Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The 'All or Nothing' mentality

In my years of practice as a naturopathic doctorI have come to realize that Fall is a very unique time of year at the clinic. I notice that my patients are usually in one of two groups - the first group is those patients that are coming in for their regular Fall detox (because they have come to realize the benefits to their health during such a chaotic time of year); and the second is the group of patients that cancel their appointments because they feel guilty that they haven't done their treatment recommendations perfectly and therefore they have 'failed'. I really would love to see people not being so hard on themselves - this is a busy time of year, and sometimes we can't 'fit it all in'. This is OK. We can't expect perfection, we should just strive to keep our goals in the fore-front, and this means re-connecting with your health team (naturopath, chiropractor, massage therapist etc), even if it means saying 'I haven't done any of the things you recommended'. I hope to re-motivate you, and I hope to help you set (or re-create) your health goals. Keep your health in mind during this busy time of year, even if it means scaling down your efforts to a more manageable level! Aim for little goals like:
'today I will include veggies with my lunch'
'today I will drink 8 glasses of water'
'today I will drink some green tea'
'today I will take time to breathe'
Don't be discouraged, it's all about the big picture, and not the little details!

Dr. Anna Falkowski
Naturopathic Doctor & Clinic Director
Vitality for Life Health Center
Barrie, ON
www.vitalityforlife.ca

Dr. Anna Falkowski HBSc, ND
Naturopathic Doctor, Clinic Director
info@vitalityforlife.ca
www.vitalityforlife.ca
Twitter: @NaturoDoctor
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