Loneliness is becoming more and more prevalent, in fact one in five Australians feel that they have no-one to talk to or turn to help and one in four of us feel lonely.
Loneliness can have a detrimental affect, it’s a risk factor for depression, anxiety and over eating. Social interaction and dealing with stressful situations can also be harder.
There are several ways we can combat loneliness and it could even begin with starting a new job, hobby or volunteering in your local community.
So let’s have each other’s back and fight loneliness together.
I personally love starting my day with 10 deep breaths by the sea so I’m ready for the day ahead.
Breathing is something that we do subconsciously thousands of times a day. But how many times have you taken a moment to stop and concentrate on your breaths?
Deep breathing helps to utilise all of your lung capacity and so delivering more oxygen to your body helping you feel revitalised. It also helps to re-align your focus and give you clarity, particularly if you are feeling stressed or anxious.
We live in a world where we are constantly being told of things we need, for example a brand new phone, a shiny car or that new line of make up.
If we spend too much time fixating on this we can often get into a negative spiral, taking our focus and energy away from where it should be.
So how about refocusing on what’s best for you and not the advertisers. You can start by thinking of 1 goal that you want to achieve today and one that you want to avoid. This will help align yourself on what’s good for you and what’s bad for you.
For me I’d like to spend one hour today practicing a new piano piece and avoid take-away food.
Mindfulness helps to improve our concentration and reduce ruminating thoughts that can lead to stress.
The key is to focus only on the present moment and not get lost in your thoughts, for example, concentrate on what’s happening around you, what can you hear or feel. You could get into a habit of doing this every day whilst you’re brushing your teeth.
Researchers have shown that practicing mindfulness helps to reduce anxiety and depression and that when you train your brain to be mindful you are actually changing the structure of your brain.
If you would like more help or information please pop by and see me in clinic.
