Regaining control – health and wellbeing
Have you noticed that clients often need to be in control of their environment? Is this something we could highlight to our clients as clinics?
In today's society, people tend to be compelled to have control over all elements of their lives. However, it is understandable that that desire can be unrealistic and unachievable, as there are many ways that humans cannot control everything. This can create a cycle that negatively impacts people’s lives, in which they feel overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, and may restrict their personal satisfaction out of punishment for ‘failure’.
So with that in mind, educating our clients to recognise their desire for control, encouraging them to relinquish the idea that they are always in control of their external factors and teaching them what aspects of their lives are worth controlling may be worthwhile to their overall health and wellbeing.
A theory called ‘Locus of Control’ has identified two ways people view and manage control in their lives; internal and external. Internal control focuses on ‘you making things happen’, whereas external control focuses on ‘things happening to you’. This understanding of control may give us direction on how we can help our clients change their perspectives on control. Therefore shifting it from “I never feel in control, why doesn’t anything go right?” to “I feel in control because I’m making decisions that create control.”
You can help your clients gain more control over their health and well-being by encouraging them to acknowledge that they are in control of making informed choices to support their health and well-being positively. Suppose we can shift their mindset from an external control perspective to an internal control perspective; they become more inclined to take ownership of their health and wellbeing and actively assess how much they are doing to care for themselves.
Here are some recommendations on how a client has an ‘internal control’ over health:
Identifying Eating Habits
Consistent, adequate eating patterns and portions.
Choosing to fuel the body with nutritional foods.
Creating nutritional meals. This could include:
Ordering a food box/grocery delivery service such as HelloFresh.
Meal prepping on your day off.
Bulk making meals, freezing them down for when you need them.
Look online for fast-easy and nutritious recipes before going to the supermarket to plan ahead.
Prioritising their sleep
It is recommended that people have 7-9 hours of unbroken sleep each night. If they struggle with this, they can try:
Setting up a regular sleep routine, e.g., sleep at 9.30pm, awake at 6.30am.
Limiting the number of disruptions to your sleep cycle.
Ensuring good sleep hygiene can be achieved by:
Try using blue-light filters on technology when using it in the evening.
Avoid looking at screens/tv for at least 30 minutes before going asleep.
Ensure their sleep environment is dark with little or no sound.
Regular Exercise Regime
Exercising Regularly
If they struggle to find time to do exercise, they could try;
Waking up 30 minutes earlier, using the extra time to do some yoga or go for a walk
Adapt their environment to encourage exercise, e.g. having a standing desk and using a small floor treadmill or compact stepper machine.
Join a gym, so they have a financial obligation to exercise.
Find a friend to exercise with, create a routine with each other, and encourage them to exercise.
There are plenty of resources on the internet that can help them take charge of their health and wellbeing, but remember that starting with the basics is the easiest way to make progress.
One way that we can help support our clients to regain control of their health is by encouraging the use of FLOWpresso sessions. There are plenty of health benefits that come from using FLOWpresso; however, we want to highlight the relaxing, freeing and restorative nature of the experience with our clients. The FLOWpresso experience is unlike any other wellness trope. It supports the movement of stagnant toxins and reduces stress and anxiety while the client enjoys a relaxing and revitalising treatment.