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How To Be Spiritual In A Material World
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14 Jul 2023
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The 8 Types of Boundaries We Should All Be Setting

A friend overstepping, a family member oversharing or a work colleague who you’re fed up with talking to you like crap. It may feel like these are just the occasional, yet inevitable, less-than-ideal parts of life, but really there’s an answer to minimising them all: better boundaries.

We all have boundaries, but many of us struggle to express them, particularly in tense situations where we want to avoid conflict as much as possible. However, it’s true that, like a muscle, the more you practice setting boundaries, the stronger you feel doing so.

Why are boundaries so important?

In an Instagram post, Nawal Mustafa, aka The Brain Coach, set out the importance of clear, firm and supportive boundaries in every aspect of our lives. “Boundaries are a way for us to honour our needs, set realistic expectations, and teach others how to treat us,” she explains. “They are a form of self-care and self-love that allow us to protect our energy and psychological health.” 

Physical boundaries

Mustafa explains that this includes who is allowed in your personal space, who can touch you and how close someone can get to you, as well as what you choose to put into your body. Subtle violations of this boundary might look like pressure to drink alcohol when you’ve said you don’t want to (“Go one, one won’t hurt”) to unsolicited comments on your appearance (“You’ve lost weight since I last saw you!”).

Even in situations where these breaches are more annoying than damaging, remember that you are always within your right to ask someone to stop.

Emotional boundaries

Some of the hardest to maintain, emotional boundaries can look like not taking on other people’s emotional burdens (aka trauma dumping) and not engaging in triggering topics.

Especially in close relationships like with family and friends, it can be awkward and difficult to express your need for some distance. Mustafa suggests helpful phrases like “I want to support you but I have too much on my plate right now” and “I don’t have the emotional capacity to talk about politics” as ways you can kindly but firmly reclaim your emotional space.

Communication boundaries

These can often be most apparent in the workplace, where you may have to raise issues with how someone is speaking to you, as well as what you yourself can and cannot say. However, they also come into play in other areas of our lives, such as wanting to maintain privacy.

Being clear on what you deem acceptable is the best route to success, Mustafa indicates. If you’re not ready to talk about something, dislike the tone you’re being spoken to in or feel demeaned by name-calling or being dismissed, be explicit about your barriers.

While you can’t guarantee they will react in kind, you’ll know that you’ve done everything you can to protect your wellbeing.

Financial boundaries

Money has long been taboo, particularly with family and friends, but amid a cost of living crisis and rising inflation, now is also the time when we’re feeling the most stretched and need to put limits in place.

Whether you’ve been invited somewhere that’s too expensive, need to ask a friend to pay you back or want to politely decline loaning someone money, try not to let any feelings of guilt or embarrassment overpower you.

The reality is that every person has different spending priorities, salaries and financial boundaries, so it’s time we all stopped being so awkward about communicating them.

Mental boundaries

We often forget how important it is to set boundaries with ourselves, too. Instead of a punishment or indication that we’ve done something wrong, it helps to see personal boundaries as practice in self-trust and confidence.

Mustafa shares that important mental boundaries include allowing ourselves to have personal thoughts, beliefs and opinions that differ from others, and being OK with others not agreeing with us.

If you have people-pleasing tendencies, these may be hard to maintain, but the mantra: “It’s OK if you don’t agree with me” is a good one to keep in mind.

Time boundaries

If you’re the kind of person that gets sucked in helping out a friend before realising you’ve no time left to work on yourself, take note. Mustafa explains that we should also monitor how much time we choose to spend with others, as well as how others should respect our time.

A family member that’s always late? Tell them. A friend that will call and call and call until you pick up? Let them know that you can chat, but only for 15 minutes.

The same goes for rejecting invitations. Don’t feel pressured to spend your time somewhere you don’t want or need to be.

Energy boundaries 

Similarly, continually putting the wants and needs of others before our own can be seriously draining, leading us to emotional exhaustion.

While “protect your energy” might sound like just another therapy slogan, it’s actually a valuable lesson in how the people you surround yourself with can impact your mood.

If a family member, friend or colleague is going beyond needy and veering into enmeshed relationship territory, it may be time to set some firmer boundaries.

Relationship boundaries

Encompassing all of the previous elements, relationship boundaries relate to how people can treat us, how they behave around us and what they can expect from us.

“Boundaries can be applied in many different aspects of life, such as our time, our emotions, our physical space, and our mental energy,” adds Mustafa.

“Setting boundaries is not easy to do, especially if you have lived most of your life in an environment where we don’t see other people setting or respecting boundaries. It may feel very uncomfortable at first, but with time, it will get easier and you will feel more confident and at peace.”

 

 

 

Original article here

08 Jul 2023
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Talking to Yourself Can Actually Be a Really Useful Way to Cope

It’s common to wonder whether talking to yourself is “normal.” Let me be the first to tell you—it’s what got me through the pandemic.

Three years ago following a routine sinus surgery, I woke up to blinding head pain. My surgeon assured me it was temporary, but months passed and the pain endured. I quit my job and moved in with my parents, who took me to countless specialists. Eventually, I was diagnosed with chronic daily headache, a condition defined by experiencing 15 or more headache days a month, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Throughout the next year I tried several treatments, from Botox to nerve blocks and even experimental medication. While marginally helpful, nothing really worked until my longtime psychiatrist suggested somatic therapy.

Somatic therapy is quite different from more commonly known forms of therapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavioral therapy, in that it aims to treat symptoms of chronic and post-traumatic stress with exercises that direct the patient to focus on internal sensations, like tension, pain, or tightness. In doing so, somatic therapy is meant to explore and bridge the connection between body and mind.

Prior to starting therapy, that connection, for me, was nonexistent. Whether overloading my schedule or not taking care of a cold, I had ignored my body my entire life. Like many other somatic therapy patients, I started my journey by doing mindfulness exercises to learn to be more aware of my body. My therapist taught me to pendulate by shifting focus between an area of pain to a more comfortable area on my body. I also practiced visualizing my pain as a wall and dismantling it brick by brick.

At first, none of these coping mechanisms seemed to work. I struggled with them for six months and inevitably felt frustrated. “You can’t undo 20 years of behavior in a few months,” my therapist reminded me. “How can you expect your body to see you as a friend when you treat it like something to be crossed off your to-do list?”

Then she suggested something new: In order to actually befriend my body, I had to really, truly, treat it like a friend. And that involved speaking to it—having actual conversations with my body. “Approach it like any new relationship,” my therapist said in total seriousness. “Try to ask questions to get to know it better.”

So, I started talking to myself. Out loud.

