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The 20 Minute Exercise That Can Treat Anxiety Better Than Prescriptions

May 20, 2018 by Power of Positivity

I’m sure you’ve heard about the many benefits of exercise before, and if you have a workout routine, you’ve likely experienced them firsthand. Exercise, of any form, allows us not only an escape from our daily life. But it’s also an opportunity to become healthier, more robust versions of ourselves. The result? Less anxiety and stress in life – and perhaps ditching those prescription drugs.

Those who practice yoga can attest to the positive impact on their well-being, as yoga is a mind-body integration. As the body moves in fluid motions, the mind becomes stabler, quieter, and more peaceful.

And, in an era when doctors dispense prescriptions freely, we have become an addicted society. Our reliance on pills, from psychotropics to pain medications, is unheard of in the traditional treatments of the Far East. So today, let’s discuss an alternative to medications to balance out your mental health.

Below, we’ll discuss the science behind why yoga is so powerful for treating mental illnesses such as anxiety and suggest a few specific poses to incorporate into your exercise regimen.

“Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind. (39)” – Ravi Ravindra

Boston University researchers found yoga effective for anxiety management:

Chris Streeter, MD, and her colleagues from the Boston University School of Medicine did a study comparing the brain benefits of yoga to walking.

From their preliminary research, Streeter and her team found that yoga reduced anxiety boosted mood, and increased the anti-anxiety neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain.

The participants were divided into two groups: a yoga group and a walking group.
Each group exercised for an hour thrice weekly over twelve weeks. Researchers performed brain scans on the participants before and after the 12-week study period and measured anxiety and mood levels throughout the experiment.

The results

The yoga group had higher levels of GABA and experienced significantly more significant boosts in mood and drops in anxiety than the walking group.

The University of Utah agrees, offering mindfulness and yoga programs to manage stress and anxiety

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Utah Health is an intensive program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Its primary aim is to cultivate mindful awareness to foster health, happiness, and personal growth. The program offers a variety of practices, including sitting and walking meditation, body scan, gentle yoga, and mindful communication. These practices are further enriched with inquiry exercises, group discussions, and daily assignments. The essence of MBSR is not to evade stress but to engage with it more healthily. Thereby, it enhances our inherent capacity for awareness and helps individuals be more attuned to their lives.

The benefits of MBSR – including yoga poses – are many. Participants often report improved coping mechanisms for stressful situations, significant reductions in both physical and psychological symptoms, enhanced emotional regulation, and an increase in attention, focus, and memory. Furthermore, many experience heightened levels of happiness and resilience.

The experts who developed this Wellness & Integrative Health Services at the University of Utah Health Center emphasize a tailored and integrated approach. They are dedicated to empowering patients, employees, and healthcare professionals to lead a wholesome life. Their commitment lies in maximizing preventive care, ensuring that health remains a focal point in healthcare.

Poses to Help Alleviate Anxiety

1. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Child’s Pose helps to release tension in the back, neck, and shoulders, three areas where people tend to hold a lot of stress. It also helps you to relax, focus on breathing, and connect deeply to the sensations within your body.

Begin on your hands and knees with your big toes touching. Your hands and arms should be extended in front of you, and your legs hip distance apart. Exhale as you let your body fall forward, and keep your torso on top of or between your thighs with your head resting on the mat. Keep your arms extended out, and press your buttocks into your heels.

Stay in this pose as long as desired, and remember to breathe slowly and deeply.

2. Tree Pose (Vrikasana)

Tree Pose, a basic standing pose, helps to increase concentration and focus by putting your attention on balancing.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and shift your weight to your right leg. Then, bend your left knee, and press the sole of your left foot into your inner right thigh or just below the knee, with your toes pointing downward. Center your torso so that it’s facing forward. Put your hands into a “prayer position” over your heart. Point your gaze up toward the ceiling or forward, whichever you prefer. Hold for 2-3 breaths, then repeat on the other side.

3. Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)

While this pose is a little more challenging than the other two, it helps to alleviate anxiety by stimulating the abdominal region. Studies have linked gut health with mental health, and this pose is great for improving digestion. This pose also helps to improve balance, posture, and coordination.

With your feet hips distance apart, turn to the left and widen your stance to about 4 feet. Then, turn your right foot so your toes point toward the front of the mat. With both feet planted firmly on the mat, bend your right knee and keep your torso and pelvis centered.

