Your body is the external interpreter of your internal emotions. Whatever repressed emotions or feelings you continue to repress will eventually find their expression through your somatic (bodily) symptoms. In stressful moments of life, listening to your body is critical to diminishing the hyperarousal of your body that is often induced by the over-activation of the fight-or-flight response. By listening to your body and accurately evaluating its basic, adaptive and homeostatic needs at a given time (e.g. rest, sleep, water, food, exercise, social interaction, self-compassion, self-care, relaxation, gratitude, support, respite, appreciation, solitude. etc.) and meeting that need as much as Continue reading
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Productivity is always connected to levels of happiness, although few people will admit it. Humans are creatures of momentum. Stagnation suffocates self-fulfilment and stifles serendipity. Two parameters are key to gauging your happiness-meter in life; progress and relationships. The degree to which you think your life is moving forward will influence your subjective assessment for personal happiness. Similarly, the quality of your close relationships will decide your stress or happiness levels. In this 60 sec video, I focus on the science of progress and share a simple but powerful key to improving productivity, thereby boosting the readings on your happiness-meter. Continue reading
Here I answered the questions of our audience on OCD, anxiety disorder, addiction, trauma and other anxiety-related conditions. Learn about the neurobiology of anxiety, OCD and addiction in an engaging and easy-to-understand way. Continue reading
Anxiety is a positive energy that requires leadership. The ultimate purpose of your anxiety pathway is to enhance your chances for survival in any threatening situation. However, if the stressor persists for too long, healthy anxiety can deplete its adaptive energy and become toxic, thereby micromanaging your mind and emotions with elevated stress hormones. A resultant effect of this could be exaggerated anxiety symptoms. Now, what is worth mentioning here is that your unbearable symptoms of anxiety are still an attempt of your stress response to restore internal order and homeostasis. Therefore, a specific cooperative action is required on your Continue reading
Depression is a neuro-biochemical condition that has been found to affect key neurotransmitters and regions of the brain involved in emotions, cognition, pleasure and motivation. It is therefore unfair to blame your depression on the weakness of your character or lack of willpower. Here is why in 60 sec. Continue reading
The hallmark of wellness is knowing how and when to turn off your stress response. Humans are wired for survival. Whenever you feel threatened, the survival network in your brain and body mobilises its adaptive energy to increase your chances of survival. This adaptive energy, originally designed for short-term stress responses, becomes toxic if left turned on for too long or if faced with a prolonged stressor. When you find yourself overwhelmed with negative thoughts, memories or feelings, you can manually turn off your own stress responses and gradually override the survival brain, using all your senses - sight, touch, Continue reading
Stress is a natural bodily response to a perceived threat. There are three types of stress; beneficial, tolerable and toxic. A reasonable amount of acute stress (mild and brief) can be beneficial and promote greater cognitive and immune system functions. However, toxic stress (traumatic and prolonged) are the biggest risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Depending on the severity of your negative life experiences, it is possible to leave your stress response in the 'ON' position for too long. When the nervous system starts to have trouble turning off your stress hormones, cardiovascular disease, among others, may become inevitable. Elevated levels Continue reading
Gratitude practice has been found to be a protective factor against stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that gratitude reduces the cortisol levels (your stress hormone) and increases synaptic serotonin levels (your happiness hormone). Gratitude is energy for rejuvenation. Depending on the intensity of your adversity, there comes a time, when you are faced with a crucial question; 'how can I get myself back up and running?' This is where gratitude comes in. By gradually shifting your focus and starting to pay attention to little things in your environment that you can be thankful for, you start to re-build your Continue reading
The myth of perfectionism: perfectionism is a mirage and illusion of the mind that is neither required nor necessary in the equation of happiness and success. A relentless pursuit of perfection is proof of a battered mind that longs to escape past traumatic experiences caused by just being IMPERFECT human. To be human is to be perfectly imperfect without self-shaming, self-hating or self-rejecting. To fulfil our ultimate potentials in life, we must embrace our imperfection and celebrate little progresses along the way, while seeing inevitable setbacks and adversities as stepping stones to more incremental progresses. In this 60-second clip, I Continue reading
Motivation is a function of focus and courage. In other words, what you focus on most of the time determines your courage or your discouragement, your motivation or your demotivation. In difficult times, you can use the power of focus to increase your motivational energy by redirecting your attention to something positive, encouraging and uplifting, notwithstanding your ongoing negative life experiences . Interestingly, the key neurotransmitters for your motivation and happiness, dopamine and serotonin, can be up-regulated through your tenacity to focus your mind towards sources of inspiration and compassion in the midst of adversity. In this 60-second clip, I Continue reading