The answer is very clear in my mind and here is why…

In this fit and fat conscious society we are all striving for better physical health, we want to be fitter and more mobile for longer, disease free and look good!

I know many people who appear physically fit they take regular exercises and eat all the ‘right’ foods but still they have huge issues that they carry around and consequently they are angry, uncomfortable even in their own company and have resulting health ramifications like high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, believe it or not constipation is one they talk about often…the list could go on. Here is one of many pieces taken from a scientific journal, full version can be found http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/how-anger-hurts-your-heart

Scientists don’t know for sure, but anger might produce direct physiological effects on the heart and arteries. Emotions such as anger and hostility quickly activate the “fight or flight response,” in which stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, speed up your heart rate and breathing and give you a burst of energy. Blood pressure also rises as your blood vessels constrict.

While this stress response mobilizes you for emergencies, it might cause harm if activated repeatedly. “You get high cortisol and high adrenaline levels and that is the cardiotoxic effect of anger expression,” says Jerry Kiffer, MA, a heart-brain researcher at the Cleveland Clinic’s Psychological Testing Center. “It causes wear and tear on the heart and cardiovascular system.” Frequent anger may speed up the process of atherosclerosis, in which fatty plaques build up in arteries, Kiffer says. The heart pumps harder, blood vessels constrict, blood pressure surges, and there are higher levels of glucose in the blood and more fat globules in the blood vessels. All this, scientists believe, can cause damage to artery walls.

And anger might not be the only culprit. In Kubzansky’s own research, she found that high levels of anxiety and depression may contribute to heart disease risk, too. “They tend to co-occur,” she says. “People who are angry a lot tend to have other chronic negative emotions as well.”

So with this information to hand, if your mind is cluttered with emotional distress even if you take all the other measures you are still preventing yourself from living in a healthy body. You could be spending thousands of hours on exercise and tonnes on money on the best foods for your body but you would be cancelling out the health benefits with your thoughts.

A great man once said “You are the sum total of your thoughts” by Albert Einstein

The question for me would be ‘is it fun, does it feel good inside?’ if the answer is ‘no’ then why do it? Well if you need tools I can help you there so contact me.

Getting happier could be the best and most fun diet you ever did!

In many Option process dialogue (OPD) sessions I have counselled recently, clients have described themselves in various ways, here are some..”…bad mother, uncaring person, stupid, inadequate wife…the list goes on…”.

So the question begs “why do we use ‘these’ beliefs to label ourselves with? why do we judge ourselves in this way?”.  Well I can tell you why I used to do it…yes you read correctly, sometimes I would use combinations just to give my self a really good beating!  Many of my clients have also used similar reasons to myself too.  By the way I just want to say there is nothing wrong with labelling yourself with those or variations of those phases, most people find it is just not a pleasant experience and want something different, that is why they come to work with me!

Whilst doing my housework this morning I had a fleeting thought of how my regular effort at maintaining the house keeps it nice and clean and also prevents build up of tough grime, rot setting in and infestation, which can take a lot of hard work to bring the surfaces back to clean or decent condition.  However, so many people I know are happy to quite literally brush things under the carpet, or leave the dust building behind furniture and say “Ignorance is bliss”.  I like to use this as a metaphor for ourselves and our issues.

I work with so many people who have swept things under the carpet for so many years that they now suffer from stress, anxiety which often then lead to stomach ulcers and heart attacks or obesity if you are a comfort eater to just name a few.   They try and appear “fine” on the surface where underneath they experience a constant discomfort and disease!  So this brings me neatly (excuse the pun) to the title of this blog, why not adopt the belief that “Maintenance is bliss”.  Why not be constantly working on yourself to help clean out all those things you don’t need any more to stop the rot setting in!  If you need help with that, just contact me I have all the tools!

Yes you read the title correctly.  What does that mean? well here is my experience and that of many others that have shared with me…we (as a population) tend to hold on to sadness/discomforts in situations as we feel safer doing so than to go to a more comfortable space…we hang on to the worst case scenario, the worst prognosis or even create fears now based around possibilities that could or might happen in the future.  So why? One of the main reasons is because we are taught to so we believe it is the safe way to travel, and we buy it.

There is nothing wrong with doing any of those things however it like most things in life has consequences… stress, anxiety, depression, and the physical manifestations e.g. high blood pressure, heart attacks and science is even now finding strong links with cancer!  SO here is a suggestion if you want something different try something different. Trust you being comfortable in that moment is going to serve you…more comfortable people experience clarity and are more productive, better relationships and lower risk of disease.  Give it a go what is the worst that can happen?