Raise your arms above you and press your weight onto your right foot, lifting your left leg behind you while you bend your torso forward. Your upper half should be parallel to the ground. Point your left foot out and keep your arms extended. Straighten your right leg, keep your gaze toward the ground and hold for 2-3 breaths. Slowly lower your leg back to the floor and repeat on the other side.

4. Headstand (Sirsasana)

Please do not attempt this one if you are a beginner. This is definitely an advanced pose that you should only do when you feel comfortable with the more basic poses.

However, increasing blood flow to the head can help to detox the adrenals, improve mood, and lower blood pressure and heart rate.

To do this pose, start on your hands and knees, keeping your arms shoulder-width apart. Keeping your elbows there, lock your hands together so that your pinkies touch the floor. Place the crown of your head onto the ground and keep your hands interlaced behind it. Tuck your toes and lift your hips as high as you can, walking your feet slowly toward your upper half.

Use your ab muscles to help lift you off of the ground, and press your forearms further into the mat. Keep your feet straight up over your shoulders and hips until your legs are completely straight. If you want, use a nearby wall to keep you steady. Hold for as long as you’d like, and when you come out of the pose, lift your legs down one at a time and bring your knees to the mat. Rest in child’s pose for a few breaths.

5. Legs Up The Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)

This pose is typical in restorative yoga, as it helps relax and ease anxiety symptoms. It’s also great for relieving lower back pain and menstrual cramps.

Feel free to place a pillow under your back to alleviate back pain further. Sit close to a wall, then walk your legs up until they’re straight. Keep your buttocks against the wall, and keep your head and shoulders rested on the mat. Close your eyes and relax for as long as you want, and when you come out of the pose, simply swing your legs either left or right.

Below, we’ve included a guided yoga video for stress and anxiety that we hope you’ll enjoy!

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

Harvard Researchers Reveal How Acupuncture Can Help People with Addiction

May 20, 2018 by Power of Positivity

Is acupuncture a possible cure for addiction. It appears so, says a study.

You’re probably well aware of the opioid drug epidemic in the United States, Canada, and some other countries. In the U.S. alone, prescription opioid abuse is a public health crisis, with tens of thousands of Americans dying each year.

Recently, the attorneys general of six U.S. states filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, the privately held manufacturer of the prescription drug OxyContin. The attorney general for the state of Texas, Ken Paxton, accused the company of “misleading marketing tactics that are fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic.”

Per the USA Today, “The rate of opioid prescription has tripled in the United States since the 1990s and 1 in 15 patients treated with narcotics for pain management in U.S. emergency rooms becomes chronically dependent.”

What are opioids?

Opioids are prescription drugs most commonly prescribed as painkillers. The most popular opioid prescription drugs are oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, morphine, and fentanyl. Most of these drugs are available as an oral tablet. Fentanyl is sold as a patch and absorbed through the skin.

Opioids bind to receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and other areas of the body. They work by suppressing the pain signals sent to the brain, which relieves the user. They also create a euphoric feeling in the user, who may become addicted to these feelings of euphoria.

Numerous and diverse consequences of opiate abuse exist. According to a study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, “The social, medical, and economic consequences of opioid dependence are profound, including lost productivity, crime and violence, disrupted relationships, HIV/Aids and other diseases, and death.”

Opioid addiction is also notoriously difficult to treat. Lindsey Kramer, a substance abuse and mental health counselor, makes this observation:

Due to the fact that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is not fully matured until around age 25, a young adult will arguably struggle with risk-taking, limited judgment, and impulse control … the result is a young opiate addict with a preprogrammed mentality of, “feel good now, consider the consequences later.’”

The physical dependence created by opiates is both potent and highly dangerous. Withdrawal can cause symptoms such as chills, irritability, loss of appetite, muscle cramps, sweating, and insomnia.

The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), documented over 63,600 lost to drug overdose in 2016. Over 42,000 deaths were due to opiates.

Is Acupuncture the Answer?

According to McLean Hospital, a psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, a new technique is receiving attention. This technique, called “transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation” (TEAS), may help more opioid addicts maintain sobriety.

TEAS is essentially a modern-day replacement for acupuncture. Andrew Shubov, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles writes, “… TEAS can be used as an effective self-care tool for patients with chronic illness who do not have the time or resources for frequent acupuncture treatments.”

The physiological effects of TEAS are very similar to those of traditional acupuncture – but with no needles. Instead, TEAS practitioner attach electrodes to areas of the body and use a slight electrical current, which is amplifiable, to stimulate the nervous system.

