Central Principle 8

CARE FOR YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH

The health of your mind, body, and emotions depends on proper and consistent nutrition, exercise, and sleep. Strive to eat moderately, exercise regularly, and get sufficient sleep.

Rule of thumb: Eat three well-balanced, low-fat meals a day, exercise 20-30 minutes, three to four times a week; and sleep seven to nine hours a night.

Steps To Applying This Principle

Success Story

GENERAL INFORMATION

It is common knowledge your body needs proper exercise, rest, and good nutrition to function effectively; otherwise, you feel weak and fatigued. Your brain--like a muscle--has physical needs the same as your body. If you fail to take good care of your body, your mind will not be at its best.

If your body or mind is in a weakened state, you naturally tend to think about or view life in an unclear, negative, or exaggerated manner. Insufficient food, exercise, or rest, is a common cause or contributing factor when you are feeling upset, depressed, anxious, or angry.

STEPS TO APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE

1.  
2. Examine your eating habits. Are you getting three well-balanced meals a day? Are you eating moderately, especially products containing large quantities of fat, sugar, or salt? Are you habitually taking anything into your body which artificially affects your emotions such as caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco?

    

3. Examine your sleeping habits. Are you getting the sleep your body requires at this particular time of your life? (Different amounts of sleep are required, depending on age, circumstance, and stress level.) Do you have a fairly regular routine for bedtime and for getting up?

    

4. Try an experiment. Decide on some manageable improvements you would like to make in your eating and sleeping habits. Practice your improvements for 30 days, then see how much better you feel.

    

5. Examine your exercise habits. Are you getting a minimum of 20 minutes of good cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running, swimming, or cycling 3 to 4 times a week ?

   If you are not exercising regularly, remind yourself that regular, moderate exercise is good for you, regardless of how you feel. You should first consult your physician if you have not been exercising regularly in the last year or if you have health concerns.

   Consider various ways you could exercise. If you need ideas ask a family member, friend, or librarian; or check local college, YMCA, church, and community groups for exercise classes.

   Decide on an exercise plan best for you. Set up a regular schedule (6:00-6:30 a.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for example). If you have difficulty beginning or continuing on your own, join with a friend or a group.

    

6. While you are exercising, notice how much easier it is to avoid feeling upset.

    

7. Continue your exercise program, even if you are not yet feeling better. The added strength you are gaining will help you in taking whatever additional actions are advisable.

SUCCESS STORY

At first glance it was not difficult to see why Martha was depressed. She was going through a painful divorce, her son was getting into fights at school and refusing to obey at home, and there was hardly enough money to make ends meet. She sought help for herself. Although a counselor helped her more effectively deal with the divorce and her son, she still felt depressed.

When she came to me seeking additional help, I asked her, among other things, to tell me about her nutritional, exercise, and sleep habits. She told me there was so much to do she could only get about five hours of sleep a night. To wake up in the morning and stay awake at work, she drank about six caffeine beverages a day. She was too busy to eat more than one or two meals a day although she usually found a way to grab a candy bar or donut now and then. As far as exercise, that was the last thing she felt like doing.

Although I suspected a variety of causes and solutions for her depression, I told her I would only accept her as a client if she committed to do the following: eat three meals a day, get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, and dramatically decrease her caffeine consumption, if not eliminate it entirely.

Reason: Until she took better care of her body, she was not likely to escape feeling depressed, no matter how many improvements she made in other areas of her life.

Although Martha was not happy about what I required of her, she made the commitment. She then proceeded to tell me she thought she needed some antidepression medication. I explained that in some cases such medication is appropriate, but even then only as a temporary aid until the mind and body are functioning better and until the person being treated has learned the skills to live more effectively. I told her we could consider the possibility that she might need medication, but before I would recommend it, I wanted her to do what she could herself to restore her physical health.

She agreed. She began taking daily walks, sometimes early in the morning or during her lunch hour at work. At first, the exercise was a chore--one more thing for her to do--but soon she began to find it somewhat enjoyable.

Although it took more than proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep for Martha to climb out of her pit of depression, doing those things gave her the physical strength necessary to make the climb and in her case, she succeeded without the use of medication

Reminder : If this central principle does not apply to your particular concern, go to another central principle OR, go directly to the section on the problem you wish to solve: Communication Difficulties, Depression, Unsatisfactory Intimacy, or Anxiety Attacks)