What Does Healthy Look Like To You?

What does healthy look like to you? I think it is so different for everyone. It can be physical or mental health. For many, it seems like being healthy is eating good, following a diet plan, counting calories, working out, etc. For some it can be mental health and working the steps to find mental peace in their lives. 

Mental health has been huge for me this past year more so than previous years. There were a lot of things that were happening to me physically that at one point I finally woke up and was like, “wow,” I really need to listen to what my body is trying to tell me!

I was having a lot of hormonal issues, that caused me to lose over half of my hair, my inflammation was really bad, I had developed psoriasis on my scalp and eczema on my arms, which I think was due to stress. I was losing my mind, and due to this, I was not eating the most nutrient dense foods. I was turning into an emotional eater and eating whatever I wanted which was just making things much worse.

 I had hurt my ankle in August of last year, and due to my not so great eating habits last year, it was taking my ankle that much longer to heal. It was making the inflammation much worse.

Once, I hurt my ankle, I wasn’t able to exercise at all. This was a big deal for me, because working out helps me keep my sanity. It is a habit and a routine for me and has been for the past 12 plus years. I had never been out of this routine before.

Coming home day after day and sitting on the couch was really starting to take a toll on me. It was then that I knew I had to stop and listen to what my body was trying to tell me.

Since I couldn’t work on my physical health, I decided to dive deeper into my mental health. This can be such an eye-opening experience because it is very hard to take a time out and realize that our bodies are doing this for a reason, to get our attention, and it’s important that we listen.

I started a new kind of therapy and sought out alternative medicines to help me get my mind right. I started to journal more and started meditating.

I just truly wanted mental peace more than anything because I didn’t feel that I was in control of anything going on with my body at this point. Having these tools has helped bring me a great deal of inner peace which in turn brought me to be able to focus on my physical health more. 

Physical health to me is eating healthy and exercising. Eating whole foods, trying to keep processed foods to a minimum. Eating on a diet does not work for me. Tracking food drives me mentally insane. It is not healthy for me mentally. I have used food trackers and still do from time to time, but it never works as a long-term tool for me. Eating healthy, nutritious foods works for me. Having a bad nutritional meal and not beating myself up over it is what works for me. Everyone’s journey is different. What works for one person may not work for another. I feel my best mentally and physically when I’m eating whole foods that are good for my body. I can think more clearly and have more energy. 

What works for you in terms of being mentally and physically healthy? I love hearing what others are doing. Everyone deserves to be happy and feel good about themselves!