The Study

Researchers from Harvard Medical School wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of TEAS treatment on opioid recovery. The team used 48 patients from McLean hospital who had just undergone an inpatient detoxification protocol. Each patient joined one of two groups: TEAS treatment and non-TEAS (simulated) treatment. TEAS treatment participants received three 30-minute TEAS sessions over a four-day period.

The Results

Here’s how the study’s results break down:

Just 29% of TEAS patients relapsed within two weeks of treatment; 65% non-TEAS patients relapsed.
While 35% of TEAS patients used a drug within two weeks, this number rose to 75% for non-TEAS patients.

Final Thoughts: TEAS Has Promise

As Chinese acupuncturists of 2,500 years ago discovered, acupuncture is an effective and natural treatment for certain medical conditions. If a university like Harvard is testing ancient medicinal techniques (albeit with new technology), you can bet many scientists are perking their ears and taking notice.

Our society needs them to notice – and do something about it. For too long, doctors and others within the traditional medical community have forgone effective alternative-based treatments for non-justifiable reasons. Case in point: the use of cannabis for medical purposes is still illegal in 21 U.S. states.

Opioid abuse is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of people every year. Prior to this study, few non-drug-based solutions have been offered. Although TEAS treatment is still in its early days of clinical trials, this new technology is showing great promise in addiction treatment.

4 Proven Supplements to Manage Depression (That People Often Ignore)

May 20, 2018 by Power of Positivity

Depression is defined by The National Institute of Mental Health as, “a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.”

Symptoms associated with depression are numerous and include:

Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
Irritability
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
Fatigue or decreased energy
Moving or talking more slowly
Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
Appetite or weight changes
Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
Aches or pains – headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause (which do not ease with treatment)

Some people suffering from depression experience all these symptoms, while some have only a few. The symptoms can fluctuate over time as well, making it a very persistent and difficult disorder to live with and treat. Globally, more than 300 million people suffer from depression, making it the most common mental disorder and leading cause of disability, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Zion Research has published a new report titled ‘Depression Drug Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014-2020.’ According to the report, the global depression market was valued at USD 14.51 billion in 2014 and is expected to generate revenue of USD 16.8 billion by end of 2020.” – GlobalNewswire, a Nasdaq company

While many people find relief in therapy or through taking antidepressants, some prefer a more natural approach. Below, we’ll go over a few supplements that many people overlook that could help ease symptoms of depression.

Here are 4 supplements that can help with depression:

(*Note: Please always consult with a medical professional before starting a new supplement.)

1. St John’s Wort

Easily the most common natural remedy for depression, St. John’s Wort has shown effectiveness in treating mild to moderate depression. In a Cochrane review of 29 clinical studies, researchers found that it works just as well as antidepressants in alleviating symptoms of depression (without all the nasty side effects). Many people who use St. John’s wort take three capsules per day to help with symptoms. However, if you choose this treatment, make sure to find a high-quality, organic supplement if possible.

Keep in mind that serious depression may require conventional medicine and therapy and that St. John’s wort will not be as effective in treating this type of depression. Also, St. John’s wort can limit the effectiveness of some antidepressants, so consult with your doctor before adding this supplement to your daily health routine.

2. 5-HTP

Depression is caused in part by low levels of serotonin in the brain, and 5-HTP can help you to produce more serotonin. Many scientists consider it a more natural form of antidepressant since it works in the same way. 5-HTP is a vital component in the production of serotonin.

Manufacturers obtain 5-HTP from the ground seeds of the griffonia simplicifolia plant. However, keep in mind that there are limited studies about 5-HTP in the treatment of depression. What is more, usage can cause side effects. Nonetheless, a review of studies has shown that 5-HTP works better than a placebo in treating depression.

3. SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine)

SAMe, pronounced “Sammy”, is a chemical manufactured in the liver, and involved in over 40 metabolic processes. These function include the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as dopamine in the brain. While research is ongoing about how SAMe works to regulate mood, researchers believe it helps regulate neurotransmitters in the brain.

Studies have found that taking up to 1600 mgs of SAMe daily prove more effective than a placebo and are just as effective as tricyclic antidepressants in treatment. It might work more quickly than antidepressants, which can sometimes take a couple months before patients start noticing positive effects. However, SAMe is not recommended for people with bipolar disorder because it can cause mania.

4. Folate or L-methylfolate

If you have depression, you might want to talk with your doctor about doing a blood test for nutrient deficiencies. Many people with depression have low folate levels.

