THE OTHER FORMS OF HEALTHY LIVING

There are other aspects of a healthy life besides a nutritional diet and daily exercise.  Sometimes we overlook these areas when we try to become healthy.  Health is a comprehensive term and cannot be used to just describe one aspect of your body or life.  There is physical health (nutrition, physical fitness, immunity, heart health, etc), mental health, emotional health, enviromental health, spiritual health, and more.  Having perfect physical health does not equal a 100% healthy person.  You may be completely disease free, have optimal body fat and BMI, be purely functional and have poor relationships that hurt your emotional and mental health.  Obviously no one is perfect, but there are steps we can take to reduce the pollution in our lives from other sources besides food and exercise.

Polluting the body

Cigarrette Smoking:

– A “skinny” person who smokes is less healthy than an overweight person who eats right, exercises and does not smoke. We all know smoking is bad for us for many reasons (emphasema, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, to name a few).  If you really want to get healthy you will quit smoking for good.  I know it is hard but there are support groups, free samples of stop smoking products, and friends who can help.  Plus second hand smoke can harm your loved ones – you wouldn’t want your spouse or child to end up with lung cancer because of you!

House hold cleaners and pesticides

– Many household cleaners, insecticides, pesticides, and weed removers contain very harmful substances (just look on the back of the bottle and read all the warnings!).  I know you must clean your home – and I am not suggesting that you stop cleaning or debugging your home!  However, there are healthier choices available.  Try using a “green” cleaner that is safer for the environment and you!  Vinegar mixed with water works well for kitchen and/or bathroom floors and has many other uses for cleaning.  Research online natural pesticides and cleaners – there are lots of “recipes” you can try that are less expensive than store bought ones. Sometimes though it may be nearly impossible not to use a harmful substance in your home.  When using harmful chemical sprays, wear a mask over your nose and mouth to keep you from inhaling as many chemicals.  Leave the house after cleaning and leave a window open so the fumes can escape and you aren’t sitting there breathing in the poisons.

Polluting the Mind

Negative self talk, bad attitudes, and allowing others to get under your skin can have harmful effects on your health!  You can improve your health by improving your attitude!  Try positive self talk – look in the mirror in the mornings and tell your self something wonderful about yourself!  Examples “I have great hair”, “I’m a fantastic cook”, “My calf muscles are rock hard”, “I am so proud of myself for walking 1/2 a mile today”, or “I am a supportive friend”.  Try to avoid negative self talk such as “I’m so fat”, “I can never remember things”, or “I’m not good at cleaning”.  You’re thoughts about yourself have a profound impact on your performance at work, home, and in your social life.  Have a confident and positive attitude – if you don’t feel it – Fake it!  Faking that your confident will make others think you are confident and in turn can eventually help you to truly be confident in yourself.  When something unexpected happens or someone is rude to you try to not let it get you down.  You can be upset without letting one occurence ruin your whole day.  Try to look at what happened from the bright side, realize you are upset but still alive and well, and focus on something else.  You are in control of your own thoughts and actions – so do not let others steer you in the wrong direction.

Polluting Relationships

Friends

– We have all had that one friend who constantly complains, is full of self pity, and is never happy with anything.  Get rid of that friend!  Being around someone who constantly brings you down is not healthy for you.  Their bad attitude can slowly creep up on you until you as well have a full blown negative day.  Surround yourself with people who are encouraging, lighthearted, uplifting, and happy.  Good friends can be the difference between feeling loved or feeling used.

Significant Others

– No one has a perfect relationship.  There will be arguements, disagreements, frustrations, and hard times.  However, the good should out weigh the bad.  If you’re partner continously discourages you then maybe you should really look at the benefits of your relationship.  A partner who is unsupportive of your dreams, trys to control you, or constantly talks bad about you may not be a good choice for a life long mate.  Are you going to be happy hearing how worthless you are on a daily or weekly basis for the rest of your life?  If you really love a person who may be having a negative impact on you try talking about it first, going to a therapist, and work out your differences.  Love takes work and is not all romance and roses.

Polluting Spirituality

– Believing in something and standing behind it can help you be a strong person.  Surrounding yourself with others who believe the same as you can confirm your beliefs and help you hold on to them. Knowing your beliefs holds you accountable to yourself and helps you know yourself.  Being ho hum about what you believe or not caring can have negative effects on your well being.  Many people who are sick or injured use their belief system to help them overcome their disease or injuries.  Facing a big decision in life can be helped by having strong beliefs.  Many religions offer support when you are in need or friends to help you grow in your spirituality.  When you are faced with a circumstance that requires a belief to take action you may hold back if you are not sure of what you believe.  Knowing before hand improves your confidence in yourself to make the best decisions possible. Having no belief system can cause indecisiveness, low self-confidence, and others may easily sway you to their side.

So this week lets un-pollute our lives and improve aspects of our health we often ignore!