People who are mentally fit have better focus, more confidence, increased optimism, and the ability to face challenges with resilience. They even sleep better!<\/p>\n
How can you develop mental fitness? By simply doing exercises that change the thought pathways in your brain! These pathways are like grooves that have deepened over time, becoming automatic responses to different situations you face.<\/p>\n
As you build mental fitness, you\u2019ll develop the ability to pause and respond intentionally. For example, instead of exploding with road rage when someone cuts you off on the highway, you can take a breath and choose to let it go.<\/p>\n
Incorporate these three exercises into activities you already do every day, and before long you\u2019ll notice a difference in how you respond to life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n
Be mindful. <\/b><\/span>Begin by relaxing with a few deep breaths, then acknowledge each thought and let it go as if it were a balloon floating away. Continue doing this for five minutes while you\u2019re driving to work, walking the dog, or taking a shower.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Focus on your body. <\/b><\/span>Try this when you\u2019re going to bed, before you get up in the morning, or when you need to recharge. Relax and pay attention to each body part, starting at the top of your head and moving down to your toes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n When life issues interfere with your daily activities or relationships, talking with a counselor can help you get back on track.<\/p>\n Teladoc <\/b><\/span>offers confidential, convenient access to professional counselors (online or by phone), to participants 18 years and older. There is no cost to you. To schedule an appointment, go to teladochealth.com<\/span><\/a>, download the app, or call (800) TELADOC (835-2362).<\/p>\n Your Health Plan <\/b><\/span>covers outpatient mental health services (in-person or virtual) the same as any other health care service. A provider in the Aetna network may save you money. Search for one here<\/a>, or visit our Find a Provider page<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mindfulness Can Help You Thrive People who are mentally fit have better focus, more confidence, increased optimism, and the ability to face challenges with resilience. They even sleep better! How can you develop mental fitness? By simply doing exercises that change the thought pathways in your brain! These pathways are like grooves that have deepened […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2022,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/2008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aetf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}You\u2019re Not Alone<\/h3>\n