Bon Voyage Mind Over Matter

Self-help, life coaching could be keys to wellness

By Judith L. Kanne

A common February problem might be keeping up your momentum with last year’s resolutions. (You know, those promises you plan to fulfill before 2019 ends.) Are they vanishing before Valentine’s Day? Need a little support?

Here are some approaches that offer alternatives to traditional medical approaches. You might want to consider trying one or two.

Help for Your Self-Help

No one knows you as well as you do, and, often, you’re the real expert on what you need. Self-help means you guide your improvement. Even so, experts rely on others for knowledge and support.

People may offer to help you ‘find yourself’ this year, but guard against frauds and worthless promises. Self-help can make a difference, if you find the right mentors.

Atlanta nurse Sharon Reynolds is also a naturopath, a person who uses natural remedies to help the body heal itself. She often speaks with adults about mental health and the art of selfhealing.

Like most naturopaths, Reynolds embraces many therapies to treat the whole person.

“It’s much more fun for me to understand a person’s preferred behavior style than focus on disease and a physical symptom,” she said.

Reynolds also said that adults need purpose in their lives and to be able to contribute something of value at every age. She wants the person to be healthy: mind, body, and spirit; that’s the World Health Organization’s definition of health, Reynolds explained.

Following her nursing education, she became interested in, and mastered, studies including hypnotherapy, mind-body health issues and life coaching. Now semi-retired as a nurse, Reynolds is a passionate believer in life-long learning. She has produced a video on behavioral styles, and she shares mind-body information online and through speaking engagements.

Life Coaching

Reynolds agreed that hiring a life coach — someone who will counsel and encourage you — may be something to consider at any juncture in life.

The U.S. Department of Labor refers to life coaches, via the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as someone who wants to establish a “partnership” between people and their “life’s vision.”

No matter your age, it’s not too late to rethink your life — or your life’s plan, for that matter. However, major changes generally work best when they’re thoughtfully planned with a skilled individual.

Why look for a life coach? Have you found your relationships are not quite as gratifying as they once were? Perhaps you’ve trekked a few places in Europe and the Orient and want to know what’s next. Australia or New Zealand? Or maybe you’re ready to change your career path.

There are no formal life-coach requirements. “The field is unregulated,” according the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, bls.gov. “There are dozens of life-coach training and certification programs in the United States.”

When looking for a life coach, do your homework. Seek recommendations from others you trust. Take the time to choose someone with credentials who can provide the right background and teaching opportunities for you. Try to find a life coach who has experience and shares an interest in a field you’d like to explore — anything from Jungian psychology to photography.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recommends [gaining] “... knowledge of a field related to life coaching, such as psychology” from your coach.

Mindfulness

“Stay in the present,” say the mindfulness experts. Focus.

Originally a Buddhist concept, the ancient art of mindfulness remains somewhat experimental. Studies suggest that mindfulness practices may help people manage stress, cope better with serious illness and reduce anxiety and depression, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to Mayo Clinic News Network, “Mindfulness is the act of being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling at every moment — without interpretation or judgment.”

Simply put, mindfulness is the art of taking a negative thought and replacing it with something positive — or having an anchor, such as your mental vision of ocean waves or snowcovered mountains.

One of the reasons for the mindfulness buzz is that it’s readily accessible. In other words, “anyone can learn about it and anyone can practice it,” says an article in the Berkeley Science Review.

Many people who practice mindfulness report an increased ability to relax, a greater enthusiasm for life and improved self-esteem. In fact, one NIH-supported study found a link between mindfulness meditation and measurable changes in the brain where memory, learning and emotion are involved.

The hard part is finding the time for mindfulness in our fast-paced culture. The NIH suggests practicing mindfulness when sitting in traffic or waiting in line, especially when you’re