The Soundtrack to Wellness: How Music Shapes Our Mental Health
Ever found yourself tapping your feet to a catchy tune? Music is a universal language that transcends cultures and speaks directly to our hearts. But did you know that it also has a profound impact on our mental health? Let’s dive deeper into the benefits of music on mental health:
1. Stress Buster: Music as a Stress Reliever
Stress is an inevitable part of life, but music can be a powerful tool in managing it. Research from the American Psychological Association reveals that listening to music can significantly reduce cortisol levels, the body's primary stress hormone. Next time you're feeling overwhelmed, try putting on some calming music. You might find that it helps you relax and regain your composure.
2. Tune In to Your Emotions: How Music Helps You Process Feelings
Research suggests that music can help individuals better understand their emotions. Listening to music with lyrics that reflect one's feelings can provide a sense of validation and help process complex emotions. Further, creating music allows for a deeper expression of emotions, contributing to emotional well-being.
3. Brain Boost: How Music Sharpens Memory and Focus
Listening to music activates both the left and right halves of the brain simultaneously which helps to improve memory. Music also helps to retrieve old memories and lay down new ones. Music can also help you improve your study focus, by increasing alertness and focus. The best music genres for studying include jazz, classical, ambient sounds, instrumental, and Lo-fi music.
4. Melodic Relief: How Music Acts as a Natural Painkiller
Music therapy can aid in pain management by diverting attention from discomfort and stimulating the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. Music therapy reduces pain perception, decreases the need for pain medication in patients, reduces anxiety, increases relaxation.
5. Social Connection: Music as a Bonding Tool
Music has a un
Date with 8: Unlocking the Eight Dimensions of Wellness
Wellness is multi-dimensional, and the eight dimensions of wellness offer a roadmap for cultivating a life that is not only healthy but also deeply satisfying and meaningful. Let’s dive into the eight dimensions of wellness:
1. The Physical Dimension: Nurturing the Temple
Our physical body is the dimension we are most familiar with and is the most emphasized in wellness-related media. Physical wellness implies:
o Treating your body with respect by avoiding intentional harm (no cutting or bingeing)
o Eating nutritious food (yum!)
o Getting those zzzzes! Sleeping like a baby!
o Moving without tiring (sore no more)
o Avoiding habits that lead to disease (tch tch)
o Moving about regularly (whether its pumping iron, Zumba or a walk that gets your metabolism soaring)
2. Intellectual Wellness: Stimulating the Mind
Intellectual wellness is about engaging in lifelong learning, and fostering curiosity, and creativity. Here’s how to enhance your intellectual wellness:
o Use your mental talents daily (play Sudoku, read a magazine, solve a word puzzle)
o Move out of your comfort zone (get scared, get growing)
o Try out a new skill - cook a sandwich, try to fix the broken heater or attempt an algebra sum
o Get curious about things that surround you - ask a zillion questions, just like a child!
o Have some fun with a creative activity (paint, draw, sing, play)
3. Financial Dimension: Developing Financial Freedom
Yes, money is important but what does being financially well mean? Here it is:
o Having the resources to feed, clothe, and shelter yourself, and your loved ones
o Being able to understand terms such as income, interest, savings, and loans (yes, it’s time you understood your taxes!)
o Having adequate savings for rainy days
o Feeling confident and stable money-wise (oh that feeling!)
4. Emotional Wellness: Cultivating Inner Harmony
Emotional wellness revolves around understanding and managing one's emotions i
A little weekend fun!
Can you guess the name of five movies to watch to celebrate 2024 International Women’s Day?
#SaturdayCinemascope
To talk more about movies and mental health,
DM me #PreetikaChandna on Instagram or Twitter
Drop a line to [email protected]
Walk into #ChangeCounsellingCentre
Visit www.meerutdentalandpsychologyclinic.in
Call 9760032110 / 8410083100 to book a mental health consultation today!
#counseling #CBT #therapy #movies #WeekendVibes #PsychologistInMeerut #MentalHealthAwareness #SelfCare #WmensDay2024 #ReeseWitherspoon #EmmaWatson #SaoirseRonan #JosephineLangford #TarajiPHenson #OctaviaSpencer #JanelleMonae #JuliaRoberts
Are Our Thoughts True?
Our thoughts are constantly in our heads! Sometimes we can notice the voice of our thoughts in our head. Other times, our thoughts are like quiet storytellers, whispering to us things we don’t even register consciously. Whether quick or deep, thoughts decide how we look at the world. But are our thoughts true? Let’s dissect the question!
1. Perception and Thoughts
Human perception is our POV. Perception is a bit like having a personal lens on a camera - what we see is filtered through our unique experiences, beliefs, and feelings. This lens, or our perception, is the magic behind how we make sense of the world and direct our thoughts.
