Holistic Health: Mind, Body and Spirit


Holistic Health: Mind, Body and Spirit



Mental health recovery isn’t only about popping pills because medication can only do so much. Working for DMH, I learned about the Holistic approach to mental health. Holistic health is about the mind, body and spirit and how we nurture things elements of ourselves striving for a healthier life and getting to that point of feeling as if we have conquered the battle and the battle has not conquered us. This means that we need to have to learn coping skills that allow our minds to perceive the world is a new positive light. We can learn coping skills by talking to our mental health professionals, psychiatrist, therapist, case worker and attending support groups. There are even online support groups like MD Junction and there you will find a network of mental health peers that will become friends during your journey, together you will uplift each other. We need to seek knowledge. Read, research and even read some uplifting blogs

            We also need to nourish our bodies, exercise and eat healthy. This one has always been a struggle for me because I tend to over eat and have always used food as a coping mechanism. Thus the words comfort food or emotional eater. The medication increases my appetite and I find that I am always hungry. Currently, I have tried to have healthy oatmeal and yogurt shakes that are aiding me in lowering my cholesterol. I stock up on fruits and veggies and sock my home with healthy food because there was a point where my roommate would stock the house with pop tarts and I would eat them in the middle of the night. As far as exercise, we need to exercise. That is a given. I actually like to exercise. I have tried boxing, power walking, yoga and swimming. Due to the fact that I have scoliosis, it has been difficult to exercise without pain. I had to give up boxing and boxing was my favorite sport. I was in excellent shape when I was boxing. I would go to the gym twice a day and do 500 jabs. Now that I am limited to what I can do, I have found power walking is a great exercise. I go out for nice walks around my neighborhood with my mom. That is one of my favorite parts of recovery. Find a walking buddy if not go alone and as you go for a stroll think about all the wonderful positive changes you want to make in your life. Ponder positive thoughts and energy. Negative energy be gone! Positive energy welcome!

            Now we have come to spirit. This is what I have mastered over the years. I know that I have a beautiful spirit. I meditate, do breathing exercises and pray. Now, let me tell you one thing, feeding our spirit doesn’t mean you have to be part of a particular religion. There is a difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is more about the inner soul and religion is more about a higher power and organized practice. I am both spiritual and religious. This is what has worked for me.                                                                                            If somebody hurts you or brings pain into your life, even something catastrophic happens that hinders your recovery than stop for a minute and say, Yes I can!  Fight off their negative energy with positive energy and if it is a problem- just know this; some things are out of our control. However, although it is out of our control the one thing we can control is how we cope with our thoughts, feelings and emotions. We can’t control people’s negative actions and behaviors. It’s like trying to control an earthquake or natural disaster. We can control how we cope.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hallucinations and Illusions: The Horns on the Virgin of Guadalupe

My mom looked deep into my eyes. I thought she was admiring me because I thought I was a prophet. I was certain that I was the chosen one and now I was going to meet Pope Francis. We were sitting at mass together at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church. I was the chosen one and my special connection with God would make it possible for my mother to meet Pope Francis. Wow! My mom would be so proud of me. My mom would be so honored that she was the mother of the chosen one. When it was time for communion, my mom softly touched my hand and looked at me with her big brown eyes. I thought, Wow, my mom is in awe that she is the mother of a prophet. My mom was pure and innocent like the Virgin Mary. When mass was over, I walked up to the portrait of the Virgin of Guadalupe. I always stared at the portrait, and many times, the Virgin of Guadalupe smiled at me, but there were other times when her tongue stuck out, and she turned into the devil. Today, however, our blessed mother was smiling ...
Read more

The Shaman

  Losing my mind was a slow process until one day it took over rapidly. My family became worried. I slipped into a psychotic episode. I would hallucinate and see shadows and demons. I began to combat the evil with prayer and the Bible. I became hyper-religious. I told my family that the devil was after me and that I was a prophet. I told them that the devil was in the house. My family is from a small ranch in Mexico. Through their traditions and culture they believed that maybe my mental illness was something spiritual or supernatural. My mother, years later told me that she did not know what to do or what was happening. All she knew was that she was desperate to help me. One day my mother and sister-in-law, Sophie, told me that we had to take a special trip. I didn’t know where we were going and I was too delusional to understand. They took me to a house with a small back house. I went into a room and saw a heavy man sitting down. He asked me to come in and have a seat. I sa...
Read more

When you Neglect Yourself

Image
“I knew I needed to slow down on life but I couldn’t. I tried to tough it out that I was physically sick. I’ve always been nurturing like my mom, listening to people, feeding people. People hear what I’m saying but don’t seem to listen. I was so busy taking care of everyone else, I was neglecting me. I would come home from work and by husband would hand me the ground turkey to make the meatloaf. I didn’t even get a chance to sit down and rest. I made meatloaf every other day. I cleaned and went to work talked to family and friends and didn’t focus that my body was trying to tell me something. Mari, you’re not well!” I got sick after eating undercooked meat at work one night. I’m a waitress. Something told me not to eat it because it was pink but I dug in and ate the whole thing. Minutes later I was running to the bathroom with diarrhea. I know TMI. Days later vomiting everyday. Every morning. My co-workers teased me that I was pregnant and there was a time I was convinced I was pregnan...
Read more