Can Positive Thoughts Improve Your Health?

Dr. Purushothaman
September 21, 2013

How thoughts influence the quality of our physical health has become a popular area of study in the last few years. Virtually all men and women focus their attention on areas of their health that are not as good as they would like. How many times have you heard somebody complain that they used to be able to do something effortlessly, and now just can't find the energy? It is clear therefore, that you can have a mindset that is unhealthy and the question is whether you can actually feel better if you can modify this. In this article, we will discuss employing positive thinking to make your health better.

The association between mental and physical health is very obvious when looking at those who suffer from depression. An important question is whether the person's thoughts are triggering the physical depression or the physical depression is creating the negative thinking. When it comes to how you can use your mind to help, this can be accomplished on both a conscious and subconscious level. When a person has a habit of imagining things turning out very badly, rational thinking can oftentimes show them that they often are magnifying things. Some of our deepest beliefs and habits are controlled by our subconscious mind, and changing these involves more than rational thinking. For long-lasting change at the unconscious level, hypnotherapy is the best method to employ.

It is also true that positive thinking can affect our physical health, and you may be aware of the placebo effect on those who feel ill. The placebo effect refers to the phenomenon of a sugar pill creating a healing effect in a test subject because the subject is told the placebo is really a medicinal drug. The belief in the effectiveness of the placebo proves how the mind affects the body, and this power can be utilized to help men and women recuperate from illnesses faster. You can also use the power of your mind to aid you in accomplishing your fitness goals. A notable example of the influence of belief on physical performance happened in 1954 when Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes, breaking the "four minute mile" barrier. With the breaking of the supposed "barrier", numerous other runners did the same, and right now the record is about 3:43.

Let's look at one more example of how positive thinking can affect the process of aging. Some individuals direct their thoughts, and their conversations, on what they think to be the inevitable effects of becoming older: pains and limitations. However, the knowledge we now have in the field of longevity shows that you can reverse these effects and lead a very active life into your later years. The fact that many people opt not to must be based on mindset and not having a positive outlook on what they can do.

 

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