Paths to a healthy life - Pillar number three: Stress Modulation

This workshop is a collaboration between Gisele Ortomolecular (specialist) and teacher Guil (moderator). Gisele's objective is to empower people to take control of their health while also covering the fundamentals of a healthy life.

We have 4 Pillars of health and they are:

1. Physical Activity
2. Restorative Sleep
3. Stress Modulation
4. Adequate Nutrition

Stress Modulation

So, our mental health is just as important as our physical health, they are intricately connected and can’t be separated. Our goal is to manage our stress level and try to reduce it as much as possible because stress is one of the biggest culprits for all health conditions.

So consider your mindset and your internal dialogue.

Our thoughts impact our emotions, our emotions impact our actions, and so we want to be aware of this doing our best in terms of self-care:
Prioritizing activities that we enjoy;
Speaking to a therapist or a friend that we trust;
Opening up about the things that are on our minds; Even journaling can be great.

Here relationships matter!
Do you know that:
“You become like the five people that you spend the most time with!”
They can influence the way that we think, the choice that we make, how we feel, what we believe in, so be aware of the types of people that you are spending a lot of your time with and how they’re making you feel. But, if those people do make you feel excellent, make sure that you’re nurturing them back, prioritizing them, and spending time with those people.

Try meditation!
It can do things like reduce anxiety, it can help you improve your immune function, it can help reduce pain... there is science behind it. It can help cure illnesses, can help with mental clarity and help to be more calm.
If you’re a beginner try to just be very open about meditation, give it time after starting out and try guided meditation. Guided meditation can really help you stay on track and can really guide you through the process.
I suggest two apps to start on with: CALM and LOJONG.

Get outside!
It’s a mood booster.
Get some fresh air, some sunlight, be out in the greenery. There are studies that show that exposure to greenery is good for your health, and this can be your time to exercise yourself. Start with outside walks.
And try to remember that physical activity, diet alcohol, smoking and drugs can all affect our mental health and wellbeing in different ways.

In our next blog post, we will bring pillar number four, "Adequate nutrition".