While it may sound strange, asking yourself questions is actually a common practice in somatic therapy, used to clarify awareness of what is happening in the body. But according to my therapist, not everyone is told to simply talk to themselves. My therapist suggested this as part of our somatic therapy to enable me to further develop that mind-body awareness in a way I could more easily understand.

At first, I was reluctant. I asked my body audibly, “How are you feeling?” when my migraines worsened. Often, my body would flood with anxiety or freeze up with stress. When that happened, I’d ask, “What do you need in order to feel more relaxed?” I would wait and listen, then act on what my body “said” back to me. If my body felt tired, I would nap. If I was anxious, I would meditate. If I needed more information about what my body needed, I asked follow-up questions.

I used this “conversation” technique sparingly for a year and a half before the pandemic, but it became an invaluable tool when lockdown began in March 2020. The first week of quarantine, debilitating migraines and anxiety made it impossible for me to work. To cope, I began talking with my body for 30 minutes up to six times a day. To others, even patients of somatic therapy, this may seem like a lot. However, when I expressed this concern to my therapist, she said that if talking to myself was making me less anxious, I should do it as much as I thought was needed. (Granted, I was under her regular care—if you’re dealing with anxiety, depression, or a chronic condition, it’s best to practice therapeutic techniques in tandem with the guidance of a mental health care professional.)

From my “conversations,” it was clear that my body was stressed and anxious about the reality of my new situation; that I desperately needed more time to ground myself each day. So I started meditating twice a day for 30 minutes to an hour, and taking daily long walks. Within two weeks, I was able to “talk” with my body less, and lead an uninterrupted life more.

Yes, this all might sound extremely straightforward—and it’s a technique almost anyone can try for themselves. But before you dive into this conversation exercise, know that mental health professionals still recommend you practice somatic therapy techniques under the guidance of a therapist if possible.

“People appear to be following the suggested techniques, but there’s a high chance they’re doing it wrong,” Sharlene Bird, Psy.D., a clinical instructor at the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a psychologist and somatic experiencing practitioner, tells SELF. “If you don’t have the proper language or guidance from a professional,” Dr. Bird notes, “the process can become confusing, or even triggering.”

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t employ elements of somatic therapy practices—like that of basic mindfulness—on your own. “Somatic therapy is all about focusing on an awareness of your body, particularly your nervous system,” Dr. Bird tells me. Mindfulness is used in somatic therapy to “help you track what is happening in your body, which gives you a wealth of information. By being attuned to your body, it allows you to be fully present and notice how your body responds.”

If you’d like to try talking to yourself, Dr. Bird recommends a simplified version of the conversation technique. At the same time each day, ask yourself, How is my body feeling? Does it feel energetic, fatigued, relaxed? Then note your response. Practicing the simple act of noting, Dr. Bird says, “allows your body to recognize how you are feeling instead of repressing it.” Giving that feeling space in your body makes it feel less urgent or obstructive and allows you to move on from it.

Dr. Bird also emphasizes that it’s important to be patient with yourself along the way. “We aren’t taught to feel through our bodies,” she says. “An exercise like this may seem foreign at first because it is hard to explain the connection to your body, even if you have thousands of words. You have to experience it.”

Even with professional help, it took months for me to feel any connection with my body and even longer until that relationship felt natural. Someone else in somatic therapy might have a completely different timeline. “For my patients,” Dr. Bird notes, “the range of time it takes for therapy to ‘click’ is extensive, from one session to several years. It completely depends on the person and what they are trying to work through.”

This is all to say, be kind to yourself when building your mind-body connection, especially through exercises like these. Trying to connect to yourself can be especially difficult when we’re (still!) living in such abnormal times. If a practice like this feels odd for a while—or like it doesn’t work at all—that’s more than okay. There are other ways to get in touch with your body through mindfulness or meditation. If it’s feasible for you, therapy is always a great place to start too. It’s enlightening to realize how much our bodies know about us—and how much they may be able to help us when we take the time to listen.

 

 

Original article here

27 Jun 2023
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A neuroscientist shares the 4 ‘highly coveted’ skills that set introverts apart: ‘Their brains work differently’

Being the most talkative person in the room may be a good way to get people’s attention, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have the best ideas.

As a neuroscientist, I’ve worked with large companies like Google and Deloitte on how to attract and retain top talent, and I’ve found that employers tend to favor extroverts.

But there are some surprising strengths that introverts bring to the table, and they shouldn’t be overlooked.

As bestselling author Susan Cain points out in her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking: “Extroverts are more likely to focus on what’s happening around them. It’s as if extroverts are seeing ‘what is,’ while their introverted peers are asking ‘what if.’” 

What sets introverts apart from extroverts

Don’t get me wrong: Both extroverts and introverts have wonderful qualities. But research shows that introverts may have the upper hand.

Here are four highly coveted skills that set introverts apart from everyone else:

1.   Introverts think more.

Gray matter, which exists in the outer most layer of the brain, serves to process and release new information in the brain.

One Harvard study found that introverts’ brains work differently, and have thicker gray matter compared to extroverts. In people who are strongly extroverted, gray matter was consistently thinner. Introverts also showed more activity in the frontal lobes, where analysis and rational thought take place.

Another study that scanned brains of both introverts and extroverts found that, even in a relaxed state, the introverted brain was more active, with increased blood flow.

2.   Introverts can focus longer.

When Albert Einstein — a known introvert — was a child, his teachers thought he was a quiet loner who seemed a million miles away, lost in his thoughts.

Einstein said: “It’s that I stay with problems longer.” This ability to focus intensely is a key characteristic of introverts, who often have more extended focus than extroverts.

Because they enjoy spending time alone, introverts tend to be more willing than extroverts to put in the hours alone necessary to master a skill.

3.   Introverts are often “gifted” in a specific field.

On average, introverts and extroverts are the same in terms of intelligence. But statistics show that around 70% of gifted people are introverts.

People are considered “gifted” when they exhibit above-average intelligence or a superior talent for something, such as music, art or math.

If your workplace is dominated by extroverts who criticize those who prefer to work alone — or skip after-work cocktails — as “not team players,” it may inadvertently alienate gifted people.

4.   Introverts do the right thing.

Introverts tend to be less swayed by external events and driven more by their inner moral compass.

A 2013 study on social conformity found that extroverts are more willing to go along with the opinion of the majority, even if it’s wrong. Extroverts are more likely than introverts to succumb to social pressure.

The researchers concluded: “The higher the pressure, a larger number of conforming responses are given by extroverts.” In contrast, “there is no difference in conforming responses given to high- and low-pressure levels by introverts.”

How to create a workplace where introverts thrive

Introverts are often exhausted in their workplace because many of their colleagues don’t know how to harness the power introversion.

