The Benefits of Meditation and How to Get Started

by

One simple yet powerful practice that can help improve one’s mind and body is meditation. It involves focusing on a specific object or activity to achieve a state of relaxation and mental clarity. There are a variety of benefits to meditation and how to start.

Benefits of Meditation

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

According to studies, meditation can help reduce anxiety and stress by lowering cortisol levels, a stress hormone. It can also help improve one’s mood and promote relaxation.

Improves Focus and Concentration

Meditation can also improve concentration and focus by training one’s mind to stay focused on the present. This can be especially beneficial for individuals who struggle to concentrate on their tasks.

Boosts Immune Function

Studies show that meditation can boost one’s immune function and reduce inflammation, which can help lower one’s risk of chronic illnesses.

Promotes Emotional Wellbeing

The practice of meditation has been shown to have various benefits for the body and mind. It involves focusing on a specific activity or thought to achieve mental clarity.

Getting Started

Choose a Quiet, Comfortable Space

To start practicing meditation, choose a quiet and comfortable space conducive to sitting or lying down. You can also use a chair or cushion to support your back.

Set a Time Limit

Initially, start with a few minutes of meditation every day. Gradually increase the duration of the practice as you become more comfortable. You should practice at least ten to fifteen minutes per day.

Focus on Your Breath

As you breathe in and out, focus on the sensation of the movement in and out of your body.

Practice Mindfulness

Acknowledge the present moments and let go of any thoughts that arise. Refrain from getting carried away by past or future thinking.

Experiment with Different Types of Meditation

There are various types of meditation, such as body scan, mindfulness, and loving-kindness. Experimenting with the kind of meditation that works best for you is essential.

Be Patient and Kind to Yourself

Practicing meditation can take time and patience. If you find it challenging, don’t let it discourage you. As you practice, you’ll eventually become more comfortable and experience the benefits of the practice.

The practice of meditation is a powerful and straightforward way to improve one’s mind and body. It can help boost one’s emotional and mental health and make one’s life happier.

Tips on Promoting Self Care

by

The act of taking care of yourself is referred to as self-care. It can help improve your mental, physical, and emotional health and is vital to a healthy lifestyle.

 

Taking care of yourself can help lower your risk of sickness, boost your energy levels, and manage stress better. Even modest actions can have a significant impact.

 

There are many ways to start taking care of yourself.

 

Eat a Balanced Diet

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and other healthy food sources is essential for optimum health.

 

Sleep

Ensure that you are getting adequate sleep. Try to reduce the amount of blue light exposure you get from your computer or phone before sleeping. Doing so will help you fall asleep easier.

 

Exercise Regularly

Getting 30 minutes of exercise daily can help improve your mood and prevent illness. Remembering that small amounts of exercise can add up over time is also important.

 

Take Time To Relax

Look for programs that can help you relax and improve your health. Some of these include calming exercises, meditation, and relaxation techniques. Set aside time each day to do these and other healthy activities.

 

Reward Yourself

You can also try to buy something that you have always wanted. For instance, you can order your favorite meal or reserve a spa day online.

 

Have Goals

If you cannot finish what you must do immediately, try saying no to other responsibilities. Instead, focus on the positive things you have accomplished throughout the day.

 

Have Good Hygiene

Maintaining good hygiene can also help decrease your risk of getting sick. It can also make you feel more positive about yourself and look better in front of others.

 

Although it can be beneficial to take care of yourself, it is also important to remember that different people have different needs and circumstances. At New Horizon Counseling Center, our therapists help individuals develop self-care plans based on their needs.

 

One of the most important factors people should consider when it comes to maintaining their well-being and health is taking care of themselves. At New Horizon, we provide various services and therapies designed to help individuals improve their quality of life.

The Importance of Self-Compassion

by

Whether a lack of compassion comes from a small failure or a major disappointment, people tend to be harder on themselves than other people. Over time, lack of compassion leads to further mental and emotional issues like anxiety, depression, and stress.

Therefore, people need to practice more self-compassion. Here is the list of self-compassion benefits and improvement techniques worth trying.

It’s a motivator.
People that criticize themselves usually talk themselves out of reaching their goals. Some people are harder on themselves due to years of being criticized as a child. By practicing self-compassion, it’s easier to accept flaws as motivation to improve rather than a reason to give up.

It improves overall health.
People often underestimate the impact of negativity on their health. Constant self-doubt triggers a person’s fight-or-flight response, which increases cortisol levels. Higher levels of cortisol, or the stress hormone, leads to serious illnesses. In severe cases, high levels of stress can be deadly.

With self-compassion, even difficult times don’t have such a negative impact on health. Actually, having compassion leads to adopting healthier coping mechanisms that would otherwise cause mental and emotional problems.

