Tag: psychology

10 facts: About understanding our relationship with food ๐Ÿฒ

by drjurisharma, posted in Blog, body, health, lifestyle, dietary, exercise, herbs, water, liver, stroke, cancer, hepatitis, emotional health, Food, Food, eating habits, eating disorders, eating preferences, choices, culture, traditions, travels, family, Fresh, local, produce, healing, health, life, mental health, Nature,, Science, self healing, wellness

1. In general, you can either have a good relationship with food or a challenging one. A positive or a good relationship with food means that you allow yourself to enjoy any food you love, regardless of whether it is labelled as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on its nutritional value or calorie content. Conversely, a challenging relationship with food involves restrictions, such as stressing over certain food items you’re uncomfortable with, tracking your calorie intake obsessively, ignoring your hunger cues, overeating, and experiencing feelings of guilt or shame related to your eating habits.

2.Before recognising your relationship with food, it is important to understand that humans have a deeper relationship with food rather than a simple fuel-providing medium. Unlike animals, human preferences for food depend on a variety of factors like cultural, traditional, regional, socialisation, pleasure, comfort, simplicity, childhood memories, and nutritional content. The food preferences and choices are transient and may change many times during a lifetime. Once an individual understands how the food is grown, sourced, and reaches the table, he/she learn to appreciate and develop a healthy relationship with the food.

3. A good relationship with food can be having a comfort level, not stressing out, eating in moderation, being open about all types of food and not allowing it to control your life. The signs of having a good relationship with food can be:

โ€ข You are enjoying while eating.

โ€ข You stop eating once you feel full and satiated.

โ€ข You respect your hunger cues.

โ€ข You donโ€™t overeat but instead eat in moderation.

โ€ข You donโ€™t count your calories while eating and are obsessed with the numbers on the weighing scale.

โ€ข You are open to all kinds of food as per your preferences.

โ€ข You donโ€™t allow others to opine about your food choices.

โ€ข You understand that your food choices do not define you as a person.

โ€ข You love to eat food that you enjoy the most.

4. Having a bad or, rather, di๏ฌƒcult relationship with food can be stressful. Some of the signs of a bad/ difficult relationship with food can be:

โ€ข You have a restricted and limiting approach towards food.

โ€ข You donโ€™t respect natural hunger cues.

โ€ข You have a history of crash dieting, trying to follow all fad diet food trends.

โ€ข You are very concerned and stressed out about the list of foods that you can or cannot eat.

โ€ข You have a feeling of guilt or shame for eating.

โ€ข You feel stressed to eat in the social circuit as other people may notice you about your food choices.

โ€ข You either starve yourself or overeat. Either way, you are not comfortable and happy.

5. Learning to develop a good relationship with food is an ongoing process. It takes a lot of patience, time and self-empathy. Allowing yourself to welcome small changes, day by day, not being judgmental, learning to enjoy and taking pleasure while eating. The food choices are not just part of routine practices, but deep-rooted in our genes, following a certain culture, which is not wrong. A good and healthy relationship with food means being open to trying new food, seeing food beyond the caloric scale, and not always judging your value as a person through your food choices. Allowing yourself food freedom.

6. Eating when hungry: It is important to understand your bodyโ€™s natural signals of hunger rather than eating unnecessarily. Our body has a natural ability to metabolise the food that has been eaten, starting the process of absorption of necessary nutrients, cleaning the dead cells and releasing the roughage. In other words, the body has a natural cleaning process called autophagy. Normally, in the daytime, the body takes around a 5-6 hour gap before you experience hunger again. It is important to avoid certain habits which can prove to be harmful to health and damage our relationship with food in the long run:

โ€ข Eating while stressing out about something as a distraction has become common.

โ€ขBinging while watching TV or watching a film.

โ€ข Gorging and overeating while attending a party or bu๏ฌ€et.

โ€ข Eating while attending a meeting or taking a flight.

โ€ข Eating or having beverages throughout the day becomes very normal in todayโ€™s time, as food is available all the time and everywhere.

