7 Ways to Feel Healthier and Happier

benefits of exercise developing your mind emotional health gratitude purpose spirituality subconscious

Feeling healthier and happier comes from growing in self-awareness and learning to work gently with the three parts of our being—mind, body, and spirit. Over the years, I’ve discovered seven practices that have helped me experience greater well-being, peace of mind, joy, and fulfillment. This is very much a journey, and I’m still learning along the way. I’d love to share what has been meaningful for me with you.

1. Be Physically Active

I’m a big believer in being active and exercising, whether you’re going to the gym, doing yoga, playing a sport, dancing, hiking, swimming, walking, jogging, or whatever you enjoy doing. There are many benefits to being active and here are just a few:

Increased breath capacity- check out my blog on the benefits of increasing your lung capacity and taking deep breaths can do for you at: https://www.gailmae.com/blog/feel-more-calm-by-deep-breathing-which-stimulating-the-vagus-nerve
Increased blood flow– It’s crucial for good health. Your heart pumps about 5 quarts of blood through your body’s system of blood vessels each minute and delivers oxygen to help eliminate waste. When circulation is poor, your blood doesn’t flow as vigorously and symptoms can include numbness in your fingers and toes, fluid retention, bloating, and lack of energy.
Increased brain sensitivity– for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression, making you feel happier.
Reduces anxiety.
Maintains and builds strong muscles and bones– giving you more strength and flexibility to achieve the activities you want to in life.
Increased energy.
It helps you to focus better by increasing blood flow to the brain– keeps you aware with less brain fog, increases memory and thinking skills, and causes the hippocampus (vital for memory and learning) to grow.
Helps to keep your weight down.
Reduces the risk of chronic disease.
Reduces changes in the brain that can cause Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
Helps you relax and sleep better.
Reduces pain.

2. Take care of your Emotional Life

It’s like going to the gym or brushing our teeth—something we attend to every day. Many of us grew up in homes where emotions were repressed. We weren’t taught healthy ways to express them, or we simply weren’t allowed to. Difficult emotions were brushed aside or buried deeply, only to surface later when we’re triggered and can no longer hold them in.

When emotions are continually suppressed, shoved down, or rationalized away, they don’t disappear. Instead, they can manifest as physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

Repressed Trauma

To feel healthier and happier, we need to acknowledge and heal any repressed pain or trauma in our lives—no matter how big or small. Unhealed trauma and painful memories can affect our careers, our relationships, and our overall well-being. They can contribute to depression, disease, and a diminished quality of life.

When we experience trauma, we form beliefs about ourselves and about life. If the experience was too overwhelming to process at the time, it may become buried in the subconscious. In these cases, I encourage seeking compassionate and skilled support to help with healing.

A key part of healing is uncovering the beliefs attached to traumatic events. In a healing session—especially using EFT tapping—trauma can be gently neutralized, allowing new, empowering beliefs to emerge. Our deeply held core beliefs shape our emotions, reactions, and behaviors. For real change to occur, positive, life-affirming beliefs must be integrated not only consciously but also subconsciously.

This matters because we are guided by our subconscious beliefs for much of our lives. We can “will” change only so far before old patterns resurface in the form of self-sabotage. When core beliefs are transformed, the subconscious can accept and support positive affirmations. From this place, we gain greater freedom—to create a life aligned with our values, and to live our true purpose.

3. Develop and use your mind by:

Reading books and perhaps attending a book club.
Writing and doing research, attending a writing course.
Taking college courses or any other type of course.
Being creative, either creative writing, performing, painting, singing, dancing, improvisation, etc.
Crossword puzzles (those that stretch your mind), chess, and mind games.
Learn another language or a musical instrument.
Eat a healthy diet (more about diet below).
Teach a skill to others.
Listening to others – as we become more interested in others, we not only learn a lot but it develops different parts of our brain.
Learn a new hobby or skill.
Write things down in longhand. Research has shown that writing down new information longhand helps you integrate it more thoroughly and recall it more easily.
Stop smoking. Researchers have found evidence that smoking impedes cognitive function and may even shrink the size of your brain’s hippocampus. It can decrease your abilities related to memory, planning, and overall mental flexibility.
Getting plenty of sleep.
Listening to music.
Spirituality and faith practices such as contemplation, prayer, and meditation. As Andrew Newberg, director of research at the Jefferson Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital, and author of the book, “How God Changes Your Brain”, says,

