After listening to a really inspiring web lecture through
the Coaching course I am doing – I started thinking about the impacts on our health
other than the main components (well – the first that most people think about
anyway), and particularly focusing in on the importance of relationships.
The host of the lecture was talking about a town in the US,
who was recently noted as having the highest rates of death due to natural
causes and old age – as opposed to death from accidents or lifestyle related
illness (e.g heart disease, stroke, smoking related illnesses). This caused
quite a bit of interest from medical researchers and academics; thinking that
perhaps there was something in the water, or something different that no other
person had thought of to improve life. The interesting finding was that the
thing that was keeping people healthy was the quality of their relationships
and feeling connected.
This particular town is of relatively low socio-economic
status, many people co-habituated and most people worked blue collar jobs. Being
a poor area, education in the community is generally lower due to different
career choices and ability to pay for further study – which tend to go hand in
hand with poor food selection, fresh and healthy food availability, and
nutrition knowledge, an increased amount of smoking and drinking and also a
lower rate of exercise (often due to a lack of time, resources, facilities and
knowledge of it’s importance).
This particular town saw common practice in having a few
glasses of wine each night – generally drinking with a group of friends. The
town’s favorite foods of choice included deep fried chicken, fries and a very
small amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. To look at – you would think these
factors alone would see this town on par with other towns as being one of the
biggest and most obese towns (and countries) in the world.
Our society in general has grown to one where people work independently,
have to plan and pre-organise or schedule meetings with friends (if time allows
between work and home duties), communication is largely by email or text
message, dinner parties and home gatherings are becoming less of a norm as
people organise adventurous and well thought out dinners or drinks in ‘the
hottest new restaurant/bar/café’ in town and close connections with people are
becoming less common.
This small town, was different. People lived close by to
each other and most nights would just ‘drop in’ to see their friends or family on
the way home from work. If people were doing things tough financially; the
community would work together to provide support until that person found their
feet, if someone was unwell or not themselves; people would check to see how
they were going and bring them a ‘casserole’ or soup for dinner, if single
mother’s needed to go to work to ensure they had money to feed their family;
someone would be there in the community to babysit without hesitation. Several
families lived under the same roof to make sure everybody was ‘under a roof’
and not living on the streets.
These people were connected with one another, each person
felt as if they had a role to play in society and that they belonged. The emotional
stress was minimal in everyone.
Take a moment to think about that for a brief period.
Think about how the community you live, work or ‘play’ in
responds to those in need or makes people feel as if they are part of the
group.
I know that in terms of health I understand and place great
importance on making sure my physical and mental health are working in cohesion
to ensure that I am living my BEST LIFE (well – as much as I can!), but in so
many instances in ALL OF US we neglect the importance of the other parts of our
life; career, relationships, spirituality to name a few. Each of these play a
role bigger than you would first think. Here is an example – if you are unhappy
at work, feeling unsatisfied, ‘stuck’ or not challenged – your stress hormone
(cortisol) will increase. When there is an increase of this hormone in our
bodies, other health issues arise – increase risk of high blood pressure, liver
function issues, mental health issues, stomach and bowl trouble, back pain,
fatigue, increased risk of cancer…..to name a few. The same occurs when we are
not taking note of our spiritual side; feeling like we are walking in a ‘rat
race’ each day without use of our creativity, or being able to show our
individuality – again our cortisol levels rise.
So – rather than simply noting the importance of diet and
exercise (which of course are incredibly important don’t get me wrong – I’m a
huge advocate of their place in the world!), think about how strong your
relationships are with those around you, think about whether you have any
outlet to grow your spiritual side (and no – I don’t mean turn into a hippy and
sit around a fire all day!) and be creative, think about how fulfilling your
career is for you. These are the real primary health components.
YOU are the only one who can make the changes necessary to
balance out the areas in your life that
are missing, neglected or raising your cortisol levels. Think about your
passions, your goals, your interests. Reflect on the areas of your life that
you are not feeling satisfied with. HOW can you change this? Where would you
ideally like to see yourself in a few years’ time and is your current life
playing out in a way that will get you to your ideal life?
Good luck – would love to know how you ‘tackled’ it!
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