How words influence your health

Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend. Let’s revise the mental health tips. If you’re new, I will reach out today with last week's tips.

Concepts:

1. Harvard studied every data point to find what creates happiness. Result: quality social connection ✅

2. To feel happy, you need to feel in control (agency) ✅

3. You can regain control using psychological distancing ✅

4. (today) Words matter

Action steps for the week:

1. Get closer to one of your friends. Spare the time from social media to have a conversation with them.

2. Do 1 act of ‘self-care’ to feel agency. If you want to go to the spa, go. It’s not for the relaxation, but for the satisfaction you get from having autonomy.

3. When you feel something, distance yourself from the emotion. “Just because I am lazy, does not mean you need to act lazy”

Now onto today’s lesson/action: Words matter

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford Board Psychiatrist, episode #26, said that the only way we can diagnose depression is… through words. There’s no physical measure like a blood test. It’s in the language.

Lisa Feldman Barrett, expert in emotions, said that when we mislabel our emotions. And this often makes us act in ways that aren’t aligned with our values.

Paul Conti, therapy expert, said that words are the starting point for learning. How you articulate your emotions and desires determines how you will act on them.

In Andrew’s journaling episode, he shared data about people using more negative than positive words. Using more positive words correlated with people being happier.

And there’s a whole episode with Dr. Eddie Cheng about the link between language and your brain.

What words you use matters.

And by being conscious of them and selecting certain ones instead of others, you portray your experience of small things differently. And hopefully positively.

So Reader, start looking for ways to use words to work for you instead of against you.

Here are some real-world instances for this:

1. Instead of "fighting obesity," say "I'm on a journey to nurture my health" to change the fitness journey from a battle to a positive, self-care endeavor.

2. Instead of saying "I have to go to work", use "I want to engage in projects I care about." This transforms it from an obligation into an opportunity.

3. Linda, a mother of two, used to say she was "dealing with her kids." She changed this to "growing with her kids."

4. Tom, a college student, often said he was "drowning in homework." He started saying he was "sharpening his skills through assignments."

5. Describe a sunny day not just as “well-lit". Say “It fills me up with energy”.

Just like what goes into your mouth needs to be healthy, what comes out should too 😝

Here’s a simple action/challenge for you.

For the next 24 hours, no cussing. (a more challenging one: no complaining)

It’ll be tough fun :)

You can do it !