You Are Not Alone

Living a Healthier Lifestyle Series: A Look At Mental Wellness

Debbie and Greg Gold

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Join us this week on the You Are Not Alone podcast as we unravel the mental benefits of embracing your imperfections. Debbie and Greg Gold share candid personal stories that highlight the significance of emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Our new feature enables you to interact with us directly via text messages and our website, fostering a community where real conversations thrive. From tackling stress and daily challenges to celebrating the power of being authentically you, we cover it all. Plus, get a sneak peek into our upcoming episode on combating negativity in today's world.

In another thought-provoking segment, we delve into the multifaceted benefits of fitness goals, emphasizing how achieving them can boost self-confidence and overall well-being. We transition to the importance of community and healthy relationships, offering practical ways to expand your social circles, from joining local groups to leveraging workplace connections. Learn about the role of mutual respect and effective communication in maintaining strong relationships. Finally, we discuss mindful decision-making and self-regulation, emphasizing the benefits of staying composed in challenging social situations. Engage with us, share your experiences, and remember—you're not alone on this journey to better mental wellness.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to another episode of the you Are Not Alone podcast. My name is Debbie Gold and I'm here with my co-host and son, greg, and we are so glad that you're here with us. Each week on this show, we will talk about informative issues, issues that will make you think and help you grow. It is our wish that you will find hope, encouragement and a little bit of Jesus in every episode.

Speaker 2:

Hello listeners. Today we're going to be continuing our series of healthy living, and on today's episode we're going to be talking about the mental benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and all the benefits of it. But first we want to tell you about a new feature that we're offering. We'd like to know what more you'd want to hear from us on the show, so here's how you can do that. At the top of the show notes, you will see a send us a text message link. Click on that link and it will allow you to send us a message. It's pretty cool. I'm excited about it.

Speaker 2:

My mom's excited about it and in the past we really haven't had a way to communicate with our people and our followers and our community. And now we have that and also our website at Debbie and Greg goldcom. That is Debbie and Greg goldcom.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Please subscribe.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, subscribe there, and there's a place for you to send us messages too, if you want us to cover a certain topic, and we'll remind you about that all later on as well.

Speaker 2:

And then we also have all the episodes on YouTube.

Speaker 1:

now Such a good job this week for us we did we did it.

Speaker 2:

We found it's been on our list for a while, yeah all the future ones are going to be uploaded automatically when they're dropped um, and I'm looking forward to that because I mean, I use youtube so much yeah, it's one of my main things, yeah it's a popular tool right yeah, there are these things called reels on youtube too, where it's kind of the short videos, like TikTok has that and all that, basically, you just scroll through the reels and they're like 10 to 15 second videos or whatever, and those are the most popular, I'm realizing, nowadays.

Speaker 2:

Some random podcast actually came up on my feed the other day and it was like a Christian podcast and it had like 27 likes on it and all that. But I was just randomly scrolling and it popped up, you know, so I was thinking that could be us. So we got to take clips um, edit them and then put them in the reel.

Speaker 1:

So Okay, well, let's talk about that, cause I'm always up for, uh, new ideas and it sounds like it's a good one, and so it's been working. Yeah, it's popular, so yeah I, I've seen the reels before and um I think facebook even has reels they do, and instagram, everyone does. Yeah, it's insane. It's evolving and it's a, it's a fun thing. I get it because people can see you right and that's. That's a the draw there it's super trendy too.

Speaker 2:

It's like all the tiktok style videos and short clips and all that so yeah, all right.

Speaker 1:

Well, we'll be evolving, that's right we're going to. We're not stopping now, we're going full steam ahead, yeah, but anyways, let's get to today's episode.

Speaker 2:

So why focus on the mental aspect? Well, from last episode we worked on the physical benefits, and the mental side is just as important, because mental health impacts your overall wellbeing A healthy mind, a strong mind, and it can help you in your daily habits, in life. So true so let's get on to why the mental side has just as many benefits as the physical side. Our overall mental health is comprised of emotional well-being, social well-being and, lastly, psychological well-being, which I love. I love how you categorize those.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because we're little compartments that make the whole right. And lastly, psychological well-being, which I love. I love how you categorize those.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because we're little compartments that make the whole right. I was thinking about this mostly mentally, but you were like what about emotional well-being and social and psychological?