Ways to Practice Self-Compassion
Practicing self-compassion can be difficult at first. To become better at self-compassion, it’s best to do activities like:

Pretend to be a child.
People naturally treat children with compassion and love. Therefore, people should treat themselves with the compassion they’d show a child to change their perspective and better their chances of achieving their goals.

Write a letter.
Receiving encouraging letters from loved ones usually makes the recipient feel better. To get out of a funk, it’s a good idea to write a letter from a loved one’s perspective. Over time, people that write letters to themselves make self-compassion a habit.

Meditate
In difficult times, it’s a good idea to meditate. With closed eyes, taking deep breaths while thinking of positive mantras helps improve self-compassion.

While self-compassion doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a great way to live a healthier life. Eventually, these techniques help people learn their value, which allows them to form better relationships and overcome everyday setbacks.

Understanding Your Personality for Optimal Productivity

by

Flow or “the zone” is a state where a person’s physical and mental performance goes through the roof. A zone is also a place where people are absorbed in what they do, and time seems to fly. Flow is universal. People can train themselves to move into this space when certain conditions are met to make the state repeatable and reliable.Peoples’ personality contributes to their productivity. One cannot use another person’s system for productivity as personality varies from person to person. What works for one person for personal growth may not work for another. Organizations reach out to different personalities to increase productivity to find out the systems could not give them results.

Some personality traits that play an essential role in optimal productivity include a person’s risk tolerance, the openness to try new things, and whether one is introverted or extroverted. Personality traits are difficult to change as they are genetically coded.

Onboard processes for optimal performance

Curiosity, purpose, passion, mastery, and autonomy are intrinsic motivators that give room for peak performance. Curiosity, passion, and purpose are the basics of optimal performance, followed by autonomy, which is the desire to pursue purpose and passion. Mastery pushes people to become experts in what they do.

Proper alignment of intrinsic motivators takes time as it varies from person to person. While in the alignment process, people should focus on cultivating and amplifying their strengths and values to enhance their personality.

How to find one flow triggers

There are 22 flow triggers, and one needs to understand what works for them for optimal performance. Examples of flow triggers include deep embodiment and high consequences. Triggers change from time to time as people develop and strengthen their personalities.

Body and Brain Preparation for Peak Performance

Apart from focusing on triggers, people should check their physical and mental health for performance. They should ensure their energy levels are up and anxiety is in check. Eating healthy, having enough sleep, and exercising are some of the activities that enhance healthy living. Mindful meditation and performing breathwork exercises regulate emotions and lower anxiety. Take 20 to 40 minutes a day and engage in these exercises to improve overall health and flush out stress.

When people understand their personalities, work on their physical and mental health, they are assured optimal productivity in what they set to do.

How Nature Impacts Mental Health

by

Scientific research shows that the environment can help relieve stress, which later impacts our lifestyle positively. What you are hearing, seeing, or experiencing at any moment has a significant impact on how your nervous systems, immune system, and endocrine works. An unappealing environment can cause one to feel sad, helpless, and anxious. Feeling anxious increases blood pressure, muscle tension, heartbeat and suppresses the immune system.

Regardless of one’s age, social status, or culture, we all find nature pleasing. According to a recent survey, numerous people retreat to a natural setting whenever they feel stressed.

Here are the benefits of nature on mental health.

Nature Restores

Research shows that many people’s mood improves after spending time in nature. The outside environment can change one’s mood from stressed, depressed, and anxious to more balanced and calmer. Spending time in nature is associated with psychological wellbeing, positive mood, vitality, and meaningfulness.

Frequently viewing nature scenes elevates our ability to be attentive. The reason behind this argument is because humans find nature interesting. Time in nature allows our minds to rejuvenate, refreshing us for new explorations.

Nature Soothes

Scientists have proven that nature assists humans in dealing with pain. It is argued that our minds are naturally programmed to find plants, water bodies, trees, and other natural elements attractive. Therefore, these natural elements distract us from discomfort, pain, and anxiety.

Nature Heals

It is proven that viewing nature scenes reduces stress, fear, and anger and elevates pleasant feelings. Spending time in nature enhances physical wellbeing as well as emotional wellbeing. In turn, it reduces heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and secretion of stress hormones. Research shows that even house plants can go a long way in reducing anxiety and stress.

Nature Connects

Nature can help us connect with other people. There is a large number of people who met each other when viewing nature scenes. In research conducted by the University of Illinois, people who lived in apartments with green spaces were found to care more about their neighbors, had a feeling of unity, and were more concerned about helping others than people who didn’t have trees and plants in their building. Additionally, natures equip people with the energy to deal with life demands.

Visit NHCC.us for more on New Horizon Counseling Center and Herrick Lipton!

Taking Care of Mental Health in Quarantine

by

While the coronavirus pandemic shakes the world, we have all been ordered to social distance and stay quarantined. Being in quarantine greatly lowers a person’s chance of catching or spreading the virus. Although quarantine can greatly protect your health and the health of others, it can worsen someone’s mental health. 

