Three realms of Self-Care Part 2

Three realms of Self-Care

Part 2

Three realms of Self-Care

Self-care and the benefits of taking care of mind, body, and spirit are crucial to overall well-being. When you approach mental health from a holistic mind-set, you bring together all pieces of your health to make yourself whole. Working with a therapist in Orlando gives you the resource you need to start this journey. Orlando Thrive Therapy offers you this three-part blog that is designed to help you improve the three most critical elements to good mental health. This blog in the series will be focusing on Physical Health.

This three-part blog series will focus in on the three aspects of our health and how to implement strategies to enhance our connections to these outlets and become more aware of what our strengths and weaknesses are in order to motivate and pursue change.

The three aspects of our health are:

mind • body • spirit

When we say body, we don’t mean you have to have a perfectly toned and fit body. We mean how do we treat our bodies, how are we nourishing our bodies, what do we do to enhance our overall functioning and physical health.

What is physical health?

Our physical health is the overall functioning of our body, organs, and how we treat them. This is everything from our endurance, to digestion, to the way we treat ourselves when we are sick. There is thought to be a clear distinction between our physical health and mental health, but those lines are blurred when it comes to self-care. Positive physical health and functioning can lead to a more positive outlook for our mental health functioning, but negative physical health functioning can lead to worsened mental health functioning.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, there are some common links between mental illness and physical health:
Depression has been linked to a significant increase in risk for heart disease, cancer, and have higher rates of becoming smokers.


When analyzing our physical health, we must look at our diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices.

Diet:

Are we getting enough nutrients to sustain our weight? Are we eating things that are high in fat? Are we consuming enough water to stay hydrated? Are we skipping meals? Are we dieting with unhealthy fads?

Exercise:

Are we incorporating 30 minutes of exercise into our schedule every day? When was the last time I exercised? When was the last time we got fresh air? What kind of exercises would benefit us? What areas of our body do we want to exercise?

Lifestyle:

Are we smokers? Do we use recreational drugs? Do we misuse prescriptions? Do we drink regularly? How long have we used this substance? How do we spend our free time?

And how are these choices affecting our health?

There are a multitude of ways we can enhance our physical health.
Here are some tips on how to implement self-care techniques to our BODY:

Self-care

* Take a morning walk before work.

* Try substituting foods for organic.

* Stretch first thing in the morning and before bed.

* Herbal remedies for headaches and other symptoms.

* Exercise thirty minutes a day. Tip: if you haven’t done regular exercising in a while, start with once a week, then a couple times a week and progress as time goes.

* Hire a personal trainer for motivation.

* Do at-home facials.

* Keep up to date with physicals and dentists.

* Take daily vitamins.

* Take a long, hot bath.

* Exercise your brain with puzzles and games.

* Have a cup of tea to boost immunity and help sleep.

* Practice aromatherapy with essential oils.

* Get a normal massage or hot stone massage.

* Wear sunscreen.

* Eat more superfoods.

* Watch your calcium intake.

* Orgasms – whether from you or someone else, this stimulation has shown to enhance self-esteem and mood by the chemicals it releases to your brain!

* Yoga – a double whammy of enhancing physical and mental health.

A balanced diet is never easy, especially with food allergies and different tolerances. It can be helpful to hire a dietician if available. Eating organic food will eliminate unnecessary chemicals from entering our bodies that are unnatural. Watching your calcium intake is crucial due to the importance of it in your balanced diet. Calcium strengthens your bones, secretes hormones for digestion and weight loss, boosts metabolism, and regulates blood pressure. Other super foods for you to put in your daily nutrients are avocados, beans, blueberries, spinach, oranges, salmon, soy, teas and broccoli. These super foods are good for fighting diseases, metabolism and assist in feeling good inside and out. If you’re trying to lose weight, consider juicing and incorporating grapefruit into your diet. Here’s a quick juice recipe for Citrus-Berry Juice:

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 peeled oranges
  • 1 peeled pink grapefruit

Substituting modern medication for remedies can be beneficial to our bodies for a multitude of symptoms and problems. Natural remedies for headaches include things such as butterbur for migraines, cayenne to prevent cluster headaches, feverfew to limit symptoms of migraines, lavender or peppermint for pain and willow for overall headaches. Along the same lines of natural remedies is aromatherapy, which is the usage of plants to treat conditions and well-being. Each plant is used for different reasons. Peppermint relieves nausea, headaches, and indigestion. Eucalyptus aids in decongestion. Chamomile assists in insomnia, skin infections and inflammation. Lavender benefits those with anxiety, mild depression and hair loss.

Exercise benefits us in a multitude of ways other than just weight loss and our physique. Exercise has shown to reduce stress, release endorphins for happier moods, improve self-esteem and confidence, prevent cognitive declination, alleviates anxiety symptoms, sharpens our memory, provides relaxation and aids in productivity and creativity.

As Nelson Mandela once said, “exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind”.

There are ways to enhance our own physical health and body that are designed for each individual person. The most challenging part is the motivation for making these changes and designing our everyday around them. It is possible, it is attainable, and it is of importance. By implementing proper techniques, it will enhance every realm of our health.

Tune in for the rest in this three-part series on MIND and how to implement the best changes in this element of self-care. If you want to have a better understating of your physical health or be assessed on your overall awareness in Orlando contact a counselor at Orlando Thrive Therapy, or the author of this article Mallory Hawkes at malloryhawkes@gmail.com!

Rise above any circumstance, for GROWTH, EMPOWERMENT, and better QUALITY of life!
Call today for more information. Follow Orlando Thrive on Facebook or Instagram.

(407) 592-8997

216 Pasadena Pl
Orlando, Florida 32803
Heather Oller

Heather Oller is the owner and founder of Orlando Thrive Therapy, Coaching, and Counseling. She is a licensed counselor and a family mediator who has over 23 years of dedicated work as a professional in the mental health field. Through her company's mission, she continues to pave the way for future therapists, and their clients, who want a higher quality of life....and who want to thrive, rather than just survive. You can contact Orlando Thrive Therapy at (407) 592-8997 for more information.