“Get 10% happier in 10 days, guaranteed!”
“Meditation reduces stress.”
“Take this & you’ll sleep better…& sleep is so important.”
“This form of self care is so good…it puts you in a good mood.”
Anyone else tired of hearing platitude & overgeneralizations like the ones above? There’ve been companies & organizations in this space, for years, who’ve taken advantage of the fact that as humans all we want – is to feel healthy, be happy, enjoy the people around us.
The problem is, that leads companies that are entrepreneurial…organizations looking for profits, & nonprofits looking for donations…to tell us that “something works” without explaining HOW. And the HOW is the hard part. In fact it’s the essential part.
I did a post the other day that drummed up a lot of convo about how when we go to the gym, we’re told we break down muscle fibers, eat protein to build them back, bigger & stronger. It’s not a detailed biological explanation, but it at least explains why we should continue to do it even when we don’t see results right away…& explains why we’re sore the next day after – because it gives the HOW.
How often, when we’re being sold or recommended devices, apps, or treatments, do we hear about what these do to: The vagus nerve? Cellular inflammation? Meridians? Amygdala function? The sympathetic &/or parasympathetic response? This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to us being told HOW what they are recommending/selling, actually works.
People stay with things they understand. How many times instead have you heard someone say: I tried that meditation thing…it doesn’t work for me…I can’t meditate. Were they explained HOW it works, so they could stick w it?
We’ve been focused on this for a while, since we teach STARR exercises in our programs – the actual science behind the “gym for the brain.”
But I saw the importance even more going to equine therapy yesterday. HOW does working with a horse, improve our mental health? Accomplishment of tasks…being responsible for a life…an animal we must develop a relationship with at a time when we’re not feeling social…connection with another living being (I can go on but you get the point). We need the HOW!