Here’s how managers can create an introvert-friendly workplace:

  • Respect boundaries.It takes up to 23 minutes for a person to regain focus after they’ve been interrupted. Don’t expect people to answer every email or Slack message immediately.
  • Brainstorm alone.Letting people shout ideas at each other in a room sounds like fun. But research shows that if you want to maximize creativity, let people generate ideas by themselves before sharing them in a group. Bonus: Your introverts will be far more comfortable sharing.
  • Shorten meetings.Many introverts, as you can probably guess, are not fans of meetings. Let go of the idea that the entire office has to be invited to every meeting so that no one feels left out.
  • Don’t force a certain type of communication.The introverts in your office may prefer emails, while the extroverts might enjoy handling business on the phone. Encourage people to decide how they want to communicate (e.g., turning cameras on or off), even if it differs from yours.
  • Provide the option of privacy.Extroverts may love to see everybody all the time, but introverts tend to need privacy. The solution is a flexible work environment that provides silence and private space for introverts, and lively, interactive open space for extroverts.

As an introvert, my general message to employers is, “Let my people rest.” Like it or not, the future of work is all about more choices, autonomy, and a culture that embraces introversion.

 

 

Original article here

 

 

15 Jun 2023
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Make Peace with Your Unlived Life

Tina was at a crossroads. Her daughter had recently left for college, and her husband had his own pursuits. And although she’d once enjoyed banking, she now bore little interest in her work. For some time, she had been asking herself whether she should quit. But what would her colleagues and bosses think of her?

This stream of consciousness carried Tina to deeper, more revealing questions. What if all her choices had been in response to what others expected? She had always been her parents’ golden child – a star student who married a man they approved of and went into the same industry her father and grandfather had pursued. Now, at the age of 45, she was wondering if these choices were really pseudo-choices, given the pressure her family had put on her? And even more frightening: what other choices did she have at this point in her life?

Tina increasingly began to question herself. Where was all of this coming from? Was there a hidden part of herself she didn’t understand – or maybe even know about? She remembered how as an adolescent she had always been preoccupied with: “What do people want me to do? And who do they want me to be?” Perhaps, the time had come to revisit these questions—to take an honest look at what she really wanted to do, not what others expected her to do. But what did the “True Tina” really want?

The idea of a “true self” and a “false” or “shadow” self has long preoccupied psychologists. For example, Carl Jung introduced the notion of the shadow side of our personality. He viewed “the shadow” as our unknown, dark side—made up of the primitive, negative, socially depreciated human emotions such as sexuality, striving for power, selfishness, greed, envy, jealousy, and anger. But although the shadow personifies everything that we fear, and therefore refuse to acknowledge, it remains a part of us. Jung believed that unless we come to terms with our shadow side, we are condemned to become its unwitting victim.

Similarly, Erik Erikson, another famous psychologist, introduced the idea of the identity crisis. Erikson, like Jung, suggests that identity formation has its dark and negative side. There are parts of us that are attractive but disturbing and therefore tend to be submerged. In the process of becoming an adult, we not only internalize what’s viewed as acceptable, we also internalize (be it only subliminally) parental and societal attitudes about undesirable qualities and characteristics. For many of us, these “undesirables” turn into “forbidden fruits”–things we are attracted to To feel more authentic, we may have to integrate these forbidden fruits into our sense of identity.

Donald Winnicott elaborated on the idea of the “true self” and “false self.” He explained that beginning in infancy, all of us, in response to perceived threats to our well-being, develop a defensive structure that may evolve into a “false self.” He suggests that if our basic needs are not acknowledged—not mirrored back to us by our parents—we may presume they are unimportant. Complying with our parents’ desires, we may repress our own desires, not actualizing what we really like to do. We may believe that non-compliance endangers our role in the family. In addition, we may internalize our parents’ dreams of self-glorification through our achievements. But this acquiescence to the wishes of others is an emotional lie. It comes at the price of suppressing our own needs. In our efforts to please others, we hide and deny our “true self,” which in turn leads to self-estrangement. If that’s the case, the “false self” will get the upper hand. It becomes a defensive armor to keep the “true self” at bay and hidden.

If there is too great a discrepancy between the “true” and the “false” self, it will make for a vulnerable sense of identity. And if we are unable to acquire a stable sense of identity—we may end up one day unraveling as Tina did. After a lifetime of complying to others’ expectations, Tina was experiencing what Erikson would call a delayed identity crisis. At a certain point in her life, it became difficult for her keep up the lie.

What Tina’s case also illustrates is that the journey of identity exploration that often begins at adolescence doesn’t stop there. In her case, the tension between “false self” and “true self” came to a head, contributing to a renewal of the confusion she had experienced at an earlier stage of life. Not living a full, complete life—not integrating these other parts of herself, call it her shadow or negative identity—turned out to be extremely draining, contributing to life choices that didn’t accommodate her real needs. Ignoring her shadow side was taking an enormous amount of energy, depleting her of her inner creativity, and contributed to various stress symptoms, including depressive reactions.

But the “return of the repressed” should not be looked at as a purely negative experience. Although a person might view these parts of herself as a representation of her unlived life, a delayed identity crisis can also contain the seeds of psychological renewal—the motivation to enter new directions in life. Romancing your shadow—accepting these unlived parts of yourself and learning to read the messages that are contained in it—can lead to a deeper level of consciousness, as well as spark your imagination. When a person is ready to accept these parts—and not try to push them aside — she or he may discover all sorts of creative, positive ideas begging for fulfillment. These buried desires will help them to reflect not only on the question of “Who am I?” but also “Who do I want to be?” This can turn a negative spiral of self-pity turned into the opposite.

That’s what happened in Tina’s case. She came to grips with her previous life experiences. She captured her dreams in a journal, and wrote about the associations that came to her. She wrote letters to her past and future self. She told her husband about her dreams and the emotions they evoked. Together, they talked about her feelings of frustration and anxiety. Her husband began sharing some of his dreams with her, as well. Their conversations eventually took a more concrete turn, as they discussed their future together, including their careers, finances, and upcoming life choices. Her self-exploration gave her greater awareness both of her inner theatre and what her life journey had been up till this moment.

Reassured and invigorated, Tina took a hard look at her work responsibilities and saw ways that she could make changes that would benefit the bank as well as herself. She even got into an argument with her father at the dinner table about politics, and to her great surprise, he seemed to respect her opinion.

Most of us find this difficult, confusing work, as Tina did. But learning to sort out our inner demons can be liberating. Questioning, reflecting, and having meaningful conversations with important people in our lives can help us come to terms with our shadow sides and create the rapprochement needed between our “false” and “true” selves. To do this, we have to figure out how to accept what we learn about ourselves without judgment. And to do that, we must approach self-knowledge with curiosity, as if it were a fascinating adventure – an exploration of the riches contained in this previously unknown world inside the self.

