By: Emily Oberg
We all know how important it is to take care of our bodies— after all, this page is dedicated to it. But what about the health of our minds and hearts? Two things that are as important, if not more, than our physical well being. One of my favorite Ted Talks is one led by renowned psychologist Guy Winch called “Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid”. In it, he talks about how we prioritize our physical health over our mental health and how we need to do a better job at paying attention to our emotions while also being kind to ourselves, not letting that negative inner voice get the best of us, and how we can enrich our lives by doing so.
Many of us are more than happy to spend hundreds of dollars on organic groceries each week because we know the importance of what we put into our bodies. But when it comes to what we put into our minds, it seems we are less inclined to keep the garbage out, and we consume things that are detrimental to our emotional wellness.
For instance, we spend hours upon hours on social media when we are well aware of its negative effects on our brain. We tell ourselves and each other that Instagram makes us depressed, that we feel worse when we look at it than when we don’t— yet our screen time continues to be at an all time high. You wouldn’t regularly consume buckets of ice cream and bags of chips, so why do we consume so much crap online? What is the point of being physically healthy if our minds and hearts are toxic and sick?
We spend hours and hours at the gym, going for walks or hikes, riding bikes or attending our favorite fitness classes, but not as many of us do things like read self help books, see a therapist, listen to inspirational podcasts and meditate. All things that can be extremely beneficial to our emotional health.
If we spent as much time caring for our minds and hearts as we do our bodies, maybe we’d all have better self-esteem, be more positive, less stressed and anxious and a little bit happier.