7. Stress and eating behaviour: Stress can be any kind of stimulus that is perceived by the individual as stressful. Several studies have shown that stress can result in irregular eating behavior, altered eating preferences, and even alter the perception of pleasure from food. Research has shown that 40-70% of people su๏ฌ€ering from stress can result in overeating, which can prove to be a calming process, irrespective of their physiological hunger. Whereas some 60-30% people can result in a reduction of food intake or develop a repulsion towards food. In todayโ€™s time, some people are so concerned about caloric counting and weighing scales that they develop a restricted approach towards food, where eating becomes a di๏ฌƒcult task. Some people follow a crash diet, keeping up the dieting trends; eating becomes a burden rather than a physiological need.

8. Mindfulness: When it comes to developing a good relationship with food, there are no right or wrong answers. Food is not just a source of fuel, but your culture, habit, individual taste, memories, joy, and health, on which you plan your meals and eating preferences. If you are cooking yourself, learn to ritualise the process, enjoying every step from selecting the food ingredients, cleaning, cutting, sizzling, bubbling, until the food finally comes to life. In fact, cooking is a routine activity where you can practise mindfulness and integrate meditation. According to Buddhism, an ordinary person can practise mindfulness in everyday activities like cooking, cleaning, eating, and doing dishes, which are powerful activities where you are aware of the present moment and completely engrossed in it, instead of doing some extraordinary activities or sitting hours on meditation.

9.Mindful Eating: Practicing mindful eating can be a powerful way to develop a healthy relationship with food. When you eat, focus completely on the activity, staying in the present moment without distractions from your phone, TV, or anything else. Chew slowly and thoroughly before swallowing to enhance the digestion process. By fully engaging with your meal, you can enjoy your food more, appreciate what youโ€™re eating, and better understand your choices. This practice allows you to tune into your bodyโ€™s natural hunger and fullness signals. Initially, it may be challenging since many of us are accustomed to mindless eating. However, over time, this approach can become a habit that contributes to your overall well-being.

10.Improving your relationship with food is an ongoing process and is essential for overall health and well-being. First and foremost, it is important to value yourself as an individual. Learn to practice self-compassion, respect your uniqueness, and separate your eating habits and choices from your self-worth. Here are some small steps and changes you can make to enhance your relationship with food:

โ€ข Listening to your body, identifying your natural physical hunger cues rather than emotional hunger.

โ€ข Avoid labelling food as โ€œbadโ€ or โ€œgoodโ€. Instead, focus on eating in moderation and respecting your food preferences and choices. All food can fit in a healthy lifestyle if eaten in moderation and with routine physical activity.

โ€ข Avoid impulsive eating behaviour and focus on intuitive eating.

โ€ข Stop watching the social media food trends and diets, as well as the weighing scale.

โ€ข Focus on mindful eating and practice mindfulness.

โ€ข Never relate food to a stress buster or use food as a reward or punishment.

โ€ข Though food is a source of nourishment to our body, but it gives us moments of pleasure too, through our eating experience. So, food choices should be always our own and not looking at anotherโ€™s plate.

10 facts behind this human behaviour: Why act of cleaning is deeply satisfying?

by drjurisharma, posted in Behavior, cleaning, tidying, endorphins, stress management, psychological, emotional regulation, physical therapy, Blog, brain, emotional health, Emotional thoughts, fear, pain, emotions, healing, health, life, mental health, Science, self healing, Therapeutic, stressful, worldly chaos, challenging,, wellness

1. Organizing or cleaning your space, room, or home isnโ€™t about tidiness, but being in control of a world that feels otherwise uncontrollable. Itโ€™s about a mental state with clarity, being organized and being at peace with oneself. Psychologically, the environment we live in reflects our mental state. In a world full of everyday stress, chaos, and overwhelming uncertainties, cleaning becomes a tool, a therapy to make ourselves feel organised, meaningful and at peace. Clearly, this act can help reduce stress hormones and release endorphins, which can lift the mood.