Self-isolation during a pandemic can easily cause stress, insomnia, irritability, depression, and anxiety. However, there are a few ways to take care of your mental health while in quarantine:

Create a Daily Routine

Being a quarantine puts a major halt on the daily schedules and routines we have all become accustomed to. When stuck home all day, it can easily lead to someone feeling directionless when trying to fill all the hours of the day. To combat this, create a new routine to break up the day and add direction. If you are working from home, it’s important to treat it as a regular workday and hours the same way you would if you were in an office. When you have kids at home as well, make sure they are treating it as a regular school day. It doesn’t have to be a strict routine, just one that adds direction to your day.

Stay Active Throughout the Day

Many of us become guilty of binge-watching TV shows, sleeping in, and spending most of our time on the couch when being stuck inside all day. As relaxing as this is at first, this kind of behavior can lead to feelings of depression. When stuck inside for most of the day, it’s important to still be as active as possible. Do chores around the house, play with your kids, and get in some exercise through at-home workouts. Not only does this help with mental health, but it can also better your physical health. Whenever you are feeling bored, shut off the TV and put the device down to get more active.

Don’t Become Overwhelmed with Information

While it is important to stay informed on the coronavirus and have updated information, looking too much at the news and reading online stories is not good for anxiety. It is easy to become overwhelmed and start to panic when spending every minute of the day reading inaccurate or overly negative information. Instead, look to sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), as well as state and local health departments. By relying on information from credible sources and checking updates once a day or so, it can keep you informed without negatively affecting your anxiety.

For more information, check out the New Horizon Counseling Center!

How Self-care Can Improve Teens’ Mental Health

by

Nowadays, there are countless articles encouraging adults to take care of their mental health in the workplace and to always find time to treat themselves with self-care. This is a major step forward in improving and prioritizing mental health. However, the younger generation, specifically teens, can be overlooked. 

They are at a time in their lives when schoolwork, social life, and home life can cause a major hindrance to their mental health. In order to help improve teens’ mental health, it’s important to prioritize self-care.

 

Eating Healthy

A healthy mind first begins with a healthy body. Parents and schools need to be encouraging healthy eating habits for teens. Teens are far more likely to spend their days eating whatever they want and not considering the repercussions of a junk food diet. When they eat better, they will start to feel better too. Studies confirm that a teen with an unhealthy diet is at risk for developing depression. In order to prevent this, encourage healthier eating. 

 

Prioritizing Sleep

Staying up late to watch television, finish schoolwork, or talk to friends can easily lead to teens not getting enough sleep. Many times this kind of habit can be bushed off and people believe that since they are young their body can handle it. On the contrary, teens not getting enough sleep can lead to damaging their mental health. It is recommended by the National Sleep Foundation that teens between the ages of 14 to 18 sleep eight to 10 hours a night. However, on average, most teens get about 7.5 hours of sleep a night. Sleep deprivation takes a toll on their mood and can lead to depressive symptoms.

 

Meditation

The younger you are, the faster you will go. Many teens do not take the time to slow down and get in touch with their own mental wellbeing. A teen will carry their daily stresses around with them without taking the time to unwind and relax. Instead of being mentally weighed down, meditation could be an excellent way to distress and improve mental health. It can even help with getting better sleep.

 

Taking Time for Hobbies

Studying and homework are very important and should be prioritized, but so should taking time to do the things you love. By partaking in activities that they truly enjoy doing, teens can greatly reduce anxiety and stress. It can be skateboarding, watching television, spending time with friends, or even sitting down to read a book. Parents should encourage their teens to take a break and indulge in what they love to do. This can make a major improvement in their mental health and a great way for teens to feel greater happiness.

Small Life Changes for Better Mental Health

by

When falling into the routine of our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to not to realize whether or not your mental health is taking precedence. After a while, your habits and way of life can start to affect your mood and make you feel depressed. In order to avoid that, it’s important to be put your mental health first. That means changing your life in just a few small ways in order to improve your mental health:

Healthy Eating and Exercise

The feeling of sadness and depression is often linked back to your diet. If you are putting unhealthy foods in your body and not getting regular exercise, your mood can have a significant decline. This is why it’s important to eat more healthy and start exercising more. This small change to your diet can improve your mental and physical health. Start by adding more fruits and vegetables. Focus on foods rich in polyphenols, like berries, tea, or dark chocolate, because this helps with brain function.

Get Your Sleep

Another small change that can have a big effect on improving your mental health is getting more sleep. Not many people are prioritizing getting their rest when they should. If you are not getting enough sleep, this can greatly put you in the risk of feeling depression or anxiety. It’s important to not only get enough sleep, but also quality sleep. To achieve quality sleep, try reducing your exposure to blue light from laptops and smartphones before going to sleep. 