 

 

Original article here

 

27 May 2023
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The Dutch solution to busyness that captivated the world

The Hague, where I live, has 11km of gorgeous coastline with rolling dunes and sandy beaches. In summer, I often see locals in Scheveningen or Kijkduin (the city’s most famous beaches) sunbathing, strolling in nature or riding their bikes, then sitting down on one of the many benches available. Sometimes, they’re reading or chatting with their friends, but just as often, they’re engaging in niksen.

Niksen is a Dutch wellness trend that means “doing nothing”. It first caught the attention of the world in 2019 as a way to manage stress or recover from burnout. At the time, many people were complaining about exhaustion and depression caused by overwork and were looking for solutions – which is why concepts such as Japanese ikigai or Danish hygge also entered the English lexicon. As a linguist myself, I loved the idea that you could express the whole concept of doing nothing in one short and easy-to-pronounce word.

In my book Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing, I define it as “doing nothing without a purpose” – so not scrolling on Facebook or engaging in meditation. Whereas mindfulness is about being present in the moment, niksen is more about carving out time to just be, letting your mind wander wherever it wants to go. And as we’re slowly recovering after the pandemic, it’s important to rethink the way we work and spend our time.

Linguistically, niksen (doing nothing) is a verb created from “niks“, which means “nothing”.

“It fits with the tendency of the Dutch language to create verbs out of nouns. From from ‘voetbal’ (football) to voetballen (playing football), from ‘internet’ to internetten, from ‘whatsapp‘ to whatsappen etc. I think this is something that happens in Dutch in particular,” said Monique Flecken, a psycholinguist at the University of Amsterdam, who researches how the languages we speak affect the way we see the world. Essentially, it’s much less work to say “niksen” instead of “to do nothing”. “The Dutch are a practical, direct people and their language reflects that,” she said.

In the Netherlands, the word can be used in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. Flecken said: “A parent might say to their kid, “Zit je weer te niksen?” (Are you doing nothing again?). And I would also say ‘lekker niksen’, which translates to ‘delicious doing nothing’, when talking about an evening blissfully free of any tasks or work.”

To Thijs Launspach, a psychologist, TEDx speaker and author of the book Crazy Busy: Staying Sane in a Stressful World, niksen means “doing nothing or occupying yourself with something trivial as a way of enjoying your own time. Not doing nothing entirely but doing as little as possible,” he said, pointing out that this mostly applies to elderly people who have more unstructured free time. Younger generations, on the other hand, are more stressed out than ever – even in the Netherlands, a country traditionally applauded for its work-life balance.

 

It’s not necessarily bad to be for a moment in a state of stress, where you’re really on and focused. The problem is when this is getting out of hand

 

There are plenty of reasons for that. “Our lives and our jobs have become increasingly complex. We tend to spend a lot of time with computers. There is a lot of pressure on being the best version of yourself, be it in our jobs, or the expectations of parents [or] from social media. There is a lot of pressure to perform,” Launspach said.

Of course, some stress can be good, as Leiden University psychology professor Bernet Elzinga points out. “It’s not necessarily bad to be for a moment in a state of stress, where you’re really on and focused. The problem is when this is getting out of hand,” she said. But niksen can help with that. “When you do nothing, you connect to your default mode network. And that network is responsible for mind-wandering and reflection,” Elzinga explained.

Paradoxically, niksen can also make us more productive, simply because breaks allow our brains to rest and come back with better focus and sustained attention. This is probably why, while the Dutch don’t work long hours, they tend to be very efficient at work. Working overtime is not encouraged due to the “just be normal, that’s already crazy enough” attitude prevalent in the Netherlands – a nod towards the country’s honest and egalitarian culture.

And it seems to work: the Dutch are a creative nation. Just think of all the famous painters like Rembrandt, Vermeer or Escher, as well as the innovative solutions the Dutch have found to battle the recurring threat of floods, such as huge dams and floating houses.

The Dutch also like to enjoy life, as shown by the word lekker. This means “delicious” but can be used to refer to anything nice and pleasant, like lekker warm(deliciously warm), lekker slapen (sleeping deliciously), and, of course, lekker niksen, or “deliciously doing nothing”. This available architecture of leisure makes it more possible for people to do nothing more easily.

Locals like spending their time in active ways, such as cycling or hiking, allowing time for clearing the mind. And each time the sun comes out, the Dutch flock to cafes and terraces en masse, even in the winter. For me, these are perfect places for doing nothing.

However, Launspach is not a fan of doing nothing as a stress-preventing measure. “I’m a little bit sceptical of the idea that you should create a buffer between you and stress. I don’t know if that’s even possible in the way that we live and work now,” he said.

Elzinga believes that it’s much better to do some sort of physical activity to distract you from your daily worries, preferably in nature. But luckily, in the Netherlands, there is a way to combine all these things – niksen, nature and movement.

While the country is not commonly known for its natural resources , the Dutch appreciate the little natural areas they have. Many dune areas – my favourite thing about The Netherlands – are a part of a large network of hiking and cycling routes crisscrossing the country. Even in large cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague or Amsterdam, you’re never too far away from a trail.

In a cooperation with the Dutch Railway system, Wandelnet – a foundation devoted to creating and maintaining hiking routes – has created NS Wandelingen, a system of hiking routes that are easy to reach by train or other public transport. They range between 7km and 22km in length, making them perfect for a day trip. And given the many benches along the way, it’s even possible to fit in a little niksen break.

This leisure time is possible for the Dutch because the Netherlands is a country with an excellent welfare system, and while people tend to work hard, they also take (and are granted) many days off.

“Having a good social support system, having lower stress level relates to feeling secure and in balance. So, I wouldn’t overestimate the importance of that,” said Elzinga.

And with everything going on in the world – the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine – relieving stress is more important than ever.

 

 

Original article here

22 May 2023
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How To Worry Less And Enjoy Your Life More

 

Did you know that worrying is like a rocking chair?

It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

Excessive worrying is exhausting and can become a great waste of time and energy. It puts your mind in overdrive and distracts you from doing the more important things, as well as preventing you from having a healthy, happy life.

Most people worry on a regular basis, as a natural part of life. However, the worry habit can become problematic when it becomes too intense and chronic. Some people even worry about worrying. When you are plagued by thoughts that are persistent and out of control, they end up causing interference and paralysis in your daily life.

The bad news is that constant worrying eventually takes a toll on your emotional and physical health, as well as your self-esteem, relationships, and career. When you keep hitting the panic button, the stress response is triggered, which leads to fear, then more stress and anxiety, and then more worry. An endless worry cycle is created.

