“Trust other people.” “Have belief in yourself.” “Believe it will be okay.”
It’s easier said than done. Humans cannot survive alone, and we all naturally yearn for social connections. We also cannot live without subconsciously believing in something, and it’s perhaps this subconscious desire that forms the basis of our trust in other humans. In fact, the act of “believing” plays a significant role in mental health. Both the act of belief in others, as well as belief in yourself (self-efficacy) are important to the longterm wellbeing of your personal mental health, as well as the health of your interpersonal relationships. In this article, we will explore the aspects of belief and trust within clinical practices.

Trust and Belief Between Doctors and Patients

For example, when we get sick, we visit our doctor or hospital. The patient needs to trust that the doctor would do their best to treat them. The same goes for the doctor – the doctor gathers the patient’s self-account, and they must trust and believe it to be accurate. The doctors will then use this information to treat the patients appropriately and accordingly. It’s important to note here that the person treating you must be value-neutral. In clinical practice, this means keeping religious or personal ideology out of the practice while pointing out symptoms and conditions from neutral perspectives. Without this prerequisite, the trust between the doctor and patient may be easily broken.

Trust requires courage. Trust creates a connection and makes us more open to one another, but it can also make us more vulnerable. This sense of vulnerability can also trigger our self-defending mechanisms within, creating a conflict where we want to trust but can’t. In a way, trust and distrust always come into play as a fine balance. Trusting in others may not be easy, but if you believe it will be okay, then things will naturally fall into place.

Self-Efficacy is Key to a Healthy Mind

Let’s change our perspective a little bit. Athletes are known for their visualization training, which is a type of mental training aimed to improve concentration, retain physical skills, and overcome trauma – all of which are important aspects in improving and maintaining one’s self-efficacy. Soccer player Lionel Messi would run on the treadmill while watching footage of his own goals. When golfer Tiger Woods feels like he’s losing focus before a shot, he sits down, closes his eyes, and envisions a good shot. It’s scientifically proven that these mental training can lead to higher self-efficacy, and subsequently, improved records. Athletes visualize their success, and believe it into reality. We can also decrease potential disturbing psychological interferences through breathing exercises and positive thinking.

When we are completely immersed in our activities, our anxieties and tension reduce. This makes total immersion an effective psychological technique for calming down. People who can practice mental training with high levels of concentration are likely to be more imaginative. Furthermore, they are likely to possess a greater ability to have belief in themselves. In other words, these types of individuals tend to have higher self-efficacy, which actually directly impacts your capabilities and skills. Believe it to be true, and it will come into fruition. We can say that immersion is one of many ways to deal with our mental health challenges. This really goes to show what belief and trust can do for you.

Expose Yourself Through Open Belief

As mentioned earlier, trust implies opening our hearts up to others. This also requires us to be vulnerable. It’s not an easy task to trust in someone completely, even if it’s someone you like or rely on, due to fears of betrayal, embarrassment, or pain. Let your walls down, stay open, and accept things as they are. Accept others’ intentions, and believe it to be genuine. You may feel a resistance to this idea, and there will always be fears about what would happen if you were to get hurt. However, only those who can overcome these fears can make great strides towards improving their mental health. Only when we have belief in ourselves and trust others, can we build relationships based on trust and belief.

Simply saying “believe it” or “have belief in yourself” sounds easy in theory, yet difficult in practice. Do you have the courage to harness the power of your belief?

→ Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELFMIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References:
Iida, T. (2016). The Effectiveness of Mental Training Based on an Understanding of the Psychological State of the Athlete. Iwate University Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, 25, 39~51. doi: 10.15113/00014452

Kumakura, N. (2008). A Study of “Believing” in Clinical Practice: Thoughts on Kenro Doi’s article, “Psychotherapy and Belief”. The Japanese Journal of Mental Health, 23(2), 49-60. doi: 10.11383/kokoronokenkou1986.23.2_49

Sekizawa, Y., Goto, Y., So, M., Noguchi, R., & Shimizu, E. (2016). Future Predictions on Income and Livelihoods and Their Relationship to Well-being/mental health: An Examination Using Questions From the Consumer Confidence Index. RIETI Discussion Paper Series 16-J-052. Retrieved from: https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/16j052.pdf

The post Believe It: The Power of Self-Efficacy on Mental Heath appeared first on SELF MIND.

Inside every sophisticated grown-up adult is a little kid just dying to get out.

Walt disney

Many people feel excited and uplifted when they come upon a new place, or a landscape they’ve never seen before. In today’s stressful society, mental health is becoming increasingly important, and according to recent research, traveling may reduce stress, help prevent disease, and improve health.

How is Traveling Related to Mental Health?