Speaker 1:

And I was like I like that, so you broke it up and yeah. Yeah, so we got those three little areas we're going to look at today and we can go ahead and start. Let's start with emotional well-being. How about that? Yeah, all right. So this refers to the emotional state of an individual, and this can be influenced. This is not static, it's going to change, but it can be influenced by things like stress, trauma, challenges or even internal factors like our attitude.

Speaker 2:

Or how the day is going.

Speaker 1:

Exactly how the day is going. You know when you wake up and you say, oh, it's been a Monday. You know, when you get about 11 o'clock in the morning and that means, man, I can't, my voice is bad today or I've got allergies, or my words don't come out right when I'm on the telephone, I mean, you know, I I share that with people when I'm. I'm going through that. If I'm on the phone with somebody and then they start laughing and I laugh and then they're like, oh my gosh, that's me too. And you know it's kind of a funny thing, like to just share those. You know, don't try to hide those imperfections, you know, just put them out there and be real. We love to be real, right, yeah, um, so where I can decide so many different factors, can you know, affect your emotional wellbeing Right.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I was going to say so in. We have one more series, one more episode left in this series, because we're doing four next week. Folks, we are going to be talking about being negative.

Speaker 1:

There is so much negativity in the world, in the world, and this has been a conversation topic, a topic of conversation in our household recently, and so you know, a lot of times you talk about the things that you are trying to work on yourself or need to work on. So here we are, so we're that's going to be a good one next week, Um, anyway. So you want to talk about how?

Speaker 2:

yeah sure so I mean stress.

Speaker 1:

We mentioned stress right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, some benefits um are reduced stress. Um, you know, regular physical activities and a good, balanced diet can help lower stress levels by releasing endorphins, which are the mind's natural mood lifters. Um, good activities to reduce stress include sports, uh, arts, nature walks just doing you know things that are like me, time, as you call them.

Speaker 1:

Right, you know um.

Speaker 2:

I got for me it's basketball.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, getting out by yourself.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So I went to have my physical and at the end of May and and I was really feeling very stressed and we talked about that, the doctor and I, and she was like, are you doing your me time? And you know, I think, yeah, I go to the gym, but and then I'm on my phone and I'm checking and somebody calls me one of you guys, or the dad, or you know, and then I'm not really in me time mode anymore. You're not, yeah. And so I realized that it's really important for me to have me time, just me.

Speaker 2:

You need to go, take like walks up and down the street or something.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, or just get out, just appreciate nature. Yeah, because it's yeah, I'm not going to take a walk after this episode. I know, and when we do that, we love that. I mean not if we do it together, but you know when, when I do those things for me, I love that, and we tend to forget about them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's not too hot outside. I can put on some music with my AirPods and I'm gonna go take a walk after this.

Speaker 1:

All right, that'd be nice Good. So, yeah, awesome, all right. So looking at ways to reduce stress so we feel better emotionally. Yeah, all right, what else we got.

Speaker 2:

We got exercise and healthy eating. Oh yeah, those were our two last topics. Yeah, when having a routine such as exercise or a good meal plan, you establish balance, like a routine in your life, which helps organize your day, creating a stress-free environment healthy eating also regulates your blood sugar levels, maintaining energy and a good mood throughout the day. Foods like fish, fruits and vegetables are also. They also have omega-3 fatty acids, which actually improve brain function.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, doing some research for this episode, I actually learned about. You know some certain things, and and why they're important and why when your mom says eat your vegetables.

Speaker 2:

She, she really means to do that because there's really something good about it, there's something behind it. She just doesn't mean that to not waste the fruit yeah, waste the food, yeah, yeah but I mean establishing balance or like a routine or a schedule in your life is important, especially like if you're in a bad spot, you know just to like fill up some of that empty time that you'd have, whereas you know you'd be down and about right you know you're you're going to the gym or you're you're walking your dog at 12 o'clock.

Speaker 2:

You're making yourself some dinner, you know?

Speaker 1:

yeah, so establishing a plan is so good it is good, and it's like waking up at a certain time every day you know, during the week, or however your work week looks um getting up at you know six o'clock, don't? Oh, I don't really have to get up, so I'm going to sleep until 7 or 8.

Speaker 2:

What time do you get up? I'm curious.

Speaker 1:

I try to be up by 6.

Speaker 2:

Really Wow.

Speaker 1:

Get the coffee rolling, get in the shower, get dressed, get ready for my day, get my makeup on, and then I like to be in my office by 7, 15 doing stuff.

