Surround yourself with an environment that is both positive — and as close to nature as it can get. By doing this, you will realize how much of a mood enhancer good nature and a positive environment can be.
If you’re in a stressed state, take a step back from work. Go and get one with nature. Listen to good music. Read good books. Watch good films. These are all parts of your environment. As cliched as it may sound, these things are extremely important. Not just for the mental peace, but your physical health as well.
Get professional help
Sometimes, when no other thing works, it is best to get professional help. As simple as that. If you believe you have a serious mental health problem, get it checked out. Don’t even think twice. Depression, anxiety and the likes of these illnesses is not a trivial issue. Once you get professional help and sort your mental health concerns, your physical well-being will start improving naturally.
Guest Post by Adela Belin
Adela Belin is a private educator and a writer at Writers Per Hour. She shares her teaching experience with colleagues, students, and writers. Feel free to contact Adela on G+.[/author]
Image credits: Unsplash