Health is Wealth

I'm sure the title of this post sounds rather contradictory, if not outright 'wrong'. How can feeling BAD possibly be GOOD? Usually, feeling 'bad' means we are frustrated, sad, stressed, angry, lonely, bored, etc. All of these emotions are unpleasant. So, how can this ever be a good thing? Please note that this is Part One is a series about Negative Emotions. This is a HUGE topic and I would like to try my best to delve a bit deeper into this! Let's start this journey! This article does a fabulous job of explaining why negative emotions are important for us to experience. Firstly, we need to understand that all feelings - even the 'bad' ones - serve a purpose. We FEEL them because we have experienced some sort of event or trigger that prompted these emotions in us. Now, of course, our emotional responses may not always be appropriate to the situation we are dealing with. For example, one event may be stressful, but for one person, it might be so o...

Distress. What does that word mean to you? We may feel distressed when we are overwhelmed, sad, angry, or frustrated. T his can be caused by external events, but we can also feel distressed from our emotions or thoughts. When we are distressed, we find it extremely difficult to think clearly, relax, or calm down. Our thoughts may be racing, and our bodies may get tense. But unfortunately, distress is inevitable. We will all have to deal with distress at some time in our lives. What is important to realize is that we cannot avoid distress. In fact, trying to do so or denying it will just make us feel worse. What we CAN do is try to learn how to cope with it. This is called 'distress tolerance'.  This link has a lot of good information on how we can learn to handle distress. One very useful strategy is to remember the ACCEPT acronym. When faced with a difficult emotion, thought, or event, some helpful things to do are to try to engage in activities that you like. Alth...

There is an innate need for us, as humans, to interact with others. Feeling like we are loved, cared for, and supported is essential. We want - and need- to feel that we belong, An   article I recently read tries to describe some reasons for why being lonely makes us feel worse. In simple words, feeling lonely induces a 'stress response' in our bodies. Hormones, like cortisol, get released. Cortisol is also known as the 'stress hormone'. It is important for many functions, like lowering inflammation. However, high levels of cortisol are harmful because it weakens our immunity. The theory is this: loneliness activates cortisol release, which dampens our immune response, makes us susceptible to illness, and affects our mood. Put it together, and you have an individual who is not feeling well physically, mentally, or emotionally. Think about what happens when you feel 'lonely'. You likely feel isolated and alone. You want to feel as though someone is there...

Happy New Year! I hope 2018 has been manageable for you thus far! If you have been following this blog over the years, you will know that I am not big on 'resolutions' for the New Year. Not because I do not think setting goals is important, or because I think we should not strive to do better in the new year. However, my issue with resolutions is that society makes it seem that we need to set one huge big fancy thing that we will work on for the year. And often, these resolutions become redundant - such as weight loss, exercise, healthy eating, etc. And while these are important, I do not think making a resolution is important. It is the ACTION PLAN that is. This is why I like intentions. I feel that they are more goal-directed and achievable. Allow me to explain. A resolution could be 'this year, I resolve to eat more vegetables and exercise more'. If you try that for a week or two, you may not be able to sustain it. Meanwhile, an intention could be 'this yea...