Monday, 22 June 2020

Full disclosure - I’m that kinda guy that can get really annoying quick. You know what i mean - every circle of friends has that person - the up and ready to rumble at 6 in the morning, get in your grill, happy to see you, wanting to engage with you- while your still wiping the sleepy dust out your eyes.

The Winnie the Pooh Gang is the perfect circle of friends in my opinion - theres Pooh bear , the silently strong assertive friend that we can lean on, Piglet the over anxious friend that would do anything for you, Rabbit - the overly suffering organiser that wants everyone to do well and make the most of each situation and Tigger - the overly enthusiastic optimistic that propels the team forward by shear force of personality - but craves attention and lacks the concentration to finish any task by themselves. (...of course, I’m not forgetting you Eeyore of every group - every circle of friends has an Eeyore - you know who you are.. and we love you for it)

To be a Tigger, in my unbiased opinion, is without doubt the way to go - and being an optimist is a clinically proven way to improve your health too! - theres evidence that optimists have better blood pressure and thus you are at significantly lower risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event. Being overtly optimistic effects your immune system too! - More optimistic people have higher amounts of antibodies that can protect you from viral infections.

More amazingly - a large study conducted by the Harvard school pf Public Health found that the most optimistic women were 30 percent less likely to die from any of the serious illnesses tracked during the 8-year time period, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.

And here is something exciting - Optimism is a learnt trait. If your more Eeyore than Tigger - there are daily habits that you can introduce to be more optimistic. And lets be honest who couldn’t have a wee drop of extra optimism at this moment in time.

So if your glass is half empty - here are some techniques to try to get that glass half full!

Positive reframing - challenge yourself to look at things though a different, more positive, lens. The more we consciously reframe scenarios in a positive light, the more we train our brains to fire up circuits in different regions, eventually altering our response to negative experiences.

How do you spend most of your time with? You become who you are around. Chronic complaining and gossiping is contagious - but thankfully so is being infectiously positive! Take note of whose company you keep and how they make you feel - start reaching out to people that make you feel great! The more positive people in your network - the more positive you will be.
Limit your time on Social media and watching the news - One of the books i read during lockdown was entitled ‘Stop consuming News - a wellness manifesto’ New news media is designed to get clicks and likes. Stop falling for opinionated dross like’ Jacinda overreacted during COVID-19 lockdown’. It’s written to get you to respond. It’s written to split people up. It’s designed to rile you up - stop falling for it and eliminate it from your life. Do yourself a favour and just read the ODT in the morning, with all the time you’ve saved ending the mindless scrolling of shite - go for a walk around Ross Creek and breathe the air - amazing.
Show gratitude for what you have. Don’t take the things you have for granted - focus on what you have - not what you dont have. Start a gratitude journal, write 3 positive experiences you had for the day down - the delicious cup of coffee you had at Project Wellness, the random act of kindness from a stranger, the taste of fresh air at St Clair.
The best advice anybody gave me - Concentrate on what you can control. Sometimes things occur that you have no control over (cough, cough COVID, cough, cough). Adapt and thrive. Worrying about it is not gonna solve nuthin. Be present

(Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift. That’s why its called the Present. - Eleanor Roosevelt)

Some of the best stories I’m hearing at work at the moment are all the positive experiences people had during lockdown. That is positive reframing at its best!

The stories of families spending really quality time together, how neighbours looked after the most vulnerable in our communities is truly heart warming and inspiring.

Everyone has their own lockdown story to tell. So a question i need to ask - during your lockdown experience - did you take some time to think about what’s important to you? What should be your new priorities?

Are you making the steps now to make sure these new priorities are front and centre? Or as we move into the post-COVID world - are you getting back into the the old routines?

If your optimal health is a priority to you, and we would argue that it should be the number one priority - and you have some goals you want to achieve; please reach out to us. We can help. We can help put some systems in place for you to succeed. For example - it may be as simple as packing your medicines and supplements into a system that makes it easier for you to make sure you take them everyday that makes the biggest difference in your health. We can do that. It might be suggesting a hand cream to soothe the irritated skin you have from all that hand washing. We can do that. Or tips and tricks we’ve learnt over the years to maximise the positive health outcomes for you without exerting maximal effort. We can do that too. Take some time this week to see us in store to make a positive change in your health. Spend 10 minutes with an optimist like me - heck, you’ll even start believing that this is the Highlanders year too.

Take care and stay safe

Andrew and the team at the Roslyn Pharmacy