Physical health is just as much a product of the things you take in emotionally and spiritually as it is of the things you eat and drink. Chronic stress, exhaustion, pent-up anger, guilt, depression, lack of social interaction, too much social interaction — these and many other unhealthy states of mind and life can take a huge toll on your health, which is why it is important to regularly cleanse toxic emotions, thoughts, and even people from your life.
This is not to say that you should automatically give up on every challenging situation or person that might come your way. Rather, if negative feelings and an overwhelming sense of anxiety or frustration are marked patterns of your life, then it might be time to reevaluate the situation and come up with ways to shed some of these harmful patterns of thinking and living from your life, much in the same way that a colon or liver cleanse eliminates harmful toxins from your body.
Since physical cleanses often bring to mind emotional and spiritual issues of concern, it is sometimes best to perform both physical and emotional cleanses at the same time, as the benefits will be even more pronounced. Here are four suggestions for cleansing toxic thoughts and people from your life in order to improve your overall health.
Cleanse your body so you can cleanse your mind. This does not necessarily have to mean subjecting yourself to several weeks of rigorous bowel cleansing and liver detoxifying protocols (although these might help many people). But making simple changes to get your eating habits and digestion in order is an excellent way to achieve the proper state of mind to begin evaluating your emotions and human connections, and begin sorting through what needs to go, and what needs to stay.
Starting your days off right with a few tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil, for instance, which is a powerful cleanser and energizer, will help jump start your mind and prepare it for critical thinking. Getting normal intervals of rest at night, avoiding drinking coffee in the morning, and juicing fresh vegetables and greens throughout the week will also help cleanse and supercharge your physical health in order to prepare you to address your emotional health.
Carefully consider the people and situations that create stress in your life. Once your physical health is in-sync with your diet, take some time to evaluate the situations of your life from the same perspective that you would the foods you eat. What types of circumstances are you regularly “digesting,” and how are these affecting your physical health? Are you mentally capable of assimilating the affairs of your life, or are there persistent, unhealthy situations that you are unable to resolve?
Toxic people can also take a toll on your health, especially people who always take and never give. Do the people in your life encourage you and build you up? Are they a good influence on you in terms of healthy living and eating habits? If not, perhaps it is time to begin seeking out others that are more like-minded, and who understand the importance of mutually beneficial relationships that feed into each other rather than emotionally drain each other.
Always set aside time for rest, relaxation, recreation. The importance of getting regular sleep and setting aside at least one day out of your week for recreation and relaxation is absolutely vital for maintaining a healthy emotional state. Your body needs time not only to unwind and recharge, but maintaining a healthy sleep pattern will rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.
Many people disregard the need for healthy rest, which puts incredible strain on their adrenal glands and overall physical health. Lack of rest also deprives the body of the normal cycles it needs to properly regulate hormones, which places enormous strain on both physical and mental health. By simply making rest a part of your normal routine, you will find that you think better, feel better, and function better.
Maintain a proper balance between social time and private time. The famous song Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds speaks of there being a season for everything. This concept is true in your relationships, too, as there is a time to be with others and a time for solitude, and both play a unique role in continually cleansing your mind and thoughts, and refreshing your emotional state.
Just remember to make time for both, and not neglect one in favour of the other. Particularly during times of solitude, remember to reflect, pray, or meditate on your life; think about how you are living it and consider how your thoughts are crafting your daily attitudes and actions. What you will find in doing all these things is that your emotional health will improve over time, and this in turn will improve your physical health as the two are deeply intertwined.