We all have tough times, but for some people, life has been tougher for them than we could ever imagine it being for ourselves. When the human mind and body experience enough stress, both can reach a breaking point. This can begin a downward spiral of negativity which prevents you from healing yourself. Though it sounds counterintuitive, you might actually come to think that sadness is your new happiness, and pain your new pleasure. As time goes on, to leave your new normal may become as traumatic an experience as whatever it was that first led you to your deflated mental state.
You Are the Product of Your Thoughts
Have you ever watched a beautiful sunset on what was a particularly depressing day for you? Surely you have, and you surely know that very little joy was derived from it. Something that would normally inspire awe and reflection instead finds itself pushed aside, as your emotions numbed your ability to connect with the moment. However, it isn’t difficult to imagine that if someone had come to you, and tried to talk you out of your funk, your mind would have cleared enough to at least savor the day’s last rays of light. There is something about sharing our pain with others that releases tension, and sets us free.
Unfortunately, in our modern times, we don’t always have time to talk with others (or they with us). We have to find other ways to connect with healing energy. If we can’t find it, we are too often tempted to accept less beneficial ways of healing.
Heal Your Mind, Heal Your Body
Some doctors, who it can be assumed mean well, believe that prescribing drugs is the best way to treat PTSD or other mental disorders. What they’re really doing, whether they know it or not, is simply treating a symptom rather than the actual illness. This could have the adverse effect of making you dependent on pills when what you really need is a bit of psychological help. There are many means of receiving psychotherapy, including exercise. In particular, while yoga already has a reputation as being healthy – as in, good for bodily maintenance – its healing properties (making things better) also deserve a look.
Yoga is not simply about stretching the body or maintaining odd positions. It is about pushing your limits and thereby connecting with a deeper, calmer part of yourself. Rather than sitting still, it is basically meditation in action. Many people are already quite familiar with the psychological benefits of meditation, so it isn’t much of a stretch (pun intended) to see how yoga could be employed as a tool of psychotherapy. If you are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or any number of other mental health issues, and in search of psychotherapy in Oakland, consider how yoga might be able to help you heal.
