The 6 Best Doctors to Feel Better

Coping Strategies for Life

By Paige Vandersloot MS, LMFT, CST
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

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Sometimes we find ourselves going to great lengths to feel better. It could be turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms or addictive behavior and suffering the related consequences. Or, it could be assuming we need elaborate and expensive solutions to solve our problems. Often times it is the small and simple things that are most effective. The following nursery rhyme by Wayne Fields expresses this best:

“The best six doctors anywhere and no one can deny it,
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air, exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend,
if only you are willing.
Your mind they’ll ease, your will they’ll mend,
and charge you not a shilling.”

Sunshine

Research indicates that as little as 3-15 minutes of sun can have a positive effect on your mood. Sunlight helps you produce vitamin D, which helps in the production of serotonin, a feel-good hormone. Sunshine also helps regulate melatonin which aids in sleep.

What Can I Do?

• Get outside! Even just for 3 minutes.
• Take a walk around the block.
• Get a Happy Light and use it in the winter months.
• Sit in the window with the sun shining on you.
• Open shades and blinds to allow natural sunlight in your home or workspace.
• Take a Vitamin D supplement.

Water

There are so many benefits to drinking water. It helps the body by flushing out toxins, increasing energy, clearing and hydrating skin, promoting weight loss, preventing headaches, delivers oxygen throughout the body, and many more benefits. Also, some say water clears negative energy.

What Can I Do?

• Drink water. Right now!
• Have a large glass of water beside your bed for when you wake up.
• Keep a water bottle with you and in your car.
• Put a reminder on your phone to drink water.
• Wash your hands in water.
• Take a shower.
• Take a bath with Epsom salts to detoxify.
• Get near natural bodies of water like rivers, lakes, or oceans.

Rest

Did you know that getting good sleep can greatly impact mood and anxiety levels and level of emotional reactivity in a positive way? It can increase our immunity and lower inflammation. If you are unable to sleep, do not worry! Leave adequate time to get the proper amount of sleep and then plan on times for additional rest to make up the difference if your sleep wasn’t enough.

What Can I Do?

• Have a calming sleep routine.
• Listen to meditation or hypnosis to help you fall and stay asleep.
• Use white noise or an eye mask to help improve the quality of sleep.
• Take a break (or two!) throughout the day to just rest and relax or take a nap.
• Use low lights before going to sleep.
• Use a relaxation method before going to sleep.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and other drugs hours before going to bed.

Air

We need an adequate level of oxygen to function well. Deep breathing has been proven to improve mood and reduce anxiety. Oxygen helps dispel cortisol, the stress hormone in the body. The quality of our air matters too.

What Can I Do?

• Practice deep breathing. Right now! J
• Get outside into fresh air.
• Open windows to let air flow.
• Sit in front of a fan and allow yourself just to breathe.
• Try Yoga or Pilates, Qigong or Tai Chi.
• Get an air purifier for your home.

Exercise

Exercise helps reduce stress and improve our moods. It boosts our immune system, makes us stronger and healthier, improves sleep, and increases our metabolism. It helps the body detox and it is protective against depression. Research shows that exercise works as well as antidepressants for some people.

What Can I Do?

• Pick an activity that you like.
• Start small and build on that!
• Plan a time when you are most likely to follow through with your plan.
• Go with someone.
• Walk more places, park further away.
• Keep a log and give yourself credit for the activity that you are doing.

Diet

Our mood is very tied to what we eat and how we eat. Research shows that eating a healthy, balanced diet, rich with whole foods and healthy proteins, and avoiding inflammation-producing foods may be protective against depression. Refined carbohydrates and processed foods are the biggest bad mood culprits.

What To Do

• Make a list of all the healthy habits and choices you are already making.
• Increase the amount of whole, unprocessed foods you eat.
• Make a list of all the nutritious foods you like and take a trip to the store.
• Remove sugar and refined carbs from your kitchen.
• Have healthier alternatives for snacking.
• Have a plan of what you’ll eat and when you’ll eat.

Sometimes it is the simple things that can make the most profound differences in our lives. Give yourself credit for the things you are already doing! It’s about continuing to build on that. As you do so you not only feel better physically, but you are empowering yourself by taking action and reaping the positive rewards.

No matter how bad you feel, there’s always a way to do something. One step is not going to “make it all better.” But sometimes taking a step—any step—is enough to keep going, until eventually, we see our way through the dark tunnel.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk,

If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

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