Mental Resilience

If you struggle to resist the tempting sugary and junk food you might want to try a mental trick. If you can say no to the food one time or walk past the temptation, you will now have a mental picture of triumph and control for the next time you face the specific food you crave.

When you are exposed to chronic stress you can suffer from insomnia, headaches, fatigue, high blood pressure, and exacerbation of your heart disease or diabetes because internal inflammation occurs, and other physical ailments. Research suggests that you can dial down stress, even if just partially, by using techniques like meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, deep breathing, visualization.

Many of our Coordinators face enormous challenges when they try to bring the HealthCorps curriculum into a new school. Coordinators can feel downright frustrated and demoralized, but sometimes when least expected, a bright moment can erase those feelings.

Are there certain exercises or relaxation techniques that help to certain specific common conditions?

Keeping young girls engaged in fitness can help their health, self esteem and social skills. It can also protect against dementia risk later in life. In fact, a recent study suggests that for each stage in life, starting with teenage years, the more physically active a woman is, the less likely she will have cognitive issues later in life.

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If you are eating a diet filled with fat, sugar, sodium and lots of calories, you may not only be harming your body – you may also be damaging your mental health. A new study out of Australia suggests that following the typical Western diet may increase depression risk by as much as 52%.

Research tells us that laughter can be the best medicine – it certainly boosts immune function, helping to produce killer cells that protect your body from things like illness and even cancer. People who laugh just may live longer and healthier lives.

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I recently read an article about an unusual and gifted person. Sean Stephenson is a man who has triumphed over osteogenesis, a congenital disease that causes bones to be extremely brittle. He suffered 200 fractures before age 18. Today he is thriving as a psychotherapist and he is a walking example that problems don’t have to hold you back.

Being thrown into a school setting for a year, I have discovered one of the main agents of the teen obesity crisis is apathy. Teens find it very difficult to care about something that is not affecting them in the immediate present.

How do you know if you’re stressed? Here are some signs you may be missing: