Working professionals are prone to long hours, late nights, and high responsibility – with the weight of your company’s success on your shoulders, you’re at high risk for fatigue, depression and/or anxiety. Irritability is a common result of stress and fatigue and can even be an underlying sign of mental health concerns. Susan Holtzman, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia told U.S. News, “Irritability is more typically described as a mood…sometimes if it’s present at chronically high levels, over time it can be a red flag for some underlying physical or mental health issues.”
The food that we eat does have a major impact on the way our mind and body function, and if you’ve been eating quick meals lately or even a lot of unhealthy snacks, this could be taking a toll on your mood. Harvard Medical School emphasizes that refined sugars can not only impair your brain functioning but can lead you to develop depression. As a business professional, these types of concerns can have a significant impact on your business success – so it’s important to take small steps each and every day towards your mental health and wellbeing. There are 5 foods that are extremely good for you if you can incorporate them more into your diet:
- Whole grains – the dense carbohydrates in this food can increase your brain’s level of serotonin, which has a direct impact on mood.
- Folate – leafy greens such as spinach, beans, and citrus fruits are all known to break down amino acid homocysteine, which has been linked to depression
- Turkey – while this may seem odd, Everyday Health notes that it is high in tryptophan, which is an amino acid that helps the brain produce more serotonin.
- Greek yogurt – the berries and fruit in this yogurt can often assist with low blood sugar, which can certainly have an effect on your mood.
- Dark chocolate – if you get dark chocolate with 75% cocoa, antioxidants called flavonoids will help reduce some of your stress hormones.
The food that we eat gets dispersed throughout our body as the nutrients go to either cells for productivity or stored as fat. To boost your mental health, you want to eat foods that contribute to immunity and function, which means that you should include healthy foods as part of your daily regime.
Eventually, there is nowhere left for trauma to go when we leave it unresolved, and it shows up everywhere in our life begging to be healed. Make the decision today to enter trauma recovery and find healing. Call The Guest House Ocala to learn more about our residential care programs for trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues: 855-483-7800