Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Chin up
With the introduction of the BBC's new Headroom, a campaign to help us cope with life's ups and downs. I am drawn to ponder on the state of our minds and health, given the supposed higher standard of living that most of us 'enjoy'.
The BBC campaign centres around the Headroom site that offers advice and suggestions on how to improve our sense of well-being, what activities other people do to give them a lift in spirits; how to avoid the 'blues'; to find something to smile about; to join in live chat and 'get it off your chest with celebrity Ruby Wax in Ruby's Room; to check into Mind Spa and register for our free online life coach: to chill in the Headroom Tent at Radio 1's Big Weekend; to share our stories and get help and advice. I'm all for this great campaign that probably addresses at least in part, a real problem for a great many people who suffer some degree of 'low spirits' ranging from the mild blues to serious depression.
But it would seem that Afluenza is rampant amongst our friends, colleagues and families around the world. Despite the higher standard of living that most of us experience; our higher earnings, our more comfortable lifestyle, our greater spending ability despite the current credit crunch, our relative luxuries, gadgets and labour-saving appliances, despite all that comes with our modern 21st century living, we are just as susceptible to depression as we ever have been in history, if not more so.
Admittedly there is a lot of 'bad news' around; terrible disasters in Burma and China, world economy going into nose-dive, housing markets crashing, a credit crunch that is tightening around us as we speak and many companies profits slumping so much they make our collapsed and slumped posture look positively healthy. There is so much bad news around that we are excused for thinking we have just reason to be a bit down ourselves.
But given all of this, for those of us who are fortunate enough to not be in the Chinese earthquake zone or in Burma or other terribly afflicted area, we still are liable to experience sadness, blues and depression. It goes to confirm that our mental health is not related directly to our supposed standard of living, although some degree of comfort must surely be a help.
Our state of mind is linked so much to what we do with ourselves, in terms of the food and nutrition we eat, the amount of alcohol, caffeine and drugs we take, the dehydration from inadequate amounts of water, our posture and degree of healthy upright poise and last but not least, our mental outlook on life. It could be said that our mental outlook is dependent on how we feel. But which comes first, the outlook or the emotion?
We may not be able to change our emotion so quickly but we can change our outlook. I would also argue that it is possible to just change our emotion too, if we make that choice. We can just decide to be feel happy, to smile. Even if we force a laugh, we create enough endorphins to lift our mood. And when our mood lifts, we start to laugh...
We can change our Outlook if we choose, but it requires us to make that change! One great way of lifting one's mood that comes immediately to mind is to have an attitude of Gratitude. I've written about this before read my posts Gratitude, but without repeating myself too much, it's a great 5 minute exercise to think of everything we have in our life that we are truly grateful for. This little list should include all those small things we take for granted, such as our eyes to see the beautiful person on the other side of the room, my hands to text a message and feed my mouth, the hair that still clings to my middle-aged scalp, the family love and support I enjoy, the shirt on my back and the modest flat I live in, my aged motorcycle that has survived being written off and still rattles me along the side of Hyde Park on my way to work, my wonderful partner, the music in my Ipod and CD rack, the meal I had last night, the sunshine that comes through my office window, the slight breeze that dispels the humidity, the bird that sang outside as I dressed this morning, and, and, and, and. Think of a hundred little things that you are grateful for, then see how you feel.
Another great way to lift how we feel in ourselves, is to Give. Give of your time, give of your expertise to your friends, family and people in need, donate money to disaster funds to help the suffering people in other parts of the world, give a smile, give congratulations, give a compliment. The more we give, the better other people feel and also the better we feel too.
Thank you blog readers for being there to encourage me to write. Thinking of so many things to be grateful for makes me happier already. Not that I was 'down', but one can always go UP more, don't you think?
Chin up.
:-)