For example, a cold winter day may seem gorgeous to one person and lead to thoughts of enjoyment and fun, while the same day may trigger off thoughts of sadness, and misery in another. Our thoughts are a result of our perception; does that make them more true or not?
2. Thinking Tricks
Hold on, there's a twist. Dr. Daniel Kahneman, bestselling author and psychologist, talks about thinking errors or biases, those sneaky shortcuts our brains take. The mental shortcuts are the puppet masters behind the scenes, pulling strings in our heads, and telling us how to react or respond to situations. Picture it like your brain taking a quick, sometimes not-so-accurate, route to make sense of things. These thinking tricks or biases shape our thoughts. Thinking tricks or biases sculpt our thoughts - would you call them true now?
3. Enter Emotions
Emotions affect our thoughts constantly. Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, psychologist and an emotion expert, notes that: "Emotions shape our perceptions." Think about it – if we're happy, our thoughts go through a rosy lens, but if we're stressed, the world might seem a bit gloomier, resulting in thoughts that make us feel low and sad. It's like emotions are the paintbrush, coloring our thoughts in different shades - would you call our emotionally colored thoughts true?
Blindl
Three Ways to Stop Being So Nice!
While being nice is undoubtedly a virtue, can there be such a thing as being too nice? The answer is a resounding yes!
Why is Being Too Nice a Problem?
Being too nice can make you miserable and resentful because ‘nice people’ often value others’ needs and approval over their own, which is a recipe for resentment and frustration. You may end up living a life that is based on others’ likes and dislikes that sidelines your needs and oversteps your boundaries!
Here are three ways to stop being too nice:
1. Say ‘No!’
Saying ‘no’ to others means saying ‘yes’ to yourself.
Refusing with a ‘no’ is self-care, and not a rejection of others so don’t beat yourself up about it.
When faced with requests or demands, assess whether they align with your priorities and be willing to say no to those that don't.
Practice saying ‘no’ in simple situations to build assertiveness.
2. Introspect
Reflect on your behavior - Do you often seek validation from others? Do you feel okay only when others like you or approve of your work? Do you feel anxious at the thought of saying no?
Cultivating self-awareness allows you to identify the root causes of your excessive niceness and empowers you to make positive changes.
3. Be True To Yourself
Be honest about saying what you want on the inside.
Show your true self to others through your words and actions, without hiding, minimizing, or apologizing for your opinion.
While kindness is a virtue to be celebrated, it's essential to strike a balance that preserves your mental health and well-being. The key to true kindness lies in fostering a genuine connection by being nice to yourself as much as to others.
To talk more about niceness, boundaries, and mental health,
DM me #PreetikaChandna on Instagram or Twitter
Drop a line to [email protected]
Walk into #ChangeCounsellingCentre
Visit www.meerutdentalandpsychologyclinic.in
Call 9760032110 / 8410083100 to book a mental heal
Should You? #preetikachandna
You should do better! (Why don’t you take some tension?)
You should have worked harder! (You failed because you’re too cool!)
You should aim higher! (You really have no ambition!)
You should have known better! (You should predict the future - don’t be a fool!)
Trapped in your thoughts of “I shoulds’
You lose sight of what you could do for yourself.
Because every time you blame yourself for something
you ‘should’ have done,
You put your self-confidence on the lowest shelf!
In a world of ‘shoulds’, there is no end,
Even if you do your best, you will feel nothing but discontent!
Next time, you tell yourself ‘you should do this or that’
Just do your best and give yourself a pat on the back!
If someone tells you ‘but, you should..!’
Tell the person - yes, maybe I should, but I feel like you have misunderstood
My self-esteem does not depend on what you think I should do,
Rather, my thoughts about myself decide my worth, not you!
For more stuff like this, visit www.meerutdentalandpsychologyclinic.in
#WellnessWednesday #lifelessons #thinking #cognitivebehavioraltherapy
Thinking Errors! Should You??
Should You? #preetikachandna
You should do better! (Why don’t you take some tension?)
You should have worked harder! (You failed because you’re too cool!)
You should aim higher! (You really have no ambition!)
You should have known better! (You should predict the future - don’t be a fool!)
Trapped in your thoughts of “I shoulds’
You lose sight of what you could do for yourself.
Because every time you blame yourself for something you ‘should’ have done,
You put your self-confidence on the lowest shelf!
In a world of ‘shoulds’, there is no end,
Even if you do your best, you will feel nothing but discontent!
Next time, you tell yourself ‘you should do this or that’
Just do your best and give yourself a pat on the back!
If someone tells you ‘but, you should..!’
Tell the person - yes, maybe I should, but I feel like you have misunderstood
My self-esteem does not depend on what you think I should do,
Rather, my thoughts about myself decide my worth, not you!
#thinking #WellnessWednesday #lifelessons
For more stuff like this, do visit
www.meerutdentalandpsychologyclinic.in
Lean on #Friends in Difficult Times