Many of my patients come to my office convinced that they need help.
from the point of view of mental health. Depression and anxiety are the most common symptoms to identify and my patients are usually ready to take action on them.
Confusion is to be expected when, in the first consultation, I begin to inquire about their eating habits, activity,
physics and sleep. Many feel intrigued and basically disappointed because after all they are here “just because of anxiety” and “that has nothing to do with the body.” The disconnection is real.
However, more and more research is accumulating that suggests a fairly causal relationship between the symptoms of depression and the level of physical activity, healthy eating, time spent outdoors, and quality of sleep.
During the conversation about these topics, it is not uncommon for people to have a martyred perception about implementing a healthy lifestyle. This is my opinion because of media systems like Instagram and Facebook where “before and after” photos never explain anything about time and effort, as well as different socioeconomic conditions.
related to the change of the person posing.
Hopefully people will resist. So the first thing we do in therapy is
establish realistic expectations about the change to occur and those expectations
defines the patient and only the patient. The most interesting thing of all is that once
my patients decide to implement these changes, almost immediately the depression and
Anxiety begins to decrease and the therapy becomes much more efficient not only because “the body helps you” as a patient once told me (energy and concentration increases) but also because for the first time in a long time my patients realize that control is not outside but within them.
themselves and they have the power to exercise it. That is a powerful realization.
So here are the lifestyle changes that I have found to be the most effective and that my patients and I work on as part of therapy:
1. Cut down on fast food (Again, for many people it is not realistic to simply stop eating fast food completely. We are busy beings and fast food does its job. However, it can be reduced and even healthier options can be identified within it.) Cook more at home whenever you can
2. Include 30 minutes of physical activity a day outside the house. The lighting inside the house is not nearly as bright as the sun and our circadian rhythm responsible for sleep suffers when it does not receive enough
information about whether it is day or night. Walking outdoors and sunbathing also provides us with vitamin D, which is invaluable for immune development. In recent studies, statistics suggest that
The vast majority of people suffer from a lack of vitamin D because the industrial revolution and technological development, among other things, increasingly forces us to stay inside our homes, offices, etc.
3. Take daily omega 3 supplement. The diet of human beings has also evolved with technological development. Most of our food no longer comes from a natural environment, but from farms artificially created to produce more and faster. This, among other variables, has caused a decrease in the amount of omega 3 necessary for an adequate balance between omega 3 and 6 in our body. For more information about this research read the book “The depression Cure” by Doctor Stephen Ilardi.
4. Make an appointment with your primary doctor or nutritionist and ask for a general checkup to know the levels of vitamins in your body. Increasingly, research indicates that moods are directly related to a lack of zinc, for example, or magnesium.
5. Ask yourself when you feel like eating: Why am I eating? The activity of eating has acquired many functions. We do not always eat because we are hungry, many times we eat because we are
bored, or because we are sad, or because we need pleasure.
6. Pay attention to the act of sleeping. Sleeping is one of the most important activities of the body. When one sleeps well, mood improves, memory is consolidated, cognitive functions are more efficient,
immune system is optimized. It's amazing how common a lack of quality and sufficient sleep my patients report.
7. Don't wait for motivation: People tend to think that motivation (or some supernatural force) is necessary to implement changes in life. The reality is that motivation does not precede change but quite the opposite, change precedes motivation. The more one performs a
activity, the more motivated you feel to continue it. Don't wait to feel like
change, decide to do it despite the desire. Decide to do it because you want to, because you are not a slave to yourself, because you are not a prisoner of your mind, and because you are in control. Habits don't develop in a week. Habits are made up of simple, small activities that are done consistently for the rest of our lives. Choose one and commit to it…the rest happens on its own!
Much more could be said, but I dare to assure you that implementing these activities will be a good and pleasant start to a life more connected not only with our mind but with our body.
Good luck!
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ABOUT
Ingrid Pedre is Cuban living in Texas, a therapy works psychologist specializing in anxiety and depression, specializing in adolescents, adults and couples.
