DR. LIZ WALKER  |  MISSOULA, MONTANA

Mindset – What is the hype about it?

Mindset. Is it just a trending thing or is it something of importance? Both, I’d say. Mindset work is nothing new. Training your mind has been something that cultures have done for a millennia. More attention is being directed to our thoughts now though in our society, which is a great thing. Mental health is no longer brushed under the rug and is getting addressed openly as it should be.

I am not saying a person can think themselves out of depression, but taking care of your thoughts does play a role on our health. Mental stressors, more simply known as thoughts, affect your physiology. Do you perceive that you are in a scary-stressful situation? You have physiologic changes as a result, such as increased heart rate, more rapid breathing rate, and increased blood pressure. Are you in an exciting-eustress situation? Are you in a freeze-depressed state? Are you feeling calm? Any emotion or thought you have will be exhibited in your body. You cannot have a thought and not have it affect your body.

Your thoughts are powerful. We could dive into quantum physics and energy particles here, but I’ll save that for another blog 😉 The point is is to implement in a mindset practice. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be you sitting for 5 minutes on your bed before you go to sleep just doing nothing. Check in with yourself on your day. When you take the time to pause and observe what is in your mind, that in itself is a mindset practice.

Too often we are so busy, buzzing through our day, and this leads to a cycle of buzziness (see what I did there?) and we are checked out from what we actually need because we are so caught up in what we “should” be doing in our day to day lives. That’s stressful! Meditation, journaling, therapy, BodyTalk, spending time in nature, taking a break from social media, your favorite self-care practice, all will contribute to a mindset practice. This will have a positive effect on your body, your health, and your quality of life overall!

Thanks for reading