Health is Holistic — Life Lesson Part 1

A war and a pandemic. If you had told me three years ago that these were two major future occurrences of this world, I doubt I would have believed you. After all, the last major pandemic was over 100 years ago, and well, war, one would like to believe we have learned from our mistakes…yet still…here we all are.

After the incredible changes we have seen the world go through in the last few years, it would be remiss of me to dismiss what I have learned. One major issue we have seen arise is that of mental health. To a large extent, the generations before us silenced this issue. Maybe they were negligent or unaware, maybe they did not understand the importance, maybe it seemed easier for them to shove it under the rug and pretend it did not exist. The good news is that, it seems we are growing from that, and that mental health awareness is not only an acceptable thing now, it is encouraged.

With the rise in such mental health issues as anxiety and depression, we can no longer deny the claim that health, in fact, is holistic. For decades we’ve placed so much emphasis on physical health, on fitness and diet and exercise. We promote these as a way of living an energetic and healthy lifestyle and avoiding sickness and disease as we go through life and age. An extremely valid cause? Absolutely! What the world has not, until more recent times, advocated for is, just as we take care and train our bodies for wellness, so too must we take care of and train our minds for that same wellness. Just as we exercise our bodies for physical fitness, we must exercise our minds for mental resilience to face the challenges of this world. Just as we feed our body nourishing food, we must also feed our minds positivity, tools and life skills to succeed.

There are hundreds of ways to deal with mental health, and the effectiveness of them may differ for each person. Here are three solid tips to help keep you focused on your mental health and holistic health journey:

1. Awareness. Check in on yourself and be mindful of your emotional states and how people and situations make you feel. Once you can identify these things, then you know what needs to be addressed.
2. Look for ways to take care of your holistic health: mind, body and soul. Don’t wait till the s#!t hits the fan before you start doing this work. The more you work in the peaceful times, the stronger you will be when things get tough. Start building your arsenal of life skills to help you survive and thrive!
3. Seek help. I believe that every single one of us needs help and support and healing at various points in our lives. Years ago, people may have been too proud and ashamed to seek help, struggling through, and many, not only NOT getting better, but actually getting worse. My suggestion? Put your pride aside and make your holistic health a priority. There is no shortage of professionals trained to guide and support you through: coaches, psychologists, fitness professionals, dieticians counselors to name a few… I have the honor of working with many of them as we build the One Life Inc Membership, and their contributions are priceless.

At the end of the day, this lesson of “Health is Holistic” remains ingrained in me. We know the journey will not always be easy, but we also know that there are proven life skills and resources to help us through. Wishing you love, joy and incredible success on your journey! Don’t wait, start now!