It’s time to get moving again and Christmas is coming very soon. In my family we even have a wedding coming up on the second of January (2/1/21is the date).
In Australia we have been very lucky and Covid seems to be under control. What a relief! Life can go back to a careful near normal.
My clinic is open, and I’d love to see those of you who postponed before our SA alarm. I have plenty of sanitiser and I can give you a mask. I will have a few days off but I will mostly be around over summer.
Seeing masks reminds me of the cartoon… 2 dogs were sitting watching lots of masked humans. One asked “Why are the humans all wearing muzzles?” And the reply came, “because they didn’t learn to sit and stay”. Well, it is not quite that reason but unfortunately, we do need to take care.
A big part of taking care is to stay healthy and look after our immune systems, reduce weight, stop smoking and exercise regularly. Getting anxiety under control is a huge boost to anyone’s immune system and I think most of us have seen some increase in anxiety and changes in our diet and drinking.
Almost all of this is about habits. Smoking is a habit… nicotine is not addictive for more than between 20 mins and max 2 hours.
Phobias are a habitual reaction to a fear response some time in the past and it hangs on exaggerating ongoing situations. I know I have a fear of heights and falling that started when I was a small child living in a UK 2 story house with the only bathroom upstairs.
I needed to wear callipers up to my waist until I was five and stairs were a huge challenge. I fell down the stairs often until my father built a polished board down one side as a slide for me.
I’ve helped lots of people with a fear of flying, of vomiting before events, of public speaking and many more. Most of these are very quick and easy to change because the phobia is simply habitual thinking.
Sometimes the phobia was taught and in the family for generations. My mother was a Highland Scot and had lots of these strange habits or superstitions that she learned from her mother. I could never see the logic in them, so I rejected them.
If you stop and think about weight gain over the last few months, that is also mostly about changes in your habits.
Our weight is certainly not just a function of energy in and energy out. So much is about how our mind and our habits control our metabolism, our automatic response to insulate ourselves in adverse conditions and that comfort habit from our first day of putting something comforting into our mouth.
The other very interesting thing that affects our weight is that the same part of our brain that catalogues memories and triggers the fight, flight, freeze response of fear and anxiety, also is involved in controlling our appetite.
Anyway, if any of you want any help, I will be around for much of the summer. Just look on the booking page to find available times. I’ll take a few days off but mostly be here.
Take care