Go Outside and See Nature

One of the greatest ways to improve your mental health is by simply stepping outside your front door. Get outside, take a walk, go for a run, or even a hike to immerse yourself in greenery. Studies have proven that seeing nature can have major effects on your mental health and improve mood. It can make you feel happier just by being out in the sunshine and soaking up the benefits of boosting vitamin D levels. 

Cut Out Negative Habits

The use of drugs and alcohol is one of the biggest components of mental health. Using drugs or drinking on the regular can quickly put you into a downward spiral. These substances can lead to a vicious cycle of addiction and make mental even worse. By cutting out these negative habits, you will see an incredible improvement in your mental health. Becoming a happier and mentally healthy person can be as easy as these small lifestyle changes.

Startups that Transform Behavioral Health

by

StartupHealth technology has become an exceedingly lucrative niche as of late. More and more technology companies are inventing ways to make healthcare easier and more accessible. This influx of startup companies focused on health technology, however, has recently shifted focus. Instead of starting businesses based on general physical health, there is now a large number of companies making technology focused on behavioral health. Unfortunately, Behavioral Healthcare in the United States has suffered as of late. It faces several internal and external issues that prevent behavioral health from becoming a medical priority. New startup companies are hoping to help. Below are two that look quite promising.

Quartet Health

A persistent issue in behavioral health today is the low level of access that behavioral health patients have to trained professionals. Quarter Health has created a comprehensive platform that includes patients, doctors, and insurers. Primary Care Physicians are able to refer patients to behavioral health professionals that work with the patient’s insurance through this platform, as well as to be updated on the progress of each patient. Behavioral Health professionals are able to communicate with the PCPs of their patients, as well as to accept or deny patient referrals with no risk. Additionally, they can use the platform’s billing and scheduling tools for their practice.

This platform is also used by insurers and employers in a number of ways. For one, it has tools that help determine whether or not someone is suffering from an undiagnosed behavioral health disorder. It also can help spread understanding of such disorders and the effects they have on behavior and performance. Patients are also given perks in this platform. They can take part in online treatment programs, communicate with health providers on a secure connection, and even talk to others suffering from the same conditions.

Akili Interactive

Akili is a different type of digital health company in that it works to build quality platforms with video-game-like qualities that can be remotely used by patients and physicians alike. These platforms will be used in a variety of ways, including to assess neural functioning in patients, as well as provide an interactive situation in which interventions can be put in place.

The platforms that Akili is developing fall into certain categories. The first is the group meant to improve neural functioning and cognitive systems. Another is cognitive measurement, which includes products that frequently assess the neural functioning of each patient.

For more information and behavioral health news, visit the New Horizon Counseling Center website.

Pokemon Go and Mental Health

by

PokemonThe newest craze to hit the digital sphere panders to the nostalgia of many. Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game that exists on an application on your phone. Its premise is ingenious – those with the app can walk around to ‘catch’ Pokemon in real-life places. All they have to do is point their phone camera at where the Pokemon is supposed to be, and it shows up on their screen, surrounded by the real world. Players use their touchscreens to throw Pokeballs and collect these critters. One of the great many features of the game is that it is built on a premise of walking. In order to run into Pokemon, hatch eggs, and find Pokemon gyms, players must get outside and wander around different neighborhoods. Soon after the game was released, many of those who downloaded it began to report an improvement in their mental health, catalyzed by Pokemon Go.

People have taken to platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr to express how the game has made strides in easing symptoms of depression and anxiety. They have reported that it has given them the motivation to get outside on days during which they feel like doing nothing at all. Additionally, Pokemon Go has been proven to be a great way to interact with strangers. Those with mental health issues find themselves not only walking around outside, but also socializing, which is important when dealing with mental illness.

Experts say that the game is also beneficial for mental health in that it allows people to take a break without indulging in common negative forms of escape. For example, many people, after a long workday, tend to go home or to a bar and have a drink to relax. This can lead to a reliance on alcohol when encountering everyday stressors. Pokemon Go has given its players a way to get their mind off of stressors that simply involves getting some exercise. Instead of having a drink, users are prowling the streets for rare Pokemon and getting a much-needed dose of sunshine.

Success stories are still pouring in on social platforms. One user reported that the game gave her a reason to spend the week outside interacting with friends, which, to her, was ‘unreal.’  Another stated that the game worked better for him than any therapy or medication that had been prescribed. A third tweeted that Pokemon Go actually made him want to go outside and interact with people, after having not had that urge for years. These are only a few example of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of accounts of the game helping a player ease their psychological struggle, even if only for a little bit.

Pokemon Go has unintentionally become a therapeutic app for so many people, and it is just getting started. This really speaks to the power of technology in helping people deal with the negative symptoms of mental illness. I am excited to see what other augmented reality games appear in the future, and the effect they will have on mental health.