With the current pandemic forcing people to cut back on travel, some may feel deprived of methods to relieve stress due to their inability to go out. For some of us, traveling has been a way to relieve daily fatigue and stress. In general, popular travel attractions such as sports activities and relaxing spas, are considered healthy activities.

Despite the occasional negatives like bad weather, unexpected accidents, or sub-par customer service, we believe that most experiences we gained from traveling are positive. This is because we feel relieved from everyday life, get the opportunity to enjoy our hobbies, and experience freedom, all while having an extraordinary time. Yes, these are all the positive pleasures of travel, but is there actually any scientific evidence that traveling is good for us?

The Benefits of Chromogranin A

One case study tested human saliva to verify the stress-reducing effects of traveling by measuring the participants’ stress levels before, during, and after a trip. The human body secretes a hormone called “cortisol” when under stress, and conversely, a protein called “chromogranin A” is secreted when we are in a good mood. When these two substances were investigated throughout a three-day travel tour, the levels of cortisol decreased during the trip compared to before the trip, while the levels of chromogranin A increased dramatically during the trip. In particular, there were significant effects on people with low stressors on a daily basis, which suggests that travel was an effective way for them to feel refreshed. In addition, for those who felt high-stress loads, there was no significant effect, which suggests a re-evaluation of duration, location, and method for their future travels.

Planning A Trip Improves Mental Health

While traveling itself is of course beneficial, the excitement of planning helps relieve stress as well. Stress can be relieved through the build-up of excitement, curiosity, and adventure. We’re filled with anticipation when we search about the local scenery, foods, sights, or accommodations. If the planning itself feels too stressful, we can always opt for a group tour where everything is pre-planned and packaged together for us to save time.

Creating a plan we look forward to, will make our daily life more exciting! It will serve as motivation for our daily work or studies. The same can be said for events that we are excited about, not just trips.

Travel Experiences are Priceless

When we travel to unfamiliar destinations, we are bound to encounter a few unexpected events. If things don’t go as planned or problems arise, the hardships we face to think for ourselves and resolve situations will become an invaluable experience in life. Another positive we gain from traveling is learning new things and getting to know new people with different values. As our daily routines become more and more monotonous, we get used to our own lifestyles, which ends up narrowing our perspectives and values. When this happens, we can get frustrated about feeling stuck in a pigeonhole, ultimately leading to a build-up of stress. Enjoying a time of openness and exposure to new values can relieve the vast, unexplainable stress you feel every day.

Mental Health Care Through Wellness Tourism

The term “wellness tourism” or “health tourism,” is used to describe a medically-based approach to tourism that restores, maintains, and promotes health and wellness. In recent years, its effects are highly anticipated in terms of improving mental health.
The term “wellness tourism” has been defined in different ways, albeit with slightly differing terminology:

Wellness tourism [is] all travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.

Global Wellness Institute

Leisure, recreational and educational activities removed from the distractions of work and home that use tourism products and services that are designed to promote and enable customers to improve and maintain their health and well-being.

Pollock & Williams (2000)

Wellness tourism is the sum of all relationships and phenomena resulting from a change of location and residence by people in order to preserve or promote their health.

Müller & Kaufmann (2001)

Wellness tourism has many potential benefits for mental health. Tourism for the purpose of physical and mental health are quickly gaining popularity across the world. These tours include programs such as:

・Physical activity (Healing through the use of hiking, climbing, pilates, yoga, etc.)
・Natuopathy (Meditations and/or massages that are held in nature)
・Dietary therapy (Healthy dietary menus and/or homeopathic medicines)

However, the scientific evidence on whether wellness tourism is effective in relieving stress and improving mental health is yet to be proven. More research is expected to be conducted in the future. One thing for sure is that the positive health benefits of travel can surely bring a smile to many people’s faces. Seeking healing away from the confines of daily life may become an essential element for the stress-filled people of today’s society.

Image：Unsplash
References：

Makino, H., Toda, M., Kobayashi, H., & Morimoto, K. (2008). The effect of stress relief which is caused by traveling. Japan Institute of Tourism Research, 19(2), 9-18. doi: 10.18979/jitr.19.2_9

Müller, H., & Kaufmann, E.L. (2001). Wellness tourism: Market analysis of a special health tourism segment and implications for the hotel industry. Journal of vacation marketing, 7(1), 5-17. doi: 10.1177/135676670100700101

Ohashi, S. (2018). Development of Wellness Tourism : A New Trend in Modern Tourism. Wakayama University Association for Tourism Studies, 18, 107-117.

Pollock, A., & Williams, P. (2000). Health tourism trends: closing the gap between health care and tourism. Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism., 165-173.

The post Getting Away: Stress-Relief Through Traveling appeared first on SELF MIND.