Discussing mindset is quite important to me because it’s not spoken about openly. Peope are embarrased to talk about mental health issues for fear of being judged or worse made fun of. But it’s important to understand that mindset plays a huge role especially in chronic pain sufferers. This is by no means implying that the pain is in your head. It’s more about being aware of what tricks your brain can play on you to give you that short term pleasure and keep you from achieving your goal.

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Do you have the mindset of a stressor?

Do you analyse and assess people’s actions to the point that it can stress you out? Why I’m asking this is because stress directly affects your levels of pain in the body. Stress releases a hormone called cortisol and adrenaline. Now in ancient humans these hormones were very important to save their lives. Because they could have been wandering through the woods and suddenly they come across a Lion! These hormones would either make them flee or fight for survival. Once they accomplished that task, the hormones would come back to normal. But our modern world does not have dangerous animals. It in turn has social media and the constant bombardement of negativity can keep these stressors active in our system. This constant negativity can disrupt our normal bodily functions including healing. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems including anxiety and depression.

Why is your mindset the way it is?

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I don’t think genetics has as much a part to play in this as your upbringing or your lifestyle. You may have gone through a particulary difficult experience in life that makes you stress more in certain situations. I would even say that it’s lack of good quality breathing! What happens when you’re worried?You breathe shallow, your posture droops and there’s just not enough air flowing in your lungs. This can limit the amount of oxygen in the blood and the brain. In fact what we eat as well has major impact on our moods! Have you ever noticed how you feel after eating a big bowl of pasta as compared to a green , fresh salad? Digestion is the hardest thing our bodies have to do. Processed food has a lot of toxins in it that the body tries to get rid of . Hence it consumes a lot of energy to digest that food, in turn making you feel sluggish. And would anyone feel like doing anything if they’re feeling sluggish?

Simple steps to help your mindset

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  • Breathe!

    Take deep breathes every time you feel stressed. This will immediately bring more oxygen into your body and help you clear the brain fog immediately!

  • Water!

    Drink atleast 1 glass of water every hour! Most of the times when you feel like you’re hungry, it’s only just thirst. Have a glass of water before you reach for a snack and see how you feel.

  • Self awareness

    Don’t just do things as a robot! Pay attention to what you’re doing and why are you doing it? Are you going to achieve something by it or are you just wasting your time on something that’s not important?

  • Talk to an expert

    It’s hard to do things by yourself. Don’t be afraid to talk to a mindfulness expert that can help with simple meditation techniques to pace yourself. This will in turn help you in healing your body