Surrounding Yourself with Positive People

As a nutritionist it is evident to me on a day to day basis that our health is not only determined by what we feed our bodies but it is also our attitude, mental state and positive energy that has an impact on the way we function and our general wellbeing.

When embarking on a healthy eating regime, it’s important to surround yourself with people who support your new choices; as their support will inevitably help you succeed.

Recently I had the privilege of spending a weekend in the mountains with a very close friend at a health retreat in Queensland.

When it comes to health, the combination of fresh air, no electronics, connecting with close friends, organic whole food, meditation, yoga, bushwalks, stretching and swimming was an incredible treat.

I left after just two days feeling completely regenerated and I realised that in order to gain that feeling there are a few things at play. The two most important aspects of this weekend away were; the switching off from all electronic devices and the deep connection with close friends. It really got me thinking as to how we can all bring this into our lives on a regular basis without having to go to the mountains for a weekend away. Instilling an electronic free day into our week – a 24hr no electronic zone – and making that day a family and friend day which involves connecting with people, relaxing, laughing and engaging without any electronic gadgets is a great way to regenerate regularly.

Our Health includes deep connection to people and community, it includes laughter, surrounding yourself with positive people and making choices about who you want to spend your time with.

In his book on “Adrenal Fatigue, the 21^st century Stress Syndrome”, Dr James L Wilson spoke about stress being one of the major causes of adrenal fatigue. He emphasised though that stress sometimes can be something that is difficult to identify or hard to remove from our lives – especially when the stress comes in the form of a relationship. Identifying which relationships “give you energy” and which relationships ‘sap you of energy” is vital to our long term health. Unfortunately, sometimes the relationships that take energy from you may not be avoidable as they might be work colleagues, a boss or a family member. You might not be able to completely avoid these relationships, but you can begin to minimize the time you spend in them and recognise that they may not be beneficial to your health.

In the same way, we have a choice as to what we put in our mouths – what food we feed our bodies, we have a choice as to who we spend our time with and who we surround ourselves with. The flip side is to be that positive person, don’t be the complainer, the whinger, the person who brings people down – be the uplifter, be the person who people want to spend their time with. According to the Mayo clinic, it’s unclear as to why people with positive thinking experience health benefits, but one theory is that optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles – thus making healthier choices.

When embarking on a healthy lifestyle or new exercise and eating plan – surround yourself with the people who are going to help you succeed, who are going to support and embrace your healthy lifestyle strategies – and be that positive person that other people want to be around.

Task for the week: Try a 24hr, electronic free day – connecting with your neighbourhood, call a friend, go for a walk and lock your phone away for 24hrs!  Call our AMC consultants and book an appointment now to speak to one of our naturopaths or nutritionists.

A reminder that you can email your questions to our Nutritionist; by emailing us on nutritionist@menopausecentre.com.au

References:

• Wilson JL, 2001, Adrenal Fatigue, the 21^st Century stress syndrome, Smart Publications.
• Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress, 2017, Mayo Clinic <https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle>