Health Matters

December 27, 2016 by Elaine Walker in News

How Do You Want To Improve Your Health? Quit Smoking? Lose Weight? Curb or Quit Alcohol altogether? Or do you have some other goal in mind?

‘I just want to live while I’m alive’ is a famous line from a Bon Jovi track and there is no better time than Now to really think about how you want to live your life. Lifestyle changes are often on people’s lips of what they want to change, but generally speaking, after 3-4 weeks many people give up and feel disillusioned, stuck in the “I can’t do this’ mould. But success can be yours.

Plan for Success

Success is in the planning strategy – the step by step guide of how to make your goal a reality – long term, not just for a few short weeks. Achieving a personal goal to stop smoking, shed the excess weight or control alcohol intake involves many factors that most people are unaware of, so prepare yourself for success.

i) The Art of Saying ‘NO’

Initially in the first few days – or week, when motivation is exceptionally strong, it is generally easier to resist group pressure (and never underestimate group pressure). However, as time goes on, the human desire to ‘fit in’ can often override any personal desire to give up something that the rest of the group are doing, so falling into the relapse trap is common unless you have prepared yourself mentally – how to say ‘NO’ to others is a skill to be learned.

ii) Resisting Temptation

Equally important is the ability to say ‘NO’ to yourself, a good example is when you are dining out and you feel like indulging in a favourite food but know that health wise or weight wise, it’s a ‘no no’! This reminds me of being at a restaurant with a group of friends and one lady ordered chilli mussels. Within an hour of eating the mussels she suffered the stomach cramps and discomfort that she had always suffered when eating chilli mussels. One might ponder: Why did she eat them?

She was ‘in the moment’, dismissing her mind’s attempts to tell her that it wasn’t a good idea to eat the mussels, it’s as though she had ‘brought the shutters down’ on the reasoning part of her mind and ignored all the years of evidence that had gone before. She hadn’t mentally prepared herself for such a situation. Whatever your goal is, listen to the commitment you have made to yourself. If you are struggling then seek Professional help in the way of counselling or hypnotherapy.

iii) Coping With Stress and Anxiety

If smoking, alcohol or food are your usual way of coping with a stressful or anxious situation then counselling or hypnotherapy can certainly help you let go of your dependence on these methods and adopt a healthier personal coping style.

iv) Lifestyle Changes Can Lead To A Healthier Lifestyle

There is so much medical evidence that how we live day by day impacts on overall general health and even how long we live. Investing in yourself and living a healthier lifestyle now may improve your quality of life as the years roll by.