Are you looking to embark on a fitness journey? You want to increase your lifespan, look better, feel better, and overall improve your experiences. And you can never start soon enough.
But there’s an aspect of this journey that isn’t talked about as much as it should be, and that’s how your mental health factors in.
Here is a walk-through of all the reasons you need to be sound in mind before you can bring your body to full health, as well as some suggestions to get this to happen.
1. Energy Levels
A healthy amount of anxiety can be a motivator. But too much will weaken you because your organs are working too hard, which means your energy is being wasted.
This is why when we’re especially stressed, it feels overwhelming to do the simplest things, like doing laundry or washing dishes. To further complicate things, the longer you stay inactive, the harder it will be to become active again.
Combat this with both medical interventions, such as vitamins and CBD gummies, and practical exercises, such as grounding techniques and creating pleasant mental visuals.
2. Stress Increases Risk of Illness
The term “worry yourself sick” isn’t an exaggeration. Stress, depression, and similar mental conditions put you at a much higher risk of developing serious physical conditions.
On a more day-to-day level, when sicknesses are going around, you’ll be more likely to catch them. This takes a toll on your body and makes it more difficult to do the things you want to do to get into shape.
Worrying begins at home. For this reason, you need to turn your home into the perfect sanctuary to lower your stress levels.
3. Ruins Your Appetite
When your emotional state is not well, there will be changes in your appetite. Some people eat too little, which will lead to malnourishment. This will sap your strength, deny your body nutrients, weaken your immune system, and worsen injuries.
On the other hand, there can be an unhealthy uptick in your appetite. Along with unwanted weight gain, it can also cause digestive issues, pressure on your respiratory system, and a lack of endurance.
This is why, when you catch yourself stress-eating or stress-starving, now is the time to take inventory and develop a better coping mechanism.
4. One Feeds the Other
The link between physical and mental health is not one-sided. Chronic pain or discomfort in the body will take a toll on you psychologically because of the despair that comes. From then, one feeds off the other.
This is why you need to pay just as much attention to the other aspect of your health if one is dwindling. Otherwise, this vicious cycle will continue.
5. Patterns Reiterate Themselves
Nothing is better at setting a pattern than a mental state. When you don’t feel like doing something and you skip it, that reinforces both a physical and neurological pattern. The pattern in the brain reinforces itself through neuroplasticity, and these patterns strengthen with time, as the ones that are not used weaken.
The threat of bad habits runs deeper than just the development of them. It is the good habits that get left behind. That is why we must foster the urge to take care of ourselves, to prevent the inability to.
Mind and Body: The Takeaway
The relationship between mental and physical health is inextricable. If one suffers, so will the other. This is why, if you haven’t felt like yourself lately, you need to check your mental health with the same vigilance and compassion as you would for a physical wound.
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