In research studies, patients with depression who added folate or L-methylfolate supplements in addition to taking antidepressants or going to therapy attained better results than people who used antidepressants and a placebo.

Final thoughts

Supplements can either replace your current antidepressant therapy or add to them; however, remember to consult with your doctor before taking any herbal supplements to see how they might interact with your current medication.

(C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved

Sources:
http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
http://www.cochrane.org/evidence
http://www.woykoff.com/klinicke-studie/3880934/Tryptophan_Cochran.pdf
https://www.biopsychiatry.com/samerev.htm
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/225902.php

Researchers Explain 5 Causes of Acute Stress Disorder (And How to Fix It)

May 20, 2018 by Power of Positivity

Acute Stress Disorder

People who experience an event that puts them in fear for their life may develop one of two conditions: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD).

In contrast to PTSD, the symptoms of acute stress disorder are generally limited to one month. PTSD symptoms may persist for many years. Comparing the two conditions, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, “ASD is more likely to involve feelings such as not knowing where you are, [or] feeling as if you are outside of your body.”

Acute stress disorder occurs because of a strong psychological reaction to a personally traumatic or terrifying event. Importantly, this event induces a strong emotional response within the individual. Approximately 6 to 33 percent of people who experience a traumatic event develop an acute stress reaction.

Per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, individuals diagnosed with ASD are “very likely to get PTSD.” Research shows that 8 out of every 10 people diagnosed with ASD have developed PTSD within six months.

Facts About Trauma

Here are some sobering statistics, courtesy of the National Trauma Institute:

Trauma is the #1 leading cause of death for people between ages 1 to 46.
It is the leading cause of total years of potential life lost before age 75.
Trauma costs the healthcare system and industry more than $671 billion, which is more than heart disease and diabetes combined.
Despite the above statistics, just .02 percent of the National Institute of Health (NIH) budget is allocated to trauma-related research.

“Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When someone enters the pain and hears the screams, healing can begin.” – Danielle Bernock

“PTSD is not about what is wrong with someone. PTSD is about what happened to someone.” – PTSD Support & Global Awareness

At-Risk Demographics

According to Healthline, the following individuals are at an increased risk of developing ASD:

People who have experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with a traumatic event in the past.
Those with a history of ASD or PTSD.
Individuals with a history of mental disorders.
People with a history of dissociative symptoms during traumatic events. (Dissociation is the feeling of being “separated” from oneself.)

Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder

The American Psychological Association (APA) separates the symptoms of ASD into two categories. Category 1 is comprised of the following five symptoms. A minimum of three are required for diagnosis:

Feelings of emotional numbness.
Feelings of being in a daze or dream-like state.
Experiencing a loss of personal identity and feelings.
Feeling separated from reality.
Loss of memory about one or more aspects of the traumatic event.

Category 2 is comprised of the following three symptoms, one of which is required for an ASD diagnosis:

Avoidance: a desire to avoid remembering the event.
Hypervigilance: difficulty sleeping, irritability, being easily startled.
Flashbacks: vivid remembrances of the event that produce highly distressing symptoms.

5 Leading Causes of Acute Stress Disorder

Per the Department of Veterans Affairs, these five groups exhibited symptoms of ASD:

33% of survivors of mass shootings.
25% of assault and robbery victims.
19% of violent assault victims.
13 to 21% of people involved in serious car accidents.
7% of natural disaster survivors.

The V.A. department notes that individuals with a history of mental illness may be at a higher risk of ASD. Furthermore, those with a past diagnosis of PTSD may also have a higher risk for ASD.

How to Fix It: ASD Treatment

Acute Stress Disorder is a severe mental health condition, capable of affecting the individual to such a degree that they become debilitated. Prompt and efficient treatment is necessary to curtail the high risk of PTSD onset.

Per medical professionals, treating ASD revolves around three methods:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on the relationship between personal emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It includes coping strategies for solving current problems and changing unhelpful cognitive patterns. CBT is the most widely used evidence-based practice for improving mental health. Numerous studies show that CBT may be the most effective method for treating ASD. Other research demonstrates that CBT may help prevent the likelihood of PTSD development later on.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR involves the patient verbally recounting the traumatic experience while tracking a moving object with their eyes. Research shows that EMDR is a highly effective trauma treatment. One reason for this is because the interaction with a given EMDR task lowers the stress of recounting a traumatic event.
Meditation: As thousands of war veterans can attest, meditation can be a highly effective, and possibly life-saving, trauma treatment. Some U.S. military branches have begun incorporating mindfulness and meditation-based practices into their “debriefing” curriculum for returning war veterans. In a recent study, 83.7% of active-duty service members with PTSD or an anxiety disorder reduced their trauma symptoms after one month of Transcendental Meditation. Another promising stat: just 10 percent of those same veterans increased their medication dosages.

