As it’s Mental Health Awareness Week in New Zealand I thought we needed to hear from Dr Roseann, an integrative mental health expert. We are going to be posting tips on social media throughout the week from Dr Roseann on some simple ways you can reset your central nervous system in daily life. Dr Roseann loves to talk about the impact of stress on the brain and body.
What’s going on in the world right now is, we’re under stress and the pandemic has really increased stress for people. It’s so important to understand how stress impacts our nervous system and our actual physical health. When we are stressed, our nervous system gets activated and we get into a hyper state. When our nervous system recognizes that there’s a stressor, it actually pools all its resources and tries to deal with that stressor. So, it’s going to use all your immune system power, and it’s going to use your brain power, and that’s why we don’t feel our best when we are under stress (plus, if you are wanting to lose weight your body is not going to shed weight when it’s in a stressed state).
But guess what? The good news is, there are things you can do to lower that stress level in your body so that your brain and body can actually do the things it’s supposed to do. So you can think, and you can feel better and not feel so mentally sluggish, anxious, depressed, or in physical pain. Because we know these are the many things that people experience who are under a chronic stress state.
So, the first thing we need to do is for you to find something that works for you! That could be yoga. That could be meditation. It could be biofeedback and neurofeedback, PEMF technology, AMD ion foot cleanse, saunas, grounding, forest bathing, deep breathing, square breathing, legs up the wall. And these are all really evidence-based, highly effective things. You can’t just do these things as a one off. You actually need to turn these things into a habit in your daily life. Whatever it is that you like, you need to make sure that you are incorporating it each day, as when we are under this chronic stress state, our nervous system wants to constantly go into an activation mode.
Take time every day, at least five minutes. Great if it’s 10. It doesn’t have to be 45 minutes, but there are a lot of tools to help support your mental health, and there really is a connection between your brain and your body. No matter what age you are, if you have time and money, you can make the time to do these things. We’re talking as little as five minutes, a day, 10 minutes ideal.
So pick something that works for you and do it every day and make sure you breathe every day. Make sure you’re sleeping, make sure you’re drinking and getting hydration and taking care of yourself. When we take care of ourselves, we are not only physically and mentally healthier, but for those mums out there, you are great role models for your children who are experiencing the same stuff as you. So take care of yourself and enjoy the relaxation that comes by practicing these things.