Health and Happiness

I haven't been well lately, and that's why the blog hasn't been forthcoming. It's harder to write about happiness when you are not happy! And it is amazing how unhappy being ill makes you feel. It's just a headcold, but it has been going on for so long that it is affecting the way I feel about myself.

Interesting, isn't it? I feel ill and unable to concentrate, and I start thinking about how I am unable to do things, and I feel worse about myself, and I start feeling worse for real, and I go and sit in front of the TV and watch Buffy instead of writing a blog or any other of the worthwhile things I could be doing. It's all connected - my thoughts, feelings, actions, and physical wellbeing and situation all affect each other.

This is a basic tenet of Cognitive Behavioural Coaching. If I can change one of these things then all the others will be affected, hopefully for the better. If I can get up out of my armchair and turn Buffy off and go for a walk I will feel better about myself, and when I get back I can do something more constructive. If I'm doing something constructive with my time I feel better about myself, or at least a bit less useless than I did before. If I feel a bit more useful then I will be a bit more useful, which will make me do more useful things, and I'll feel better and better. Try it, it really works.

Your feelings influence your thinking, and what you are thinking influences your feelings. If you keep telling yourself how useless you are you will feel bad and you will be useless. So take the cold-and-flu tablets and do something when you feel ill, especially if the illness is going on for a long time. That's what I'm doing!