The concept of self healing is based on the idea that your body, thoughts and emotions are all one integrated system. Ancient teachings and modern science agree that when you influence one part of this system, you affect the whole.
The first step to achieving self healing is learning how to love yourself. This includes being compassionate and showing yourself the same care you would offer a loved one.
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient practice that helps to build the physical and spiritual body. It can help reduce stress, increase relaxation and boost the immune system. It also promotes self-discovery and personal transformation.
Yoga can be used to support people who have experienced psychological trauma alongside clinical approaches. However, there is a paucity of qualitative studies that explore the impact that this form of therapy can have on this group.
Qualitative research can provide insights that will add depth and nuance to the quantitative evidence base by exploring subjective meanings. It can also reveal barriers and facilitators to the uptake of yoga in people who have experienced trauma, from a qualitative perspective.
Meditation
Meditation is a mind-body complementary medicine that can help you relax deeply and lower stress levels. It can also boost self-compassion, gratitude and a positive mindset that promote healing.
When you meditate, your brain observes feelings and thoughts without judgment. When you notice a distressing thought or emotion, you gently bring your focus back to deep breathing.
Any type of meditation can help with your healing journey by quieting the mind, reducing insomnia and mitigating physical pain. Healing meditation focuses on supporting the body’s natural recovery processes and can involve visualization techniques.
Exercise
Exercise is one of the most powerful tools you can use to support a healthy, sober lifestyle. Its unique ability to exhilarate and relax, provide stimulation and counter depression, dissipate stress, and boost mood is well documented by endurance athletes and researchers alike.
Its healing effects are so powerful that they aid nearly every system in our bodies, from strengthening our hearts to fighting off the common cold and even slowing aging. As a result, fitness is considered nature’s best medicine. If you are struggling to find motivation, try journaling about the positive benefits of regular physical activity.
Diet
The food you eat plays a crucial role in the healing process. Eating healthy can help reduce inflammation, boost energy levels and prevent nutritional deficiencies. The healing foods diet encourages the consumption of nutritious whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes and healthy fats along with organic meats, wild-caught fish and a variety of herbs and spices. The diet limits the intake of pro-inflammatory ingredients and high-calorie processed foods.
For example, dark leafy greens such as kale and collard and turnip greens contain vitamin K, which helps blood cells group together and form clots after a cut or wound. This prevents excessive bleeding and speed up the healing process.
Sleep
Sleep is the time when your body repairs itself from damage, reorganizes and catalogs memories and new information. A whole field of medicine is devoted to sleep and the conditions that affect it, and your health and quality of life depend on getting enough ZZZs. One of the most important functions of sleep is reducing oxidative stress, and it also promotes neurogenesis (growing new neurons), which can help combat cognitive decline as you age. Sleep is also when your immune system works at its peak. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have sleep problems, which often are associated with mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Socializing
Socializing involves being with and a part of people, enjoying their company and confiding in them. This wards off loneliness and promotes enjoyment and security. Socializing can include participating in religious services, civic and service groups, clubs, hobbies, exercise classes, and other community activities. It also includes visiting friends, calling on the phone and chatting online.
Shy or private individuals may find it difficult to increase social interaction, but they can practice with manageable interactions until they feel comfortable. They can challenge negative assumptions – such as thinking that everyone in the room noticed they misspoke, or that others are judging them for making a mistake – and work on changing these self-defeating thoughts.
Creative Activities
Creative activities like art, music, and writing offer a non-verbal outlet for emotions. They can also help you to discover buried feelings, and express them in ways words cannot.
Using your hands to engage in a creative activity promotes mindfulness, a state of being fully present and engaged in the current moment. This mindfulness can reduce rumination about past events or anxieties about the future, improving emotional stability. The repetitive nature of many creative activities can also encourage a flow state of intense concentration and timelessness, reducing stress levels and promoting a sense of well-being.
