Wellness

Why Meditate? How Meditation Supports Mental Health

Meditation has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, and it conjures images of Buddhist monks sat crossed-legged in silence, saying “OM” over and over – but that’s not usually what meditation looks like for the average person (or even Buddhists!). In reality, meditation is simply the practice of slowing down, focusing the mind, and trying to create detachment or curiosity around the thoughts that travel in and out of your mind. 

The goal is a sense of concentration, calmness, and peace. Meditation can improve mental health, give clarity and help us focus. If you’re wondering if meditation can help you, keep reading.

What is Oxytocin and How Does it Help Combat Stress?  

Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone often referred to as the “love drug.” It’s released during intimate moments with a loved one (not just in a romantic sense) and has shown to offer many relationship-enhancing effects like increased trust, fidelity, communication, and bonding. 

How CBD helped my dog Cassius

Meet Cassius, he is our 90 lb pit bull rescue.  He was found abandoned, starving and with a broken leg in a Hartford park in CT. He was taken in by the Hartford Animal Shelter and the wonderful staff was able to get him surgery to fix his leg. When we saw his face we knew we had to take him in.  We went to meet him and he was even sweeter in person, he just wanted to give lots of kisses. 

Mental health has always been a complicated subject; it is an experience that differs from person to person, and even from day to day. Over the last few decades, we as a society have become more and more open to the idea that our mental health is just as important as our physical health. And while we’re not quite at the point where everybody seeks therapy and all companies allocate annual leave for “mental health days”, we are certainly on the right track.

If you’ve either noticed that your patterns of depression are creeping in, or believe you may be suffering from depression, the best thing you can do is be kind to yourself. If you can provide the best care for yourself in your darkest moments, you’ll find they don’t feel quite so dark.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, our ancestors would feel stressed when our bodies knew we were in danger or that something needed to change to ensure our wellbeing. Back then, it may be that a tribe had moved in nearby and was using the same food source, when our children were doing something dangerous, or when the weather was harsh and we needed to protect ourselves from it.

Today, however, stress generally does more harm than good. Yes, it can motivate us to work to tight deadlines, rush to catch our flight, or leave a negative situation. But if that stress becomes unmanageable, it can be a hindrance to our everyday lives.

Stress is just a part of being human, but in our modern day, we are being overloaded with more stress and more opportunity to be stressed than ever before. Our smartphones give us access to knowledge and entertainment 24/7 – but that also means that work and stress from other areas of our lives can be found any time we look at them.

We also live in a culture where, while self-care is encouraged, it’s usually paired up with a high-stress lifestyle. Fortunately, you can take control and care for your mind and body no matter where the source of stress is coming from, and one of the ways you can do this is by using aromatherapy and essential oils for stress.

Meditation isn’t a new practice, in fact it dates back thousands of years, but it has been growing in popularity in recent years. Our world has become increasingly stressful, as the ease of communication and the accessibility of our work and the news has increased.

Of course, 2020 has been even more stressful for obvious reasons, and so meditation has become even more mainstream.

By working with your endocannabinoid system CBD may relieve a wide variety of aliments. Such as the mentioned above and the following...

- CBD help protect against cancer

- CBD helps nausea

- CBD reduces pain, spasms & is a muscle relaxant

- CBD helps mood disorders such as depression, PTSD, anxiety 

- CBD is an anti-inflammatory

- CBD helps relieve arthritis & joint pain

- CBD is an anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and boosts immune system

-CBD improves the nervous system & promotes blood circulation

*Always contact your primary doctor before stopping any medications you are currently on or if CBD reacts with your current medications.