Speaker 2:

I usually wake up recently like seven 30, seven 40.

Speaker 1:

And then yeah. So, so yeah, but it's. I have more time but having that routine and sticking with that and, like I, I go to the gym. You know, leave at 10 30, go to the gym work out come back home, I can eat lunch at home, which is healthier than eating out, and um then I have my afternoon routine. So, but I think it's really important because it's really easy to get lax if you don't have that.

Speaker 2:

I agree, yeah, when I wake up late sometimes they're like 10 o'clock I see your purse is on the couch, your keys are there, your water's there, I'm like oh, she's going to the the gym, so you have a routine time when you go yeah, so it's very important good point.

Speaker 2:

Um, next up, enhanced cognitive function. Regular physical activities have been known to increase brain function, including memory and concentration. Uh, I think that's really important. I mean, obviously it's really important. Um, I mean, think about you know, know memory, or you know concentration, you know concentrating on a certain, you know activity.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we all have to do that, whether it's our work or job, it's school, it's whatever. We have to be able to focus and concentrate.

Speaker 2:

I agree. Yeah, Next up better self-esteem. When you achieve a fitness goal like maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it can boost your self-confidence like crazy.

Speaker 1:

Right, which in turn makes you feel better about yourself. Right.

Speaker 2:

For me it was like hitting a new weight on the, or, you know, hitting a new personal record in the gym or something like that, or hitting a new low weight on the scale or something like that or setting goals with friends and then making or hitting the goals with your friends.

Speaker 1:

Right, it's a great feeling, right.

Speaker 2:

You feel better and you can say I did this yeah.

Speaker 1:

I did it Like. For me it was that where I lost what? 12 pounds or?

Speaker 2:

so over the last six months or seven, whatever it was 12,. Yeah, but.

Speaker 1:

God, it feels so good, I can walk in my closet and put any of my clothes on and I don't have to worry about, oh, this is too tight or uh, I look fat, you know, but I love that before I'd be like, oh God, this is way too tight, I can't wear this. Let me try something else.

Speaker 2:

And just the way you feel, too, about yourself and about life Overall.

Speaker 1:

I have more energy. I feel lighter on my feet, bouncing around like a basketball there you go All right.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's great, so okay, that's emotional and we got social, we have social well-being. So what we're talking about here, people is community. Community is such a big word and it's a big buzzword I hear so much right now, but this is your ability to build and maintain healthy relationships, healthy relationships, right. So ask yourself, who are the people in my life Friends, peers, teachers, professors, who else, what else? Family, family, obviously, our colleagues. If we work, that's another area.

Speaker 1:

And if you're looking to add people, I mean sometimes you know, there was a lifetime in my life where I had like a friend, you know, and I wasn't sure how to go about expanding that and so. But here's some ideas. If you are looking to add people to your community, you can look at churches I mean we do Bible-based churches where it's not really, you know, baptist or Presbyterian or Catholic, it's just a Bible-based, and what that means is that they preach out of the Bible. Like you're going to learn about what's in the Bible when you go to a sermon at a Bible church, and that's what I love about it, because I like to learn and that just works for me.

Speaker 2:

We got student organizations too.

Speaker 1:

Yep Student organizations If you're in college or high school.

Speaker 2:

Workplace sometimes.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, workplace, you can be a little careful. Don't date the boss, maybe, but you know, don't go out, yeah, but there's, you know people there. You've got friends of friends. I mean, how many times do you meet somebody and you become good friends? Well then, you're connected to their network as well, because of that, and vice versa. Yeah, and then my favorite one that you said Get a dog and go to a dog park.

Speaker 1:

And hey, if you can't get a dog because you can't have one in your apartment or you don't have the money to take care of a dog, you can always borrow a dog and take it to the park.

Speaker 2:

Just ask your neighbor. Ask your neighbor, yeah. Ask your friend. Can I take a dog to the dog park? Yeah.

Speaker 1:

They won't say, no, give them a break, right, oh yeah. But they may say, I want to go with you and you get another friend Can.

Speaker 2:

I get a dog into the street lately. Oh my gosh. It'd be like a.

Speaker 1:

That'd be a crazy day at the park. It'd be a yeah, dog is something else, dog's got some energy, anyway, but that's a great. I mean people, what's going on there?