https://youtu.be/lFdcCXmGpy4

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy
https://www.choosehelp.com/topics/anxiety/acute-stress-disorder
https://www.nattrauma.org/what-is-trauma/trauma-statistics-facts/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201601/meditation-reduces-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-symptoms
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/problems/acute-stress-disorder.asp

Reprogramming Yourself : 7 Simple Ways to Deal with Stress

May 19, 2018 by Power of Positivity

If you frequently feel stressed out, congratulations, you are part of the human race. We’re hardwired by evolution to experience stress. Hunger, desire, excitement and agitation are all forms of stress that compel us to act. The drive to survive is an itch that you can never fully scratch, and the status quo is insufficient at best. We know this as the human condition. Our approach to dealing with stress should be about management, not elimination. Reclaim your mental health with these seven strategies for managing stress.

Remember the Big Picture

Part of dealing with stress is keeping our struggles in perspective. While focusing on the present is incredibly rewarding and is an effective coping mechanism, keeping a long-term view is beneficial. You don’t keep your car in the lane by looking at the ground underneath; you stay on track by looking where you want to go. The next time you’re trying to deal with stress, ask yourself how much your present concerns will affect your long-term happiness a week, a month, or several years down the road. It’s not easy to do in the moment, but with practice, you can learn to face temporary concerns with a healthy amount of detached objectivity.

Don’t Neglect the Present Moment

Focusing on the present is an effective strategy for dealing with stress. Once you see the big picture and what you want to accomplish, the scale of a complex goal can be daunting. When you’re overwhelmed, focusing on the current task can reduce the stress you feel when taking on a challenging project. Sometimes, you need to see the big picture. Sometimes, you should focus on the present. These aren’t absolute rules, but tools to deal with stress.

Exercise, Eat Well and Sleep

A powerful strategy for reprogramming your response to stress, exercise releases endorphins that promote feelings of well-being. Exercising in the morning, your body’s equivalent of making the bed, creates a feeling of accomplishment that helps you deal with stress all day. Increasingly, research shows how a balanced diet promotes a healthy gut biome affecting your body chemistry at the level of mood regulation, enhancing your ability to deal with stress. Finally, get enough sleep. Nothing else will help if you aren’t sleeping well.

De-stress in Ways That Support Your Goals

We’ve all taken refuge in our favorite ice cream, or hit the bars with friends after a difficult week. Indulging in food, alcohol or becoming comatose in front of the TV can be enticing. If you’re like most people and regret usually outweighs your temporary satisfaction, try to replace those indulgences with positive ways of dealing with stress. Exercising, practicing a hobby with friends, meditating, reading for pleasure, keeping a journal, dancing or going to a comedy club are all positive ways you can de-stress.

Focus on What You Can Control

The problems of the world are important. Simply watching the news can be stressful, and no one wants to feel apathetic. However, if you’re stressing out about things that are outside of your control, you’re wasting energy. Focus on what you can control and your ability to address larger problems will grow.

Keep an Actively Positive Outlook

Staying positive doesn’t mean ignoring the things that cause you stress. It means recognizing that a positive outlook might be a crucial element in getting what you want. It means being proactive in your approach to problem solving and welcoming challenges. Don’t get discouraged; being positive takes practice!

Taking Responsibility is a Wonderful Thing

All debate about determinism notwithstanding, taking responsibility for your life just feels good. Nothing feels worse than being manipulated by forces out of your control. We’ve all been there: stuck in a loop of thoughts replaying the ways people in our lives have added to our difficulties. We also know how little those thoughts have helped us to bring positive change into our lives. The point of taking responsibility isn’t to absolve others of theirs; it’s to empower ourselves. You’ll be amazed at how taking agency over your own life will impact your ability to deal with stress.

Final Thoughts

As much as we all share the common experience of stress, nobody has lived your life. Sometimes, stress can feel a little overwhelming. Recognizing that everyone experiences it doesn’t reduces the importance of dealing with stress in our lives.

Thankfully, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We’re in the fortunate position of benefiting from time honored advice informed by modern behavioral science to help us learn how to deal with stress and take control of our own well-being.

