Hidden Secrets of Health Blog - Community
One of the biggest barriers holding people back from reaching their health goals - losing weight, getting more active, eating healthier, lowering their cholesterol, gaining muscle - is always one of the least obvious ones: community. Keep reading to learn more about how your support system impacts your health, what you might be missing, and strategies to start to grow a stronger one.
The highest amount of interest in my coaching services always happens in November and December. One of the obvious factors is this - people tend to break their routines around the holidays. They eat differently, move differently, and travel more than they are used to. One of the less obvious factors is this: a lot of us tend to surround ourselves with different people than our typical day-to-day, namely, family. Being around family, as much as we care for those people, can sometimes lead to drama, unresolved conflict, stress, and tension. This is my own subjective opinion about why people seek out my coaching services the most during the holiday season. [Read some testimonials to learn more!]
Every single human interaction and LACK of human interaction in our lives causes emotion - good and bad. Emotions impact our actions - chemically (hormones) as well as practically (motivation). Actions impact our health and wellbeing - deciding what kind of food to put in our body, how we move our body (or don’t), how we breathe, how we sleep. For example, a stress-filled, confrontational interaction with a family member over the holidays leads to a rush of cortisol and adrenaline in your body. Naturally, you’re going to want to regain some balance. It’s not a crazy reaction to reach for an extra dessert after this moment - food brings emotional and chemical comfort to us.
Why am I explaining all of this? Because most people do not take their relationships, human interactions, and community ties into account when setting goals to lose weight, move more, or eat better. Your community impacts your health. Period.
Reflection Time.
Who is your community? Direct and indirect.
What are their health behaviors?
How do their health behaviors support your overall wellness?
How would it impact your community if you started to change some of your health behaviors (how you spend your free time - actively/inactively, how you eat and drink when you socialize together, etc)?
What ways does your community hold you back from higher levels of wellness?
REAL Client Case Study:
I have a client who came to my program with the #1 goal of losing weight. After going through my introductory whole health review - a big picture recap of each area of your life (relationships, sleep, eating, movement, mindfulness, professional health, etc) - the most immediate thing that came up as needing urgent work was her relationship with her family. After spending most of our first three sessions working together on her community, I challenged my client on her current mindset towards her family and her control over HER side of those relationships. Control what you can control, change your side and see what the results look like. This tiny shift had a dramatic impact on her level of intimacy and trust with her family, which had a dramatic impact on her mental health, stress levels (worrying about those relationships less), and overall happiness. Feeling free from this constant mental burden, my client found a radically different level of motivation and excitement in her physical health. She started going to the gym easily - not feeling like it was a chore. She became more mindful about her eating patterns - even taking the step to start tracking her food, energy levels, and calories - resulting in more energy and weight loss. She even started taking steps towards having a better bedtime routine and sleep quality. Literally all impacted by one shift related to her COMMUNITY.
Solutions. How to work on your community.
Expand your community - find organizations in your local area that actively work towards bringing people together for common interests. For example, in St Petersburg, Florida one of my favorite local businesses is The Body Electric Yoga Company. The BE works actively to bring locals together to support each other in so many ways. Supporting other local businesses through exposure and marketing, supporting the community in physical health with free community classes (like Wednesday sunset yoga at the Pier!), and offering workshops to meet new like-minded people while learning about various health-related things like meditation.
Restructure your community. Sometimes we need to re-evaluate the amount of time we spend with the people around us. You are who you spend the most time with. Decide who you want to become, evaluate the people in your life and their habits, and see how you can re-align yourself in a way that supports your health the most. I’m NOT saying cut people off, I’m saying be mindful.
Lead your community. Sometimes we need to step up. If your community is important to you and you need to change, maybe they need to change, too. What would it look like if you were brave enough to go first? How would your community feel long term, how would they be impacted long term, if you took the lead in changing the habits and lifestyle behaviors of the group?
This holiday season, consider the physical impact your community is having on your health. Feeling stuck on how to make changes - even though you KNOW you need to? Hit that button below.
