Holistic Healing

Some of you might have read about my exercise experiment. It proved to me that exercise is important for more reasons than just staying in shape. The benefits I was most interested in were the increased mental focus/mental abilities and setting your mood on an upward trajectory that can last all day. When my mental illness began, I will admit, I was way too out of control to commit to focusing on my well-being. However, now that I am a bit more stabilized, I have decided to choose holistic medicine in addition to my prescriptions (which by the way I STILL haven’t found the right cocktail after a year *sigh*).

Holistic medicine is a form of healing that considers the whole person – body, mind, spirit, and emotions – in the quest for optimal health and wellness. With holistic medicine it is believed that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts will be affected. In this way, if people have imbalances (physical, emotional, or spiritual), it can negatively affect their overall health. It makes sense to me when I think about it – when I’m sick, physically unwell, I don’t function properly and feel drained – when I’m sad, I am less motivated to accomplish much and can be lazy. It is kind of like a domino effect.

I do not see a holistic doctor, but I do utilize their types of treatments. I continue to educate myself on lifestyle changes and self-care to promote wellness. For me, this includes diet, exercise, psychotherapy, and counseling.

All of this being said, this week I have dedicated myself to focusing on improving my diet, along with regular exercise. I have also decided to begin sharing some of my favorite healthy recipes! I know eating healthy can be a challenge, especially when you get cravings or run out of ideas to keep your meals interesting, but there are tons of delicious recipes out there to make. After seeing how much regular exercise helps me, if a healthy diet helps even a little, I will commit to it (but seriously, everyone enjoys a cheat day 🙂 occasionally).

For those of you searching for more ways to improve your health and well-being, follow along!