Speaker 1:

is you're finding someone with the same common, a common A commonality, yeah, common, something in common that you have with somebody else. You know you're at a dog park. You all have dogs, yeah, so it's so easy to strike up a conversation. You start with the dog how old is your dog? Your dog is so adorable, um, you know what kind of dog is that? I mean you, can, so go there, I know. Yeah, can I get your phone number? You want to hang out?

Speaker 2:

for coffee.

Speaker 1:

You can do so many things with that yeah, I love that, so that's an easy one yeah you just gotta get the dog yeah, that's the hard part, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So, to have healthy relationships, we need to be able to communicate, we need to be able to navigate conflicts, set boundaries and we have to have mutual respect regardless of our differences. And I think that is so important and I want to say that again mutual respect regardless of our differences important and I want to say that again mutual respect regardless of our differences. I don't see that in our politics these days. You know, in the big world and some you know political parties here.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's what I meant the political parties here, it's just a constant. Okay, you know you're wrong if you believe that and it shouldn't be that way. Yeah, so try to remember that when you're dealing with people, everyone's got their own opinion and how they feel about different things, and try to respect that. You might learn something about that. Maybe you can't, don't want to be their best friend because of that, but that's okay, you know, you can still be nice and respectable.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so anyway, oh, and here's the other thing. If you want to learn more about some of these ideas, or you're going to communication, what are they talking about? Like, do I communicate? Well, I don't know, how do I, how do I swallow when someone doesn't agree with me? If you want to hear about, you know us talk about some of these topics hear about you, know us talk about some of these topics please message us, reach out to us.

Speaker 2:

We want to hear from y'all. We really do. So. The more interaction we get, the better we feel, and we're trying to. We're trying to.

Speaker 1:

We're trying to help you. That's what we're here for.

Speaker 2:

We're trying to evolve and grow this and yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Reach out to us, um, leave a message, anything you know, right, go to the website.

Speaker 1:

You can leave a message. You can leave a message. You can leave a message at the top of the show notes on every single episode.

Speaker 2:

Um totally have ways, yeah, yeah, so it'd be appreciated, much appreciated um, okay.

Speaker 1:

And then lastly, we have our psychological well-being, and I think this is sort of like, if you kind of look at it, like, uh, a rating of your happiness overall, overall picture, right. And then some you know. Some things that you can kind of look at to answer that question are, yeah, your self-acceptance. Do you really have a positive attitude about yourself, you know? Do you love yourself? Do you like who you are? Another thing is positive relationships with others, you know. Do you have meaningful relationships with people? If not, do you have meaningful relationships with people? If not, maybe you're not happy.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you want to expand that, do you? What about personal growth? Do you continue here's my speaker, I apologize Do you continue to develop? Do you welcome new experiences? Are you looking? Are you willing to improve in your behaviors and your yourself as a whole? You know, sometimes when I, I'm, someone points something out to me, um, you know, then I go, you know what I think they're right, I'll think about that. They're right and I, I do want to improve that. I want to be, I want to be better in that area.

Speaker 2:

So, looking at um, take some feedback and realize feedback and self-reflection. Yeah, yeah, I trust it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and then a purpose in life. Do you set goals for your life, you know? Are you intentionable, intentional about meeting those goals? I think that um a lot of people don't know how to set goals.

Speaker 2:

I don't think so.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I know we talked about that in one of our episodes. So if you're one of those people that say I don't set goals and I don't know how or where to begin, you might check back on a previous episode for that or message us and we'll come up with some more material on it, exactly.

Speaker 1:

And then autonomy Are you independent and can you regulate your behavior despite social pressures? I'm really good at that. I think you are. Yeah, I'm really proud of you for that, thank you. Yeah, you have your own mind about what's right or wrong.

Speaker 2:

And regulating my behavior despite social pressures, you know. If I don't agree with something, I'm just not going to disagree or agree with it. You know, if I don't agree with something, I'm just not going to disagree or agree with it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, just to go along, but I'm going to regulate my behavior.

Speaker 2:

You know I'm not going to freak out over it, make a big scene and all that.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

So yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so anyway, overall, you know, there's just many different benefits to taking care of yourself mentally and many things to consider as you look at this, this topic, for yourself. So I think that's our show for today. I think so. Appreciate y'all listening.

Speaker 2:

We do appreciate you tuning in. Uh, we hope you found something of value. Uh, we'll see you back here next week when we talk about more ways to live a healthy lifestyle. Thank you, Jesus, for this episode.

Speaker 1:

And remember you are not alone.

Speaker 2:

Make it a great day and we'll see you next week.