The good news is that worrying is a mental habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and remain positive. You are in charge of your thoughts and imagination. How you choose to use your mind is your responsibility. Do you continue to misuse your imagination and keep focusing on the negative or do you choose to switch to the positive?

The reason most people worry too much is often rooted in fear – ultimately a fear of something happening that cannot be controlled. When we anticipate something negative happening in the future, it is based on irrational thoughts. We are afraid of the worst-case scenario, as we have allowed our minds to wander too far on the negative side.

9 Practical Tips To Minimize Worrying 

  • Learn to distinguish between what you can control in life and what you can’t. The things you can change need an action plan with a list of concrete steps you can take to solve the problem. And for the things you cannot change, you need to learn acceptance. The Serenity Prayer sums it up perfectly: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
  • Recognize your trigger points. Find out the source of your worries and gain a clearer picture of what’s driving them. Your worries will start losing power, and you will start regaining control of your mind. Self-awareness is the first step to changing your mindset.
  • Re-frame your thoughts and change your perspective. Instead of saying, “I can’t handle this,” become more self-confident and start believing that you can handle it. Make a list of the negative messages you are feeding your mind and replace them with positive affirmations. Make sure you challenge those thoughts. No amount of worrying will make life any more predictable.
  • Break the worry cycle by limiting your worrying time. Schedule a worry time each day to keep the worry contained and prevent it from contaminating your whole day. Sit down for 15 minutes and make a list of all the things you want to worry about, and then proceed to worry about them. At the end of the exercise, you will come to the realization that worrying is futile. You can become more mindful of your thoughts and where you place your energy. Choose to focus on what really matters in your life and become more productive.
  • Get up and move. Take a 20-minute walk. Stretch out and do some yoga. Exercise is a productive activity that can interrupt your worries and shift your body’s energy. It releases endorphins, which get rid of the tension and break the cycle.
  • Breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation techniques also interrupt your train of thoughts and calm the body’s response to stress. This dynamic trio helps relax your body, guide your thoughts, and keep them from getting caught up in worries.
  • Ground yourself in the present. Become mindful of your thoughts and activities. Make time to unplug and take a look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself if what you are worrying about is really going to matter in five years from now. If not, let it go and don’t spend more than five minutes worrying about it. If it does matter, then make a list of one or two things you can do now to solve the problem. Keep in mind, you may not resolve the whole problem right then and there, but at least your thoughts will be clearer and calmer, and you will be able to move forward by focusing on what matters instead of worrying about things that don’t really matter.
  • Stop overthinking and dwelling on your worries by finding a healthy distraction like reading a good book, watching a funny movie, listening to great music, taking up hobbies that you enjoy, or doing something different, such as trying a new recipe.
  • Build a support network. Enlist the help of your trusted friends and family. By sharing your thoughts and tuning into your feelings, it can help you process them as you feel supported. In some cases, chronic worry can be a symptom of GAD or generalized anxiety disorder. You can seek the help of a therapist or join a support group. Don’t keep your worries to yourself. This will cause them to build up and become overwhelming.

Next time you catch yourself worrying, instead of pressing the panic button, reach for the pause button and ask yourself, “What’s important now?” Coach Lou Holtz came up with the acronym W.I.N. or What’s Important Now. This enables you to prioritize your decisions, choices and actions. The antidote for worrying is to maintain calm, clarity, and focus. Also, by having a grateful mind, you can look for the positive in every situation.

Strengthen your mind by learning to turn off those worrying thoughts and regain control. Look at life from a less fearful and more balanced perspective.

 

 

Original article here

15 May 2023
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Crying can teach you a lot about yourself  

 

 

Here is a non-exhaustive list of things that have made me cry: Any time I must chop, dice, or mince ingredients; a group of sea lions barking in the sun; sad music; receiving a free hot dog; the film 500 Days of Summer; a messy house.

The one emotion tying all of these experiences together, according to Ad Vingerhoets, an emeritus professor at Tilburg University and one of the world’s preeminent experts on crying, is a sense of powerlessness. Even in the context of positive tear-jerking events — like encountering a very small puppy or watching your best friend walk down the aisle at their wedding — there is a feeling of overwhelm, Vingerhoets says. “You also feel small and helpless and humble,” he says.

Humans come into the world crying, and we never really stop. As babies, we cry in order to get attention from our parents, signaling to them that we’re angry or scared or in pain or hungry or tired. In childhood and adolescence, we cry from physical pain, like a scraped knee, but as we develop empathy in our teenage years, external catalysts — like books, movies, and other people’s pain — elicit tears. As we get older, we may be moved to tears by beauty, awe, wonder, and sentimentality, says Lauren Bylsma, an associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

For some people, the well of tears has run dry. The stereotype that criers are seen as weaker or less masculine contributes to the well-trodden notion that boys (and men) don’t cry. Indeed, women report crying more frequently than men and with shorter gaps in between crying episodes than men. Then, there’s that thorny feeling of vulnerability associated with sobbing; to betray the veneer of stoicism is deeply uncomfortable for some, to admit you need help can be seen as a failure.

But have you ever stopped to consider why you’re crying? The root cause of the sadness or overwhelm? What about what you can learn from your tears? Mining the depths of your emotions can shed light on deeper insecurities, fears, pleasures, and relationship complications.

What our tears tell us

The presence of tears signals one basic message, says Randolph Cornelius, a professor of psychological science at Vassar College: I need help. “We’re asking other people to aid us,” he says. Research suggests tears are so effective at eliciting help because criers are seen as sadder, more helpless, less aggressive, and in need of interpersonal connection. According to one of Vingerhoets’ 2017 studies, people are more likely to offer help to a crying person compared to just a sad person with a dry face. “Recognizing that people [are] crying and in need of help is a pretty automatic process,” Cornelius says.

Throughout the entire lifespan, some of the most common triggers of tears, Vingerhoets says, are bereavement, heartache, and homesickness. (Though women do cry more often in general over more mundane and conflict-driven situations, “the difference between the sexes is not that big” when it comes to these main motivators of crying, Vingerhoets says.) Then there are the positive cries: Weeping not just over a separation, but a reunion; crying out of relief and not fear; shedding tears when receiving a gift, not only when having it taken away. “All of these negative situations that provoked tears, they all seem to have their opposite,” Vingerhoets says, “which also induces tears.”

We receive the most support when we cry in front of a partner or a friend, Bylsma says, someone who is best equipped to console and emotionally support us. Research shows that the presence of visible tears can also bring people closer together and promote social bonding. “If you are stressed, it’s important that you receive social support from others,” Vingerhoets says, “because that can buffer the negative effects of stress on your well-being.”

