The Link Between Fitness and Self-Esteem
We hear a lot about self-esteem in the media and in conversations with our friends. It’s a nebulous concept that means different things to different people, but no matter what you think about the idea of self-esteem, you can’t deny that it has important ramifications for mental health. Mental health is another nebulous topic. It is used to describe unpleasant or unuseful mental states that people experience at different times in their lives. These could be the result of circumstances, genetic problems, or changes in our environment. Whatever the cause, it takes a combination of lifestyle and circumstantial factors, as well as therapy from professionals, for most people to find their way back to mental health.
Even though mental health sounds like it only exists in the mind, there are important ways that the body impacts this mental world. Getting rid of mental illness isn’t as easy as forgetting a tune that’s been stuck in your head. It requires finding an entirely new way to conceptualize the world, and yourself. It also, for most people, requires changes in the body.
The brain isn’t an isolated organ. It is the driving force behind the central nervous system, which stretches throughout the body and has a role in every bodily process. The nervous system is supported by all the rest of the body’s parts and systems. This includes the muscles, the digestive system, the skin, and everything else.
When one of these parts or systems is not functioning properly, the problem is sensed by the brain. The accumulation of numerous problems, such as immune system impairment or diabetes, will tend to have a negative impact on your state of mind and sense of wellbeing. Some people who have low self-esteem, therefore, just have bodies that aren’t working right, or are not developed to their full potential.
This is often the case with obesity and lack of fitness. Losing weight through better diet and exercise can help people to feel better about themselves, and not just because they look more attractive to other people. Fat reduction and body contouring techniques like coolsculpting are a way of taking a load off of your skeletal and muscular systems. They also improve the metabolism which no longer has to support such a large body.
Exercise is central to a sense of self esteem and of wellbeing because healthy bodies have always been important for humans. In our evolutionary past, healthy members of the species were the ones most likely to reproduce. Sexual attention has a lot to do with the way we see ourselves. It can feel good coming from the right sources. Fitness isn’t all about sex, but it does have a relationship, so the fitter you are, the easier it is to feel good naturally.
There are many other aspects of self esteem and well-being than can be described here. Suffice to say, you’ll give yourself more to work with if you exercise and eat right, changing your body in good ways so that it works the way it is supposed to. When this happens, it’ll have good implications for your self esteem.
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