Therapy and Psychological intervention, have been considered the Gold Standard for what to do if you're struggling with your mental health, but are there any additional things we can implement to accelerate the process.
The answer is 'Yes', a resounding 'Yes'. In this article we'll explore complementary and alternative therapies with their benefits, that you might want to consider for best results.
As humans we have to learn through generating awareness of our actions and then being exposed to new experiences that challenge us. Giving us an opportunity to grow. In those moments of experience, especially new experience, we learn through emotions. We feel a certain way which helps us better understand ourselves and what we are capable of.
These moments are pivotal in the process of recovering from trauma and excelling positive mental health. They can happen randomly, we can be randomly exposed to things that will likely force us to grow. For example seeing your ex in the street unexpectedly will make you feel a certain way and in turn make you grow. Being proactive about experiencing, is one of the key aspects to change. By this I do not mean find your ex and stalk them, I mean ask yourself what your looking for and give yourself an opportunity to display it. You want to be more confident, put yourself in a situation you aren't at all confident.
So here are some of the most powerful complementary and alternative therapies you might want to consider alongside therapy.
Art Therapy
Throughout life, we very rarely do anything truly spontaneously. We plan our lives or alternatively have our lives planned for us through others. Which means we very rarely get to be truly creative. We very rarely sit down and don't know the outcome of what we are going to undertake. Art Therapy is a unique opportunity to put pen or brush to paper and create absolute creativity and spontaneity. When you start you won't know the outcome. This enables you to access a deeper part of yourself. Some would say it allows you to access the subconscious mind through creative expression. Try it out in adjunct to therapy for the most profound results.
Yoga & Pilates
Yoga in its traditional sense, is far beyond getting your lycra on and making some weird shapes with your body. It's a spiritual and deep practice rooted in Hinduism Philosophy. Yoga allows an absolute unity of body and mind (and some would say spirit). We very rarely have time to be and not just to do. We rarely focus on ourselves as a human, we mostly focus on on what we need to do. Yoga allows you to switch off and switch on to yourself and feeling.
Pilates is a mind and body exercise with coordinated breath work. Pilates is difficult and will put your body in discomfort. That's partly the point. In the modern world we struggle to endure anything, so the practice of enduring challenge helps with both mental and physical resilience in life.
Meditation
There's only so many times I can shout how important meditation is. What do you want me to do, scream from the rooftops. It is often the pivotal thing that provides people breakthroughs.
It's an opportunity to clear your perspective. 90% of the thoughts you thought today, you'll think tomorrow. Without a moment to clear your perspective and focus on being human, you'll create brain fog, overwhelm and a lack of clarity in your life.
Meditation provides you the time to switch off, so try it out and keep it simple. Consistency is the key, don't do it once and then assume it doesn't work on you, try it for a minimum month and do 10 mins a day, you'll thank me later.
Physical Exhaustion
Most adults past the age of 30 will never sprint again. Isn't that a shocking fact. Physical exhaustion gives you the opportunity to see where your mind can take you. When we do exercise our mind will tell us to stop and quit, if you're able to override that feeling it can transform your outlook on life.
A healthy body is a healthy mind. You've 100% heard this expression before. It's true! So start getting into your body with physical exercise and more importantly see how far you can push yourself.
If you'd like to learn more about how to collaborate therapy and complementary therapies reach out.
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