F.E.A.R.

 

F.E.A.R. Forget Everything And Run OR Face Everything And Rise! I read this as a post on Facebook about a year ago and I re-shared it as I thought it was a great post. At the time there was more I wanted to say on this but didn’t, for the simple and foolish reason that I was, wait for it: scared. Scared it was not the right time; that people would think what I had to say nonsense. Scared that they may feedback negatively to me in some way. Scared of offending. Whatever it was I had that fear and didn’t act on it. I simply re-posted it and ran. I then forgot about it until recently.

Recently I have begun to consider this statement and where I stand with it in certain situations in life. I have thought a lot about fear and also about other peoples fears as they often come up in discussion. I’m sure we have all got many stories of where we have avoided our fears as well as when we have face them.

I have become curious as to why we give our fears so much power. We ourselves have the choice when faced with something we fear: as it says we can face it or we can run. Of course, there are times where running is the most sensible and safest option such as escaping from danger. Most of the time we are not in immediate danger, we are just perceiving it that way to avoid making tough decisions.

Let’s consider this question: where is the power? By running, are we seizing the power and evolving? No, by running we are actually abdicating that power, handing it to the thing/person of which we are fearful and giving it/them strength to grow. Our growth surely comes from the seizing the power, facing the fear and rising. The clue is in there, we take on that fear, take back that powerand we are strong. We rise and grow.

So how do we do this? How can we move from a culture of run to rise?

1.     Recognise our fears- get to know what you are fearful of. Look at how these fears are holding you back and reconnect with your thoughts.

2.     Recognise what gives our fears power- the most common one is the news. (I know, here she goes again). Whenever I have used EFT with anyone and they have cut out the news from their life, it has made such as big difference. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who tell me they watch the news right before bed and I ask them do you sleep well, already knowing the answer.

3.     Focus on strength- We need to focus on positivity, focus on what we want in our life, how we want to feel. If you have ever worked with the law of attraction you will know what I mean straight away. What we think we bring about, focus on the positive and the exciting. That is the growth.

4.     Work on yourself- Find something to help you deal with your fear. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a great one as it allows you to clear the negative emotion and move on.

Not facing our fears can over time lead to poor physical,emotional and mental health. So, let’s take back that control, don’t give our fears the power, they don’t deserve it. Instead, thank them for what they are, an opportunity to Face Everything And Rise.

If you would like to find out more, Ed and I are running a webinar on Tuesday 16th March at 8pm. Look out for more details on Cambridge Family Chiropractic's social media pages.

 

Children's Mental Health and Exercise: Now it's more important than ever

 

We all know exercise is important for our physical health, but how many of us realise that exercise is just as important for our mental health? Research has shown that exercise can improve your mood due to the fact that when we exercise, endorphins and serotonin are released. Exercising can aid with depression, anxiety and also recovery from mental health issues.

As I write this, we are approaching children’s mental health week and I am sure we have become very aware of the astonishing volume of children that are struggling emotionally, and for good reason. They have had an enormous amount of change to deal with in the last year, change that most adults are struggling to keep up with, let alone a child. A vast portion of a child’s day is now spent in front of a screen in their home. The physical play and interaction (which is vital for their wellbeing and development) that they have with their friends and peers is now limited to that of their siblings.

So, is it any wonder that children are emotional, exhibiting challenging behaviour or simply not themselves? As adults we may feel reluctant to exercise for many reasons, and at the moment with the change in routine and not being in our normal lifestyles, home-schooling and working this reluctance may be compounded and we may feel that exercise on top of all this is simply too much. However as with any of the 7 Habits of Health, the more our children see us following them, the more natural it will be for them to follow the suit.

During the first lockdown I had concerns that many children would not getting their usual levels of exercise, and that this would not only impact their physical wellbeing but their emotional wellbeing as well. Sports clubs had all stopped meeting in person and any practice was now online. While the efforts that go into online meetings can’t go unnoticed, personally I cringe every time we have to do something on Zoom. I would be bracing myself for the resistance and the questions of ‘why can’t we just go to the class?’ I soon ran out of ideas as to how to convince my children to join in with online this or that. I have to say though the difference in them after the exercise was complete was worth the battle.

When our boys returned to school in September I so grateful for the emphasis that was being put on exercise and mental health. The support was there, and still is throughout this third lockdown, even though our teachers have already worked so hard, they have somehow managed to ‘ramp up’ their efforts, so I am very proud of our community schools for that. But I do know that is not the same of all schools and that is really sad to note, children need support now more than ever. They need their exercise, that energy release, to be outdoors (yes even in this weather). Children also need the physical exercise in order to improve their learning capacity. So, if you are struggling to get your child to engage with their home schooling, one answer could be that it is time for some exercise.

Here are some great links that have been shared with us to help children emotionally (thanks to Stephanie Booth at Linton Infants' School for these):

https://www.ecmhc.org/ideas/emotions.html

https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/

 

There are many things out there to help with ensuring your children get their exercise, from online workouts to ideas for outdoor activities. It’s a good idea to mix things up and keep them interesting, that way no one gets bored and it keeps exercise fun. It’s a good idea to plan ahead and get the exercise booked into your home school/ work/ household chores timetable. Remember children can help with the chores while at home too. Regardless of your preferred method of exercise, get this habit cemented into yours and your child’s routine; it really is an important habit of health.