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The Different Components Of Health - Seven Health: Eating Disorder Recovery and Anti Diet Nutritionist

Apr 12.2016


Apr 12.2016

When you hear the word “health” what do you normally think about?

Do you have a specific look in mind of what it means to look healthy? Do you think about various systems like digestion or reproduction and think about how these would be working in a “healthy” person? Maybe you think about various symptoms and whether someone would experience them if they were “healthy”.

When I speak to people or ask clients this question, the majority of the responses have one thing in common. The answers nearly always focus on physical health. Symptoms, body systems, exercise ability – these responses are largely weighted towards the physical body.

But true health isn’t just about the physical body, but also about mental health and emotional health. And how easy it is to forget this in a world obsessed with weight loss, the appearance of health and eating habits that are now part of our identity.

We can’t compartmentalise health despite our best efforts. And often no effort is put in at all, as people are oblivious to the fact that health means anything other than physical health.

But for anyone who has tried to follow this kind of thinking you’ll know how unspectacular the results can be.

People following these rigid rules around food and exercise. On paper, this might be the perfect thing for them to do for improvements to physical health. But mentally and emotionally it’s exhausting. They are using an inordinate amount of willpower and not enjoying the experience.

Sooner or later, no matter how good it might be for their physical health, they give up.

Or maybe they are the rare individual who continues to keep it up despite the hardships. No they are not learning to like it, they just have a level of stubbornness that allows them to keep it up.

Now let’s compare them to someone who is following the exact same eating and exercise plan. But rather than feeling like a version of Chinese water torture, they enjoy it. They look forward to their meals and look forward to their exercise; and not just because it is going to create some change in the distant future, but because they enjoy the experience in the present.

So you have two people following the same practice to improve physical health, one person hating it and the other person thoroughly enjoying it. If both people keep up what they are doing, they are going to experience very different outcomes.

And this is because the mental, emotional and physical health are interconnected. Each impacts on the others and affects the results.

It’s why for years I’ve been talking about the importance of context and why it is key to genuine health. Because you can have ideas that on the surface appear “healthy or “unhealthy” but actually become the opposite under the “right” circumstances.

For example I often suggest for certain clients to increase the amount of processed foods in their diet. The suggestion maybe for this to even make up a fair percentage of what they eat.

If this person is coming from a place of under eating or restriction, this allowance can be a huge release. Mentally and emotionally for so long this has been “bad” food but now this is no longer the case. Food stops being a reflection on who they are as a person and starts being something about enjoyment, allowance and honouring their feelings. So from a mental and emotional perspective, this can remove a huge burden.

And while it may be hard for some people to get their head around, this advice can also be helpful for physical health. If they are coming from a place of physical restriction, they can be in need of significant amounts of calories to help repair their body. Doing this with “whole foods” might be difficult (if not impossible) for them to get in the amount that they need.

So processed food can be healing for their mental, emotional and physical health.

And even if someone hasn’t been severely physically restricting, they may have been on and off diets for a large part of their life. They have some entrenched beliefs about “good” and “bad” foods and eating is (or can be) an anxiety driven experience.

Increasing processed food can then be part of the healing process. It helps them get to a stage where they no longer feel the need for diet and restriction. They can start to eat by listening to their body.

So maybe in the short term the processed food is fairly neutral on it’s impact to their physical health. Maybe it is even slightly detrimental. But if it then helps them to have a better relationship with food, in the long run they are better able to eat to support their physical body. So in the short term mentally and emotionally it is a winner, and over the long haul it helps out physically as well.

Exercise would be another example. I regularly have to tell clients to reduce their exercise or to cease it all together. This is often met with a response like “but exercise is healthy, why don’t you want me to do it?”

If someone does exercise and it leaves them wiped out for the rest of the day, it’s not helping them. If through exercise they’ve stopped getting their period, it’s not healthy. If they resent exercise but do it to manipulate their weight, it’s not working for them.

Exercise doesn’t have to be easy. You also don’t have to love every minute of it or every time you do it. But overall it needs to be supporting your health. And this is physical, mental and emotional health.

Often I request clients reduce exercise (or cease it for some time) because physically it’s not working for them. They are plagued with various symptoms that are a direct result of over training. And by over training I mean exercise that is too much for how they eat and live their life. You don’t have to be hitting the gym 5 days a week before you can be over training; it’s not about absolute numbers of minutes of training, it is about the individuals reaction to it.

Sometimes my request for less or no exercise is for mental and emotional reasons. They have a connection between exercise and body manipulation that has destroyed their love of moving their body. It’s not about the experience, but what they tell themselves is happening because of the exercise and these thoughts have become toxic

Having a break from exercise can help them find other ways to meet their mental and emotional needs. It allows them to find better coping strategies; ways that serve them instead of dragging them down.

With time, in basically all scenarios, people will get back into exercise. They may start back up doing the same activities they were doing before but now they reframe the way they think about it. Or often they start something completely new, realising how much the old way wasn’t enjoyable but they hadn’t allowed themselves to consider an alternative.

We find ourselves in a bizarre place where health has become to mean something very narrow and incomplete. Something that the more you focus on, the further it actually pushes you from actual health. So please be more open minded and broad thinking in your definition of health. Because without the mental and emotional side of health, physical health is a hollow victory.

Getting Help On Your Recovery Journey

I’m a leading expert and advocate for full recovery. I’ve been working with clients for over 15 years and understand what needs to happen to recover.

I truly believe that you can reach a place where the eating disorder is a thing of the past and I want to help you get there. If you want to fully recover and drastically increase the quality of your life, I’d love to help.

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Comments

2 responses to “The Different Components Of Health”

  1. Charlotte says:

    So true Chris. My health transformed when I got my mindset right. I think without the right mindset it makes it almost impossible to reach body related goals, or at least maintain them. And of course with the right mindset we usually feel better emotionally, too. And I believe our spirituality and sexuality play important roles in health, also. Such wonderfully complicated creatures we are! 🙂

  2. Libby says:

    Love this!!! Couldn’t agree more!

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