Are You Talking Your Way To Poor Health?

Unless you’ve been stranded on a desert island, with no access to the outside world, you will be well aware that the way you live your life can impact on your health. 

We all know the dangers of smoking, drinking heavily, living on a junk food diet and lack of exercise.  And although we may not always heed the advice of the Health Experts, we at least know that we can make a difference to our health by making even a few small changes to our lifestyle.

But did you know that your self-talk could be making you ill?

The Voice Within – Friend or Foe

Wondering what I’m talking about?  Take a few moments and notice that little voice going round and round in your head. 

I bet it’s throwing at you all sorts of comments about what you are reading.  Or perhaps it’s telling you that you have far too much to do to even be sitting here reading this right at this moment.

Are you surprised? 

Well that little voice is constantly with you.  It’s just that you are so used to it, that without it being pointed out, you probably aren’t aware that it exists. 

So If I Don’t Notice The Inner Voice What Does it Matter?

That’s a good point.  But the thing is even if you don’t notice it consciously it is still impacting on your sub conscious mind.  And that part of your mind is the one drives your behaviour and will influence how your life pans out.

So now you know it exists, its time to start noticing whether this voice is your best friend or whether it is your own worst enemy!

So what sort of things might you notice about this inner voice?

Quite often we talk to ourselves in loops.  Something will trigger a thought in us and off we go on a bout of self-talk.  This will often carry on until something else sends this chatter in another direction.

Now this would be great if this unconscious chitter chatter was always positive.  We could then happily carry on without the need to be aware of this voice. 

The trouble is, most of this self-talk tends to be negative.

Let’s look at an example of how one of these internal dialogue loops may go.

Imagine you are talking with a friend when part way through the conversation they suddenly sneeze.

AAAAAHHHHCHOOO!

“Bless You!” you reply.  And before you know it your mind has gone off down the path of self talk.

“Ooh I hope I don’t get a cold.  I always catch colds this time of year.  I’m really not feeling that well.  Germs spread really easily don’t they.  I’ve being feeling a bit light headed lately.  My nose feels a bit itchy.  That’s a sure sign I’m getting a cold.  I do feel rather tired”

And on and on – do you get my drift?

Call The Doctor – I’ve Got a Bad Case of Negative Self-Talk

So you’ve tuned in to your thoughts and noticed that they are not what you would call caring and nurturing.  Please, whatever you do, don’t despair.

Once you realise that your inner voice may not currently be on your side, you are half way to turning it into your new best friend. 

And you won’t be alone, most people until they make a commitment to change, predominantly talk to themselves in a negative way.  And even once you are proficient in the art of positive self-talk, there will be times when you slip back to a less than healthy dialogue. 

How To Become Your Own Cheerleader

So now I’ve made you aware, you will need some strategies to change this voice to one that will support you.

Firstly you need an interruption strategy.  Every time you catch yourself in the middle of giving yourself a verbal battering, or talking your way into ill health, try the following suggestions:

• Shout Stop or say “Cancel Cancel” – either aloud or in your head
• Thank your inner voice for its concern
• Say to yourself “I release that thought from my mind”

Then once you have stopped the negative dialogue, replace it with a positive thought.

For example – “I’m always sick” changes to “I’m in perfect health”.

Repeat this mantra again and again until you are feeling really positive.  Smile as you have this new empowering thought and really feel all the feelings associated with your positive dialogue.

Crank It Up With Visualisation

You can make this technique even more powerful by combining this strategy with visualisation.

Clearly picture an image of yourself in perfect health.  Make the image bright, large and colourful to add more power.  You can also add sound and movement.  Imagine for example a friend coming up to you and telling you how wonderful and radiant you look.  Play with this and see what works best for you.

To really take this to the next level, combine this with verbal affirmations and other visualisation techniques. 

You can learn more on how to use these strategies by visiting

www.alternativemedicineanswers.com

and reading the articles – “The Power of Affirmations – Talk Your Way to Perfect Health” and “What You See Is What You Get – How to Use Visualisation to Achieve Your Health Goals”.

Be Easy On Yourself

Remember now you are aware you can rewrite your internal script.  When you first start this though it’s easy to beat yourself up each time you notice the negative talk. 

Be kind to yourself, give yourself a pat on the back for noticing and switch over immediately to a positive phrase.  Before you know it, this will become second nature, and your inner talk will be your new best friend.

For other great ideas on alternative ways to achieving better health visit:

www.alternativemedicineanswers.com