“As you grow spiritually, as you change your beliefs, as you enhance your sense of compassion, for instance, this affects the brain. If you practice prayer regularly, data shows that these practices change your brain over time. Specifically increased activity in the frontal lobes (one of the areas in the brain involved with compassion and positive emotions)."

4. Spirituality and Sense of Purpose

Your spirituality is connected to your mind, your body, and your emotions. When we seek happiness only from our worldly experience, we come up short because we only have our experience to rely on. For many, that might not be enough to feel safe, loved, and accepted. As much as there are great people around to learn from, they don’t have the unique and specific perspective and connection with the higher power that you have. God wants to have a relationship with us but we have to seek it, want it, and ask for it. In “Psychology Today” Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. says.

"Spiritual people are gracious, optimistic, compassionate, savor life experiences, flourish, and self-actualize."

Connecting to God

Connecting to God (you may use other words such as higher power, spirit, the light, or that small still voice inside) will help you to discover your purpose. Having a strong sense of purpose gives you the strength to get through difficult times, because you know you are not alone. You have the inner strength to learn from experience and grow in character. A new study from Northwestern University finds that people who know their purpose also have the benefit of sleeping better at night.

"Having a purpose outside yourself is good not only for your mental health, but it’s good for your physical health, longevity, and even your genes. Those with a stronger sense of purpose, regardless of age or education level, scored higher on tests of memory, executive, and cognitive functions than those with a weaker sense of purpose. Connecting to God will help you to feel healthier and happier all around."

Envisioning

Envisioning stimulates the creative and imaginative part of your brain. Remember Einstein's quote that "Imagination is more important than knowledge" and from the bible, in case you might be doubting yourself, that "nothing is impossible with God". (Luke 1:37)

5. Be Grateful

No matter how challenging things are in your life, there is always something to be grateful for, whether that is a roof over your head, a friend you can rely on, or a pillow to rest your head on at night. When we cultivate gratitude, we increase our well-being and happiness. In addition, gratitude—and especially expressing it to others—is associated with increased energy, optimism, and empathy. If we look at it from an energetic point of view it raises your vibrational energy.

6. Give Back

As Alice G. Walton writes in Forbes magazine, “Most philosophies and religions, include a strong sense of giving back to the world."

Giving back helps others and is one of the most therapeutic things we can do for ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi said,

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

When we do this, we see how our problems are not so prominent in the grand scheme of things, and that others have suffered deeply too. When we share each other’s burdens, they become lighter!

7. Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet helps you on multiple levels: mind, body, and spirit. I’m not going to take much time here talking about diet, as this could be a whole book in and of itself, and there are so many good ones out there already. I remember years ago, I found myself in the hospital having lots of tests for my heart as I was having dizzy spells. After spending 3 or 4 days in the hospital, reading a novel, and getting lots of rest in between tests, I realized I was only suffering from stress. The tests came out perfectly normal, but I knew I needed to take better care of myself.

I had been putting myself last on the list with moving, five kids, and family visiting to look after. I went to a naturopath and changed my diet. I had to be strict at first, and I took a lot of supplements. It was incredible the change I felt in my energy levels, my mood, and my sense of being able to effect change. I feel healthier and happier now since I started taking care of my needs first. I’m not as strict anymore, but I try to eat as healthily as possible.

I hope you can add some of these practices into your life so you feel happier and healthier, and that these changes make a positive difference!

If you would like to reach out for a complimentary 20-minute consultation. I would love to help you let go of anything that keeps you from being your healthiest and happiest. Click here to schedule a call.