Can Positive Thoughts Make Your Health Better?

It is sometimes said that you are about as healthy as you believe you are and even though this may not be altogether true, it is an interesting idea that thoughts can influence your well being. It is common to hear conversations in which folks complain of their physical ailments, oftentimes again and again. How many times have you heard a person complain that they used to be able to do something easily, and now just can’t find the energy? It is clear therefore, that you can have an outlook that is not healthy and the question is whether you can truly feel better if you can modify this. Below we’ll discuss some situations in which positive thinking has been found to improve health.

The first thing to consider is the relationship between thoughts and conditions such as depression and stress. A vital question is whether the person’s thoughts are creating the physical depression or the physical depression is creating the negative thinking. For psychological therapies to be most effective, they must focus on both the conscious and unconscious minds. Occasionally, it may only need some sort of rational thinking to put a situation into perspectivebecause a lot of the things we worry about never turn out to be as bad as imagined. The subconscious mind is likely stronger and this is where most of our beliefs are formed even if we are not aware of this. Visualization and hypnosis can be very effective in altering beliefs and, if you do this, the long-term effects can be more powerful than using logic solely.

It is also true that positive thinking can affect our physical health, and you may already know about the placebo effect on people who feel ill. This is when individuals are given a pill which really does not possess any healing value, and yet they claim to note an improvement in how they feel. The belief in the effectiveness of the placebo demonstrates how the mind affects the body, and this power can be used to help men and women recuperate from illnesses more rapidly. The mind likewise shapes our physical stamina and can be controlled to reach greater degrees of fitness. A notable example of the influence of belief on physical performance took place back in 1954 when Roger Bannister ran a mile in less than four minutes, breaking the “four minute mile” barrier. Nevertheless, after this event, numerous athletes began to also run the mile in less than four minutes.

Another example of how we can utilize positive thinking is to counteract the effects of the aging process. As you grow older, do you talk to your friends about your “aches and pains” and your weakened capacities? Nonetheless, the knowledge we now have in the field of longevity indicates that you can counter these effects and lead a very active life into your later years. Regrettably, a lot of men and women will continue to hold on to old beliefs about the inescapable “decline” of health in old age, and not pay attention to the benefits of a positive outlook.

So, why not use the power of positive thinking to improve your health and to attain the fitness goals that you set for yourself.

Finally, let me throw in a plug for an amazing art exhibit in the city of New London themed around gnu. Life size gnus painted by local artists with names like Starry, Starry Gnu. Sadly, the statues aren’t on display around town anymore, but you can still see them on the web.