2. Many people, even after a stressful day, have a habit of cleaning and tidying their stu๏ฌ€ after reaching home or their living space. Psychologically, when emotions are overwhelming and stressful, our brain tries to do things which are tangible, grounding, and clarifying, which makes us feel more in control. These actions give the brain a sense of relief and stability, an escape in an otherwise uncontrollable world.

3. In the brain, activities like reorganising the bookshelf, arranging the o๏ฌƒce table, cleaning and tidying the home, folding clothes in the closets, cleaning the kitchen, washing the dishes, vacuuming the floor stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, the reward system, releasing dopamine, the happy hormone. These small acts instantly feel rewarding, light and happy. A tidy living space, home, or o๏ฌƒce gives the subconscious mind a feeling of security, stability, and organization.

4. Psychologically, on the flip side, a disorganised, messed-up space gives the mind a sense of cluttered thoughts, incoherence, ambiguity, confusion and anxiety. In an already stressful, loud world, you feel more overwhelmed, stressed, where things and people are unpredictable, uncertain and reactive. So, for a change, cleaning, organising, and rearranging makes people feel instantly happy, stable, predictable and certain.

5. Research shows that a cluttered, anxious, stressful mind raises the cortisol hormone. On the other hand, the environment we live in reflects our mental state. So, a messy, cluttered space clearly a๏ฌ€ects our mental state. The subconscious mind feels confused, lacks clarity, and is incoherent in a disorganised space. So, rearranging the room, furniture, things, clothes, books gives an instant emotional high, certainty and sense of control. The truth is, cleaning isnโ€™t about habit, itโ€™s about emotional regulation, choosing to change the emotional responses of stress, anxiety, chaos to stability, calmness and clarity.

6. Emotional regulation, by definition, is the ability to regulate our emotional responses from a state of uncontrolled, overwhelming situation by making behavioural changes with a healthy coping mechanism to a state of emotional grounding, stability and a sense of control. Examples of emotional regulation are deep breathing, going for a walk, journaling, light exercise and doing tasks like rearranging the books, furniture, cleaning the kitchen, doing the dishes and so on. Itโ€™s the ability to change a negative situationโ€™s impact to a more productive and fulfilling one.

7. The strategies of emotional regulation can be summed up as :

โ€ข Recognise: Identifying the emotions like anger, anxiety, ambiguity and incoherence.

โ€ข Respond: instead of reacting negatively, changing the situationโ€™s impact to a more productive, controlled and tangible behaviour like going for a short walk, rearranging the books on the shelf, cleaning the mess, folding clothes in the closet, cleaning or mopping the floor or any similar activity.

โ€ข Reappraisal, like changing the emotional response to more rewarding outcomes like stability, calmness, sense of control and certainty.

โ€ข Reflecting on the change of behaviour and situation gives deep satisfaction and happiness.

8. Activities like cleaning a room, realigning a corner, rearranging books, furniture, cleaning a countertop or mopping the floor are not just tidying or organising acts or behaviour but something more deeper as emotional relief or emotional satisfaction. Itโ€™s about reconnecting oneself, bringing a sense of control, stability in a world of external chaos, a stressful day or an overwhelming situation. So, for many people, organising and cleaning their home or their living space becomes a daily emotional ritual and therapeutic.

9. People who keep doing such activities, while they keep performing the acts, they also process their emotions, release the stressful thoughts, anxiety, ease the confusion, bringing more clarity and stability. In fact, by doing such activities, as the visual clutter slowly fades away by physical actions, internally, the mental clutter slowly subsides, emotions and thoughts become more under control, and thinking becomes clearer and regulated.

10. To sum it up, in a world full of uncertainties and unpredictability, organising, rearranging, and cleaning gives an instant outcome which the brain interprets as safety or being under control. When a book or a thing is placed exactly where it belongs, refolding a dress and placing it back in the closet, cleaning the otherwise dirty countertop, itโ€™s like reconnecting with oneself, which gives the subconscious mind that instant boost or reward of comfort, safety and stability in an external world of chaos or an uncontrolled environment.

Thanks for reading.