Subliminally or not, we may realize that turning on the waterworks gets us what we want. “I have a 10-year-old grandson and he can turn crying on and off,” Cornelius says. “Kids learn how to manipulate adults and so that stays with us.” Much has been written about the weaponization of tears, especially by white women, in order to protect privilege and garner sympathy. Research finds that fake criers are seen as manipulative, less reliable, less warm, less competent, and less accepted as friends, colleagues, or neighbors. But usually, Cornelius says, adults keep their tears in check, having learned the socially appropriate places to cry (in private, on the side of the road when you have a flat tire) and opting not to cry at our desks at work when we feel frustrated. That is, unless the situation is uniquely overwhelming, Cornelius says, like in the face of an unexpected tragedy.

Why the context of the cry matters

Popular convention maintains that crying is a cathartic experience, that we feel cleansed and weightless following a good weep. “That’s not always the case,” Bylsma says, “and it really depends on various contextual factors.” We’re likely to reap the most benefit from crying if we can shed a few tears in a safe place, Bylsma says. “We found in research if someone were to cry in a place where it might be embarrassing, where people might react in a negative way, like crying in front of people you don’t know well in a workplace setting, for example, someone’s going to feel worse after crying,” she says, “versus if you cry in a more supportive environment, like in front of a partner or friend that you’re more likely to have a benefit from.”

In one of Vingerhoets’ and Bylsma’s studies, they found that people who are depressed, anxious, or experiencing burnout cry more, but they did not feel relief after crying. Those who felt shame and embarrassment were less likely to feel better following a cry, too. People find more catharsis after crying when the situation that made them weepy was controllable — like a fight with their partner — as opposed to an uncontrollable event, like a death.

Bylsma also notes that chronically suppressing tears is associated with negative emotional effects, like less empathy and emotional support, based on surveys. So if you feel the need to cry in the middle of a work meeting, try to get yourself to a bathroom and let it out. On the contrary, for those who have no reason to cry and forgo weeping for a long time, even years, there’s no harm in that, Vingerhoets says. However, persistent bouts of crying and ruminating over the same issues might be a sign you need to change your approach to crying, Bylsma says. Try seeking the help of a therapist or mental health professional who can help you cope.

What crying reveals 

Regardless of what made you cry, whether it be a sad movie or a beautiful sunset, there is a deeper meaning. The presence of tears reveals what matters to you. “Sometimes our tears are signals to ourselves about the significance of events,” Cornelius says.

Consider the last time you cried. Was it an argument? An exhausting day? A delicious cupcake? What about those situations stirred up emotions? In the moment of the crying episode, try to process what, exactly, is making you cry, Cornelius says. “We do have an inner drive to know ourselves,” he says. “I think recognizing our emotions, giving them their due, allows us to do that.” Over time, you may recognize patterns in your emotions: I feel resentful in these situations, those comments make me feel embarrassed.

Having this bit of insight can help you reframe the situation: This isn’t an argument about taking out the trash, it’s an argument about respect. Sometimes tears can help reveal these underlying messages.

“When you have a realization about yourself, and that allows you to see yourself in a different way, you do feel empowered,” Cornelius says.

 

 

Original article here

28 Apr 2023
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Why Six Hours Of Sleep Is As Bad As None At All

Not getting enough sleep is detrimental to both your health and productivity. Yawn. We’ve heard it all before. But results from one study impress just how bad a cumulative lack of sleep can be on performance. Subjects in a lab-based sleep study who were allowed to get only six hours of sleep a night for two weeks straight functioned as poorly as those who were forced to stay awake for two days straight. The kicker is the people who slept six hours per night thought they were doing just fine.

This sleep deprivation study, published in the journal Sleep, took 48 adults and restricted their sleep to a maximum of four, six, or eight hours a night for two weeks; one unlucky subset was deprived of sleep for three days straight.

During their time in the lab, the participants were tested every two hours (unless they were asleep, of course) on their cognitive performance as well as their reaction time. They also answered questions about their mood and any symptoms they were experiencing, basically, “How sleepy do you feel?”

Why Six Hours of Sleep Isn’t Enough

As you can imagine, the subjects who were allowed to sleep eight hours per night had the highest performance on average. Subjects who got only four hours a night did worse each day. The group who got six hours of sleep seemed to be holding their own, until around day 10 of the study.

In the last few days of the experiment, the subjects who were restricted to a maximum of six hours of sleep per night showed cognitive performance that was as bad as the people who weren’t allowed to sleep at all. Getting only six hours of shut-eye was as bad as not sleeping for two days straight. The group who got only four hours of sleep each night performed just as poorly, but they hit their low sooner.

One of the most alarming results from the sleep study is that the six-hour sleep group didn’t rate their sleepiness as being all that bad, even as their cognitive performance was going downhill. The no-sleep group progressively rated their sleepiness level higher and higher. By the end of the experiment, their sleepiness had jumped by two levels. But the six-hour group only jumped one level. Those findings raise the question about how people cope when they get insufficient sleep, perhaps suggesting that they’re in denial (willful or otherwise) about their present state.

We Have No Idea How Much We Sleep

Complicating matters is the fact that people are terrible at knowing how much time they actually spend asleep. According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, as reported by the CDC, more than 35% of Americans sleep less than seven hours in a typical day. That’s one out of every three people. However, those who suffer from sleep problems don’t accurately estimate how much they sleep each night.

If you think you sleep seven hours a night, as one out of every three Americans does, it’s entirely possible you’re only getting six.

Research from University of Chicago, for instance, shows that people are as likely to overestimate how much they sleep as underestimate it. Another sleep study published in Epidemiology, indicates people generally overestimate their nightly sleep by around 0.8 hours. The same study also estimates that for every hour beyond six that people sleep, they overestimate sleep by about half an hour. If you think you sleep seven hours a night, as one out of every three Americans does, it’s entirely possible you’re only getting six.

So no one knows how much or little they’re sleeping, and when they don’t sleep enough, they believe they’re doing better than they are.

Even just a little bit of sleep deprivation, in this case, six rather than eight hours of sleep across two weeks, accumulates to jaw-dropping results. Cumulative sleep deprivation isn’t a new concept by any means, but it’s rare to find research results that are so clear about the effects.

Fixing Sleep: Easier Said Than Done

Figuring out how to get enough sleep, consistently, is a tough nut to crack. The same advice experts have batted around for decades is probably a good place to start: Have a consistent bedtime; don’t look at electronic screens at least 30 minutes before bed; limit alcohol intake (alcohol makes many people sleepy, but it can also decrease the quality and duration of sleep); and get enough exercise.

Other advice that you’ll hear less often, but which is equally valid, is to lose excess weight. Sleep apnea and obesity have a very high correlation, according to the National Sleep Foundation. What’s more, obese workers already suffer from more lost productive time than normal weight and overweight workers.

