Purify Your Mind To Start The Year Off Right With A Psychological Detox.

We are at the beginning of the year and we are considering the resolutions we want to implement for this new year. A commonly heard reflection is that of detox, purification, and deep cleaning. When should it be practiced and for what purposes? Here, we will mainly talk about mental, spiritual, and emotional detox, which are just as important as purely physical detox, if not more.

What is a detox?

A detox, whether it is physical or mental, is a short period during which one seeks to stop bad habits and replace them with healthier ones. It involves making a strict and radical break by removing from our daily lives everything we are trying to detoxify, separate ourselves from, and cleanse. In this case, to perform a mental and emotional detox, it would be about purifying ourselves of all the emotions accumulated throughout the year that we have not eliminated or expressed.

Why detoxify your body?

We experience many emotions and thoughts every day, and sometimes we suppress them. These emotions and thoughts, often negative ones such as anger, stress, frustration, or even fatigue, accumulate in our bodies as toxins, negative energy waves, and psychic waste that parasitize our daily energy. This could eventually cause mental disorders or mental illnesses. Without going that far, these toxins caused by suppressed emotions and thoughts can harm us on a daily basis by clogging our functioning, our thoughts, and making them more easily turn towards negative or even self-destructive paths.

Detox in practice:

In practice, it is recommended to combine physical exercise and expression on a daily basis for at least 5 days, while cutting out any bad habits (such as turning off your phone, TV, avoiding alcohol and cigarettes, as well as avoiding toxic people). Why 5 days? Because that's how long it takes for the brain to form new habits. During these 5 days, it is advisable to eat more in the morning, less at noon, and little in the evening, especially foods rich in vitamins and high-quality omega-3 fatty acids that nourish the brain and its neural connections, as well as fermented foods to nourish the gut flora affected by negative emotions. During this period, one should not consume processed foods, caffeine, or sodas. Finally, every day, one should engage in an emotional purge by writing for 15 minutes everything that comes to mind on a piece of paper, without thinking, and then burn the paper without rereading it. This purge allows for the expression and release of all thoughts and emotions that have been repressed. Lastly, during these 5 days, one should engage in light physical activity such as yoga, swimming, or outdoor walking.

When to detoxify the body?

There is no specific moment, the moment you choose will be the right one. We are currently talking about starting the year off well, so you could practice this detox to end the year beautifully or at the very beginning of the following year, for example. You can also choose to do it on an important anniversary date or when you have the time and feel the need for it, simply.

How to prolong the benefits of a detox? 3 elements of response:

Create a better balance between body and mind in your daily life. It is necessary to stimulate our parasympathetic system on a daily basis, for example through meditation, heart coherence, abdominal breathing, or Tai Chi. All of these exercises allow the body to regulate blood pressure and heart rate while soothing the body and mind by synchronizing them. What is often exhausting in daily life is the desynchronization between the body and mind. Our minds are constantly running, stressing, and working extensively, often on a computer without contact with nature or the outside world, while our bodies remain sedentary all day without moving or circulating energy. Practicing these techniques daily helps maintain a more balanced relationship between the body and mind.

Stimulate your happiness hormones. Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, when regularly stimulated, help regulate the body and enable it to fight against negative energies. To do this, they need to be regularly stimulated through sunbathing, physical activity, laughter yoga, music that we enjoy, and warm social contacts.

A return to nature. Indeed, our ancestors were much closer to nature than we are today, locked in our apartments and offices in cities facing computers. The practice of sylvotherapy and forest bathing is increasingly recognized for its long-term beneficial effects on blood pressure. So put on your shoes and go find a forest!

Author: Juliette Rogala
Copyright image: Joanna Kosinska
In French: Purifier son Esprit pour bien commencer l’année avec une détox psychique
En español: Purificar la mente para comenzar el año con una desintoxicación psíquica.
In italiano: Purificare la propria mente per iniziare bene l'anno con una disintossicazione psichica
Auf Deutsch: Den Geist reinigen, um das Jahr gut zu beginnen, mit einer psychischen Entgiftung.
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