Peace and love ๐Ÿ™

High Sensitive Person ( HSP): A closer look ๐Ÿง

by drjurisharma, posted in emotional health, life

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful and safe day ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿป

Being one of them or maybe, we must have come across people who are overwhelmed with trivial things, or sensory subtleties like a crowded place, loud noises, a strong odour. Or people who get easily stressed out, quickly get hurt or being overly emotional. This happens because such people are born with a particular personality trait and a susceptible nervous system so considered as High Sensitive People.

6 points to understand a high sensitive person:

1. People born with this personality trait is not abnormal, nor this isn’t a disorder. They have this personality because their brain is wired differently. There are scientific reasons for this kind of behaviour. Anatomically, their brain has a prominent insula which is responsible for their heightened state of emotional and sensory sensitivities. Their brain is wired to have a lower threshold for emotional and sensory reactivity. Genetically, they are associated with the 5HTLPR gene, which is related to mental issues like depression and anxiety. This personality trait is also known as sensory processing sensitivity (SPS).


2.High sensitive person does not necessarily are introverts. A few percentages of people with this trait can behave like an extrovert. Introverts are people who like or enjoy being alone. In contrast, HSP can have deep human connections and can be comfortable with a few set of people. They are sensitive to physical, mental, emotional and sensitive subtleties.


3.High sensitive People are deep thinkers, highly emotional and intense. They are sensitive to the external sensory sensitivities like a crowded place, parties, loud noises, strong smell or any physical sensations. Such personality is gifted with highly creative talents like art, painting, music, writing or in any such creative fields.

4.People with this trait can overthink easily. Overthinking can lead to repeating the same trail of thoughts, which can quickly turn to negative thinking. Repeating the same spiralling thought pattern can also lead to anxiety, depression and stress disorder.

5.High Sensitive people are not comfortable with multi-tasking or highly competitive environment. Too many tasks at a time can make them overwhelmed and stressful. So, choosing a profession or a job, which they can enjoy doing is quite crucial.

6.If you are born with this trait, self-acceptance is crucial. Self-criticism doesn’t hold any purpose. Though it is quite challenging to go through the everyday stress of life, living with emotional and sensory subtleties, but they have the capabilities to overcome them. They can thrive and become very successful too. Adjusting the environment according to their convenience and keeping a few trusted friends and family for emotional support is hugely beneficial. As far as physical and emotional strain is concerned, adopting a healthy lifestyle, enjoying a hobby, a daily exercise routine, sleep, mindfulness, meditation can help to lead a balanced life.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all ๐Ÿ’

 

 

 

 

 

Post : How strange are we ? 6 facts about “human behaviour” ๐Ÿค—

by drjurisharma, posted in health, mental health, wellness

Post: 7 Strange psychological facts ๐Ÿค”

by drjurisharma, posted in health, mental health, wellness

Post : 5 ways to improve my self image.

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, wellness

Self-image literally means one’s personal view of oneself in regard to physicality and personality traits. Psychologically, it’s our โ€˜self scheme’ our own information of different traits that we perceive about ourselves that are already stored in our memory. 

3 dimensions of self-image are :

  • My personal opinion on me
  • How do others perceive me?
  • How I want others to perceive me?

As a positive self image can be favourable, advantageous, a negative self- image can be self – hurting, low self- esteem, low self -confidence, self -critical and pessimistic. Interestingly, many people have both, more or less depending on the different traits they have. 

5 ways to improve my self image in my everyday life.

1.Self – acceptance is important. Loving and accepting the way I am, will make life less complicated en route to the ups and downs of life.

2. Building a self – image realistically based on my strengths and limitations will increase my self- regard rather than based on idealistic views as nobody is perfect in this world.

3.It is important to keep a level of self – awareness to make a continuous effort to evolve as a better person to experience peace and happiness in life. 

4.Whatever good things and success have happened in life so far, enjoy to the fullest, build up more positive energy and move ahead. 

5.Every individual is unique. Never compare your success or failure with someone else. This will lead to shallowness and insecurities. 

Chasing my material goals and success is good, but at the same time, experiencing my emotional state of self achievement and fulfilment is motivating.