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stress

Emotional Intelligence Affects Immune System

Emotional Intelligence Affects Immune System

During this time of heightened health concerns, we look to strengthen our immune systems. The obvious practices, like getting adequate rest and quality sleep, along with a healthy diet, are vital for a strong defense system.  During this adjustment to a pandemic, the very things that we employ to keep our kids and ourselves strong and resilient now, undoubtedly are healthy lifestyle habits that impact quality of life at any point in time. 

Emotional awareness and increased understanding of how to deal with uneasy emotions, is crucial to creating a healthy chemical state. Letting our kids know that under stress our brains kick in the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), which focuses heavily on negative occurrences for survival. Events that are unexpected, or that are not our preferences suddenly become major agitators. Coupled with ignoring or denying our feelings, kids and adults may dwell in the SNS state which creates a negative cycle, both chemically, thought wise, and in reactive behaviour.

Giving our kids and ourselves time to connect with our emotional content helps us to keep our brains in the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). The PNS will help us to keep perspective and to flow with chemicals that draw us more towards the positive attributes of life. Emotional awareness and engagement of our PNS can be aided through ‘walks and talks’, meditation practice, or unscheduled check ins with children or partners on their most positive and most unsettling emotions for that day or week. Pauses and focusing on slow intentional breathing also activates PNS and thoughtfulness. Emotional intelligence can be heightened by incorporating family time to discuss dreams and nightmares, fears, and hopes. After a family meal, sitting on the end of child’s bed at bedtime, or those moments when the child’s need is clear that difficult emotions are on the rise, provide that much needed time to download feelings first and then to apply love and logic to our go forward plans. This attention to our emotional state sends the message to our children that emotional awareness and learning about ourselves by dealing positively with our feelings, is a healthy practice.

Namaste,

Instructor Chris

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Three Wise Mentors
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The Sandwich of Good and Bad
The Sandwich of Good and Bad

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Entitlement
Entitlement

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Honest Communication – Feedback and Beliefs
Honest Communication – Feedback and Beliefs

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Recognizing Victim Mentality
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Making Our Connections Count
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True or False Confidence?
True or False Confidence?

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Diminishing Rules Theory
Diminishing Rules Theory

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