Saturday 14th January 2023 • Promotional Content
Health, fitness & beauty resolutions New Year, Fresh Start
Why our New Year’s resolutions almost never work and how to create sustainable change
Studies suggest that as many as 90% of us don’t succeed with our New Year’s resolutions
to get them to stick: “New year is a great time to review what is and isn’t working in our lives, but it can be disheartening to make a commit- ment to ourselves and feel that we end up failing. Understanding why this happens can diffuse a lot of shame and frustration.” Aimee explains, “Most of us are
A
functioning from stressed/dysreg- ulated nervous system states. Signs of dysregulation are things like anxiety, worry, overthinking, diffi- culty focusing, emotional sensi- tivity, fatigue and depression. When dysregulated, we have diminished executive brain and frontal lobe function. Te frontal lobe is the area of the brain that provides us with perspective, ability to emotionally regulate, and to respond rather than react. When our system is acutely stressed, we literally ‘lose our minds’ — so our capacity to think clearly and align our actions with our values and intentions is compromised.” As Aimee continues, it becomes
apparent why so many of us struggle to maintain these commit- ments for more than a few days or weeks: “It’s very hard to introduce a new discipline from a stressed nervous system state, and most of the habits we hope to eliminate in the new year are driven by stress and emotional overwhelm. When we pick up the glass of wine or gorge the ice cream we said we wouldn’t, we’re usually seeking relief and don’t have other tools to self soothe. When we pick up our phone, even though we vowed to have less
imee Rai, a trauma informed integrative therapist, says that it’s a notorious struggle
screen time, we’re often agitated and seeking escape. When we commit to meditating but find that we just can’t bring ourselves to sit, we’re stressed, and the nervous system is jittery. When we yell at our kids even though we dedicated ourselves to more gentle parenting this year, it’s because our nervous system is over stretched, and we’ve lost our ability to command how we communicate. When we take our coping mechanisms away or place pressure on ourselves to do something new, the stress levels only escalate — the relapse into the old behaviour, or the abandonment of the new one, becomes inevitable.” If all this sounds a
little bleak, fear not. With a smile, Aimee is quick to reassure: “Te solution is to stop focusing on our symptoms and start addressing the underlying state of our nervous system. When we do this, everything changes. As we learn to self regulate the system moves toward a more relaxed and stable state and we begin to feel more calm, energised, and able
to navigate stressors and emotional currents. It also becomes a lot easier to integrate other activities that support our wellbeing. In the beginning we learn simple relaxation practices that take just a few minutes here and there. Tere’s no failing, no pressure, just a gradual journey towards another way of being.”
9
Join one of
Aimee’s therapeutic groups this January to
receive her online nervous system regulation course
completely free or purchase it now with 25% off using
coupon code FRESHSTART at checkout – valid until 31.01.23
Visit:
isohh.org.uk E:
info@isohh.org.uk @
isohh.aimeerai
Aimee Rai PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMMA JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