7 Ways Mentally Strong People Deal with Rejection

May 19, 2018 by Power of Positivity

One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is being rejected. Most people thrive when they know that their loved ones care for them. Yet when people are continually rejected, they can suffer from a wide range of issues. Some of them include low self-esteem, social isolation, and depression. Luckily, we can incorporate many strategies to deal with rejection and become productive, positive people. Below you’ll find just seven of many strategies that mentally strong people use to deal with rejection:

1. Acknowledge The Discomfort.

Oftentimes, people who are rejected tell themselves fictional narratives about the situation that is unfolding. For example, if a person doesn’t get the job they wanted, they might say, “I didn’t want the position in the first place.”

Of course, this inner monologue might make you feel better for a moment. However, it’s ultimately unhealthy because it creates a mental world marked by untruths. Note that mentally strong individuals discuss their real emotions. By discussing situations that make them feel disappointed, hurt, or embarrassed, these individuals are empowered to heal the pain in a healthy way. Thus if you’re serious about learning how to deal with rejection, make sure that you’re being honest with yourself about what happened.

2. They Remain Grounded In Reality.

Oftentimes, the pain of rejection leads people to adopt extreme, fatalistic conclusions about reality. For example, an individual who is looked over for a promotion may conclude “I’ll never be able to climb the job ladder.”

On the other hand, mentally strong people don’t do this. Instead, they examine what took place in a logical, realistic manner even as they acknowledge the emotions they are experiencing because of what happened. Instead of holding a pity party, these individuals remind themselves that one single life experience doesn’t determine their ultimate value, abilities, or disposition towards the world. As you begin learning how to deal with rejection, remember that thinking in an objective, the holistic way is very helpful.

3. Celebrate Your Ability To Step Outside Your Comfort Zone.

If people understood what rejection ultimately signifies, they likely wouldn’t get so upset when it happens. As many psychology experts and wellness gurus know, rejection is proof that you tried to move beyond your current limits to expand. This is a very brave way to approach reality. So celebrate it! Trying to step out of your comfort zone only to be rejected can be disappointing and embarrassing. However, the experience functions as the groundwork through which you learn how to try new things repeatedly (and in different ways!) until you attain the results you want.

4. They Don’t Let The Experience Define Them.

One of the dangers with experiencing rejection is allowing what happened to define your identity and perceptions of the world. Mentally strong people know that while they will experience rejection at various points in their lives, they also receive love at other times. Moreover, their presence and personhood are oftentimes sought out and deeply craved by many people! In recognizing that all of these realities co-exist, mentally strong individuals don’t allow one negative experience to define them. Thus if you’re really serious about learning how to deal with rejection, make sure that you think about your life holistically rather than zeroing in on one occurrence and allowing that moment to overshadow everything else that you’ve done or experienced.

5. They Practice Self-Care.

Because rejection can compromise self-esteem, it’s immensely important to take care of yourself when you experience it. Mentally strong people know this, and they maintain an arsenal of strategies that they are always ready to use whenever they experience criticism, letdowns, etc. Your self-care strategies can include anything from a monthly massage to the development of a strong yoga practice. The key to success with this strategy is doing something that actually works.

6. They Learn From The Experience.

Another strategy that you should consider implementing when learning how to deal with rejection is learning from the experience. Mentally strong people take the time to reflect on things that happen in their lives because they know that doing so will provide them with the knowledge necessary to make more prudent decisions in the future. Thus as opposed to merely experiencing a wave of negative emotions and feeling physically or mentally weary as a result of it, take the time to learn from the experience. The learning can include the acquisition of more self-knowledge. Furthermore, it can also teach you how to operate more effectively in the world.

7. They Move Forward.

If you really want to know how to deal with rejection, make sure that you learn to move forward. In many cases, people find themselves paralyzed by negative experiences. This makes sense given that experiences like rejection can engender numerous negative emotions that make people feel lethargic, demotivated, etc. Mentally strong people are aware that negative experiences such as rejection can lead them down the road to stagnation. Moreover, they implement strategies to keep moving forward. The strategies can include anything from going to the gym more frequently to keep the body in motion to joining a networking group. These both keep one on the path of professional progress.

Use These Strategies To Deal With Ejection

If you’ve never experienced rejection, know that you likely will at some point. With this reality in mind, it’s important to access and implement strategies that will help you deal with rejection and become a stronger person as a result of it. Utilize some or all of the aforementioned seven strategies to keep yourself on track to perpetual progress in the face of rejection!