Having a deeper understanding of the latest research into the effects on mental health of ‘physical’ factors – such as movement and exercise, time in Nature, ‘breathwork’ and real-time connection with others – enables us to tailor powerful therapeutic interventions and deliver more informed psychoeducation. This jam-packed day also covers the physiology of responses such as ‘freeze, fight or flight’, the effects of physical activity on emotional, mental, memory and brain health, why stress can become chronic, the many ways we can activate our innate capacity to restore calm through our breath and attention, why these relaxation techniques work and what they do for us physically. The findings you will explore on the workshop have implications for many areas of mental health, even addiction, and give us additional ways to help people resolve many difficulties quickly and effectively, as well as improve overall health. The HG approach recognises that meeting our emotional needs and using our resources well are key to good mental health – yet the impact of ‘physical’ factors on our emotions and state of mind can be just as profound. Even though our physical needs may appear obvious – a healthy diet, regular physical exercise etc – we know that most of the chronic diseases sweeping through the Western World are linked to “lifestyle”, indicating that many people are not actually meeting their physical needs in healthy balanced ways – despite the vast array of information available to them. Finding clarity about how best to meet our own physical needs can also help us maintain our capacity to help others. Throughout the day, Dr Andrew Morrice, a practising GP, draws on both the latest research and his decades of experience managing the complex combination of mental and physical health problems in General Practice (20 of those years using the Human Givens model). We will sift the sense from the nonsense, and see the fundamentals behind the buzzwords and trends, making it easier to think clearly about our own health as well as that of our patients or clients…
How the now well-known human ‘needs and resources’ relate to our evolutionary past, and physical lives The many ways physical movement affects the functioning of the mind and our emotions A deeper look into the physiology of emotional responses, such as ‘fight, flight, freeze’ and their impact on health Greater knowledge of the fundamentals of how we can find calm – and the very many ways these can be used to help people New information from the latest mind/body research that has implications for therapeutic lifestyle changes
BODY MIND HEALING 446