Other causes of sleep problems include physical, neurological, and psychological issues. Even stress and worry can negatively affect sleep. The CDC has called lack of sleep a health problem, and for good reason. Diet, exercise, mental health, and physical health all affect our ability to sleep, and in return, our ability to perform to our best.

Fixing bad sleep habits to get enough sleep is easier said than done. But if you’re functioning as if you hadn’t slept for two days straight, isn’t it worthwhile?

 

 

Original article here

21 Mar 2023
Comments: 0

Goodbye Trauma: A Way To Understand Trauma And Its Gentle Release

 

Trauma!!!

When you read this word, what do you feel viscerally in your body and emotionally? Does it bring up anxiety, sadness, feelings of not being good enough or other similar negative emotions or thoughts? Check inside yourself for an answer.

I have come to see everything through the lens of trauma. Instead of rose-colored glasses, I have trauma-colored glasses. If that thought sounds bleak and dark, let me show you how it feels hopeful to me.

You see, the more you understand about trauma, the more easily you will recognize and release your own traumas. Understanding how trauma can affect your life may help you see some of the traumas you did not even realize you have, which have been sitting in the background disturbing that life. Processing your traumas can help you make the best out of a bad situation, leaving you with the growth from the experience of the trauma and not the pain.

By identifying and understanding traumas, you take the first steps in starting to become all you can be without the blockage trauma causes to your body, mind, and spirit. And when you heal, you contribute health to the surrounding community. In other words: When you get better, the world gets better.

Here is a personal example of a trauma I didn’t even realize was a trauma, and what helped me to deal with it at the time.

The Night A Trauma Came Calling

When I was in my second year of college, I lived in an apartment on the edge of campus. The year was 1972. Even though it was a dangerous part of the city, I did feel relatively safe. That was until one night when I didn’t.

I had settled into bed and was asleep. Around 1:00 am I was awakened by two male voices arguing loudly outside my window. The argument wore on for a while, and I heard one say he didn’t want to have anything to do with the other. Then a car door slammed. I heard the one in the car swearing and threatening the first one, ordering him back into the car. Then I heard the car rev up and pick up speed. This was followed by a loud crash and screaming.

At this point my roommate came running into my room, and we looked out the window. We could see a large, old, metal car had crashed through an iron fence, and was sitting up on the lawn of a campus building with the fence partially wrapped around it. We could hear someone screaming in serious pain but couldn’t see anyone. We called the police and told them briefly what had happened, and suggested they also send an ambulance. Then we headed downstairs to see if there was anything we could do for the screamer.

When we reached the heavy metal car, we looked everywhere inside for the source of the screaming but couldn’t find anyone. When my roommate got down on the ground and looked, she spotted the young man who was in pain. He was probably in his twenties, pinned under the car in a very uncomfortable position. She reached for his hand and started to speak soothingly to him.

I took the keys out of the ignition and opened the trunk to see if I could find a jack to lift up the car. There was no jack. Neither the police nor ambulance had arrived yet, so I went back up to our apartment to call the police again, and reported what we had discovered. Eventually about fifteen cars assembled with at least two policemen per car. No one had a jack.

The police, realizing there were no jacks anywhere to be found, decided if they all got on one side of the car, they could lift it up, and someone could pull the man free. But they were so afraid they would drop the car back down on the man, someone took the injured man by his belt and yanked him out quickly. They got him out from under the car, but may have done more damage. No one seemed to know what to do then, so I got him a blanket from our apartment. About a half hour later the ambulance came and took him away.

We later heard through the grapevine that the injured man had been fighting with his friend about something, and when he tried to walk away the older friend had run him over. Both were intoxicated. The victim was so badly injured he was in the hospital for months. He did recover.

The Aftermath

Once the ambulance came and took the accident victim to the hospital, my roommate and I went back to our apartment. We talked for a while, and my roommate went to her room and fell asleep. I, on the other hand, was a basket case. I kept hearing the young man’s screams. My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t remember when I had been this upset and out of control. My safe space had been invaded with violent chaos. I was terrified that more calamity was going to happen. Every little noise made me jump. I didn’t know how my roommate could just calmly fall asleep. She had been closer to the situation than I was.

Even though it was 4am by this time, I decided to call my mother and tell her what had happened. I seldom called my mom, but she picked up right away. I remember talking for a long time. And then she offered to come and get me. Fortunately, she was only 30 minutes away. She woke up my younger sister, and the two of them came and took me home. I was so grateful to get somewhere safe again. I settled into my old bed in the room I shared with my sister and went right off to sleep.

Over the weekend my family and I talked more about what had happened. How I was treated after this event made it easier to process it. This happened late on a Friday night and by Sunday night I was ready to go back to my apartment and start classes on Monday.

But even though I had settled down and felt safer in my apartment, I did not feel safe on the streets. Every time I heard a car coming up behind me, my whole body froze, and I wanted to run at the same time. I was sure in that moment that the car behind me was going to run me over. I now knew that was a possibility. I tried to stay off the main streets. Loud noises continued to make me jump. And the scene from ‘that night’ kept repeating in my head like it had just happened. I stopped sleeping well. I had nightmares. It took me months to convince myself it was over.

Obviously by the details of this story, you can see the memory is still fresh in my mind more than fifty years later. But when I think about this trauma, I no longer am emotionally attached to it, which means it is no longer traumatic for me.

PTSD Became An Official Diagnosis In 1980

What I did not know then was that I was suffering from trauma, or post-traumatic stress. Even though I was majoring in psychology and sociology, there was no mention of trauma in any of my classes.

This was toward the end of the Vietnam War. At that time in history, young 18-year-old men would be drafted into the war and sent to an unknown foreign land. Many did not come home. Some came home physically damaged, but many more were coming home mentally damaged due to the horrific things they witnessed.

Although the stress of other wars had caused this mental damage, no one seemed to understand it. In WWII it was called shell shock and soldiers were held responsible for their behavior. When soldiers froze or ran away during a battle, both symptoms of trauma, they could be court marshaled. Now we call this post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This was not considered an official diagnosis until 1980, well after the Vietnam War. PTSD as we know it today was not recognized or treated when I was in college in the early 1970’s.

In reflecting upon my college car accident trauma, I made two observations. One was how I got so upset by this incident, yet my roommate took it in stride. The other was that my mother immediately understood how upset I was, and she and my sister had teamed up not only to believe me, but to give me support and comfort around what happened.

Some of the men coming home from Vietnam reacted much like my roommate did. They were living in the present moment and knew the war was over for them. They could move on. Many other soldiers brought the war home with them and continued to live it for years after they returned. Living in the past is another sign of being traumatized.

