Summary: Negative thinking can have just as big of an impact on health as eating a decadent piece of chocolate cake.How you eat and how you move are often thought of as the two biggest baselines of overall health. But, how you think is also extremely important in how you express health. According to Dr. Jay LaGuardia, negative thinking can have just as big of an impact as eating a decadent piece of chocolate cake. Plus, mental and emotional angst can manifest as physical ailments. In his practice, Dr. LaGuardia would often see in his patients that an underlying physical ailment was resolved, but the emotional component was not being dealt with and so the patient still suffered. How can you start thinking more empowering thoughts? It's not easy, especially when many of the negative internal thoughts and dialogue were "programmed" into your brain at an early age. That early programming (that you've accepted as "truth") has to be addressed and changed. Meditation, mindfulness, and prayer can be extremely helpful in order to filter out the negative clutter. Affirmations are also quite effective. A whopping 80 percent of your daily thoughts are negative; thoughts of what you're NOT. Affirmation helps re-program your mind by creating intentions of what you want. It recharges and reprograms your positive mind. But, make sure you're affirming what you want, as opposed to what you don't want. "I am healthy and fit vs. I am not fat." Also, use both words and emotions; say your affirmations out loud with vigor and excitement. Finally, Dr. LaGuardia advises to embrace the discomfort of being so positive (because it's going to feel awkward at first). It really will work, once you accept it as truth. Listen in as Dr. LaGuardia explains more about what negative thinking does to your physical body, as well as ways to turn off that internal dialogue.
