Self healing is a sacred journey in which you develop a loving relationship with your body. You learn to honor your body as your temple, nourishing it in all the ways that you can.
You also become a compassionate, patient friend with yourself. You appreciate the little things that your body does for you: regulating breathing, staying in the moment, and being thankful for everything.
Spirituality
Spiritual self healing involves seeking a connection to something bigger than yourself. This can help you find peace, awe, gratitude, contentment and acceptance. It can also help you learn to let go of negative emotions and beliefs that hold you back.
Several studies have shown that spiritual healing is safe and effective for some patients with chronic pain. One study found that patients who received spiritual healing experienced a decrease in their analgesic use and improved sleep patterns. The study’s limitations included a small sample size and limited duration of treatment.
Researchers and clinicians should recognize the importance of spirituality/religiosity in coping with chronic illness, as well as the need to incorporate this dimension into patient care. However, they should be mindful of the potential for spiritual bypassing, in which spiritual practices are used to avoid facing and dealing with difficult emotions, problems or conflicts. This can lead to an unhealthy reliance on spiritual practices for coping and may negatively impact quality of life.
Nutrition
One of the most important aspects of self healing is ensuring that you’re getting enough nutrients to support your body. This requires that you make smart food choices and avoid consuming empty calories.
A healing foods diet is based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts and seeds and incorporates healthy condiments, herbs and spices. It also includes grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish and organic poultry as well as a variety of healthy fats.
Eating healthy meals and snacks is the foundation for all other healing practices. It’s important to learn how to shop and prepare your own foods so that you can eat healthier on a consistent basis. This will help you establish further healthy habits, improve your lifestyle and save money on food. It can also help you create a framework for self healing by preventing relapse and establishing positive nutrition behaviors.
Mental Exercises
While the narrative around health and fitness is often skewed toward the body, it’s important to remember that your mental wellbeing is just as crucial. Luckily, there are small but effective exercises that can help you elevate your emotional resilience and manage those pesky negative thoughts and feelings.
Just like a good physical workout, a mental exercise can help you reduce stress, improve concentration and gain perspective. Whether it’s a journaling session with a friend or a formal meditation, both of which can be performed on your own, or through a professional counselor, there are many ways to get your brain in shape. Moreover, these exercises can be done in conjunction with a psychotherapist to enhance their effectiveness. These mental maneuvers may even protect against psychiatric disorders by providing a buffer against stress. This is because they can help you control your physiological reactivity to stress. They also boost serotonin and dopamine levels, helping you feel more emotionally healthy.