Having my mother and sister support and talk me through the trauma helped me get back to my present life at the time. I had some mild symptoms of trauma after that weekend, but those faded after a few months. It makes a huge difference how one is treated following a trauma. When soldiers came back from WWII, the country threw parades for them and called them heroes. They were part of a positive whole. But when men returned from Vietnam, they were spit on and called baby killers toward the end of the war. They were blamed for fighting in a war they were forced to fight. Many felt rejected by society. 

Unseen Trauma 

In our present world trauma either goes unseen (that never happened), or is seen as so horrendous that no one, including the victim, wants to talk about it. So, it gets buried deep down inside the individual. Yet, it eventually comes to the surface needing to be dealt with, but not always at a convenient time. It is far better to pick the time you want to work on trauma. If you are knowledgeable about trauma, you will be able to identify it. That can feel very empowering, and knowledge is powerful.

In looking a little deeper at unseen versus seen trauma, unseen traumas are the many events that go unidentified by anyone, even the person involved. Consider how head trauma and its symptoms went undetected for a very long time. Because there is no outer sign of damage, like bleeding, a football player is told to keep playing after getting a concussion. The boxer is urged to get up and continue the fight. After many blows to the head, others might notice a change of personality or loss of cognitive functioning, but because the head injury wasn’t seen as the direct reason for these changes, the athlete might be treated for mental illness instead of a physical problem, or be put in jail for violent behavior. The head trauma goes undetected as the cause and the issue is misdiagnosed and mistreated.

This is how seemingly insignificant, unseen life traumas become separated from the symptoms that eventually follow. For instance, when a very sensitive child grows up in a quiet household, she may be traumatized by a screaming teacher in first grade and is not able to learn her numbers and letters that year. Others in the class who are accustomed to yelling won’t be affected. Later this little girl has trouble catching up with the rest of the class because she missed the basic building blocks. She may be treated as if she is incapable and starts to believe that is true. She might even be blamed for not living up to her potential and called lazy. It becomes one of many unseen traumas that will affect her whole life, invisible both to the little girl and everyone else, yet the repercussions from it, like those of the head injury, may change the course of her life.

Visible Traumas

Visible traumas do not fare much better. Most people would agree that being in combat or being raped are traumatic events. However, because they are so horrific, both society and the victims shy away from talking about them. The victims will do anything to avoid that pain, and they feel everyone else is made too uncomfortable to be able to listen to them. How can one heal if no one wants to go there.

If you have a disease and it goes untreated, it usually gets worse. It does not take care of itself. Head trauma symptoms get worse. That is true of emotional trauma symptoms as well. You may start to lose energy and strength. You no longer can do what you used to be able to do. You are told, “You just need to live with it. You are on your own. It is part of life. Get over it. Let it go.” And my favorite piece of advice, “Just stop thinking about it.”

Hello!! Does anyone see the elephant in the room?

Victims do what they can to avoid thinking about trauma by using coping mechanisms like alcohol or other drugs. When they are brave enough to mention it, the trauma talk makes other people so uncomfortable they pull away from the victim. The victim learns early on it is not safe to have their feelings about trauma or talk about it. They are alone. Their trauma is too awful for them to look at or for others to want to see. So, it festers and manifests as symptoms like depression, anxiety, shame and/or anger. Even if the victim can identify what is causing them to feel the way they do, they feel helpless to do anything about it. This buries trauma deeper inside and the symptoms increase.

There is another option available. You can identify your traumas and realize you can face both your hidden traumas and the painful, visible ones to let your healing begin. Once a trauma is cleared, you become more of who you are meant to be than you ever would have had the trauma never happened.

 

 

 

Original article here

17 Mar 2023
Comments: 0

Walking for Fitness: What Muscles Does Walking Work?

Walking does great things for your mental health and cardiovascular fitness, but did you know that a good walk can also help you build the muscles in your legs and abs?

When you want to give your muscles a good workout, chances are you’ll reach for a dumbbell or work up a sweat with your favorite bodyweight session. But, as it turns out, one of our favorite day-to-day activities is often overlooked as a muscle building exercise: walking.

That explains why you get stiff legs after a long hike or busy day on your feet. While walking is rightly lauded as a form of cardio exercise and its benefits for your heart health and mindset are widely understood, a good, long walk is also a great way to work your leg muscles.

“Walking is actually a great work out for your legs,” says Sally Davies, senior physiotherapist from the musculoskeletal therapies team at Bupa Clinics, explaining that as we step, we engage the quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes and abdominal muscles. “All the muscles in the leg work together to provide stability, support and control to the body whilst walking, these movements help to strengthen and condition the leg muscles.”

When we drive the leg forwards, we are engaging our quads and hamstrings to help bend the knee, as well as press off from the ground.

“Your calf muscles also work by extending the ankles, giving your stride momentum. Together with your thighs, they move as a reaction to the foot molding to the floor beneath and the shin bone rotating internally to allow greater movement in the feet,” Sally says.

She adds that glutes are one of the most powerful muscles in the body, so we use them to contract and stabilize our body during walks. “Over time, the glutes can gradually become stronger with frequent walking,” Sally says.

As well as our lower half, our abdominals are engaged while walking to keep your balance as you shift your weight from one foot to the other.

How to Engage Muscles During Walking

Strolling along the pavement is one thing, but if you’re looking to really use walking as a key form of exercise, there are some important things to think about.

Firstly, where are you walking? While the treadmill might be convenient in rainy weather, the flat and smooth grounding won’t be the best way to work your muscles. “When walking outside, you can work your abdominals at a higher level as they will be helping you to keep your balance as you cover unbalanced terrain,” says Sally.

You can probably guess that uphill walking is more challenging on your thighs. This is due to how much power and stability we require to push ourselves at different inclines. A study by the University of Colorado found that when walking uphill the hamstrings and glutes power the legs more so than walking on flat ground, whereas on the decline walk, the quads elicited more control over the legs.

“Alternating your route between mixed terrain, flat terrain and hill walking – as well as your speed – is the optimum way to help you work all muscles during your walks,” says Sally.

Then there’s the type of walking you do. Nordic walking has been famed for it’s ability to level up your usual hike. Essentially, Nordic walking involves using specially designed poles to propel you forward, and studies suggest that it increases upper body muscle activation by up to 15 times. It’s also been shown to reduce muscle activity in the erector spinae muscles that run along either side of your spine and hip retractor muscles, protecting you from overuse and future back problems.

Ultimately, if building stronger leg muscles is your goal, compound lifts and weight-bearing exercise are excellent things to focus on. But it’s important to know how activities such as walking impacts your body and how you can change it up to reap even more benefits for your muscles. Now, who’s off to climb some hills?

 

 

Originally appeared on Stylist.co.uk