Physiological and Psychological Fitness

[DISCLAIMER]

When transitioning from military to veteran status, I was exposed to many sterile environments in the form of multiple physicians’ offices. During that time, I underwent many physiological and psychological examinations.

“Physiological” is of or relating to physiology—the organic processes and phenomena of an organism or any of its parts or of a particular bodily process. For example, I sat upon or next to doctors’ exam beds when being prodded to determine my level of physical functioning.

“Psychological” is of or relating to psychology—the science of mind and behavior; the mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group. For instance, I underwent various assessments when being examined regarding my level of psychological wellness.

Now that I’m self-employed as a life coach and psychotherapist, I conduct my own assessment measures to determine the physiological and psychological fitness of other individuals. “Fitness” is the quality or state of being fit—sound physically and mentally: healthy (subjective standard).

While people often comprehend why I’d assess for the care of mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), some clients apparently find it odd that I holistically examine their physical health through subjective report. Why might I do such a thing?

Imagine that client X is morbidly obese (physiologically unfit). How likely is it that this individual will simultaneously enjoy improved mental health (be psychologically fit)? The mind and body are arguably inextricably connected. If one is unfit, how is the other going to be fit?

I suppose client X could subscribe to the irrational concepts of body positivity and fat acceptance, illogically and unreasonably (collectively “irrationally”) believing that slowly dying from complications with physiological un-wellness is a standard of psychological fitness.

However, I don’t encourage the people with whom I work to adopt beliefs which are delusional. Therefore, I would invite client X to consider both physiological and psychological fitness. When contemplating this matter, the psychotherapeutic modality I practice comes to mind.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated, “The raw material for the work of a good and excellent person is their own guiding reason, the body is that of the doctor and the physical trainer, and the farm the farmer’s” (page 145).

In view of Epictetus’s wisdom, it may be worth revisiting what is considered rational (in accordance with both logic and reason). Interestingly, I find that many people with whom I’ve worked over the years as a life coach and psychotherapist have little concept of rationality.

Here, “logic” is the interrelation or sequence of facts or events when seen as inevitable or predictable, and “reason” is a statement offered in explanation or justification. For instance, a modus ponens syllogism uses the following logical form: If p, then q; p; therefore, q.

As an example, if a person can be healthy at any weight (p), then heart disease and diabetes wouldn’t be among the leading causes of death in the United States (q). I suspect that I don’t need to follow the rest of that syllogism through in order to make my point.

Truth about reality is that people aren’t healthy at any weight they choose. Thus, in order to be physiologically and psychologically fit, it’s worth considering Epictetus’s wisdom. About his postulation, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 145):

Professionals don’t have to justify spending time training or practicing their work. It’s what they do, and practice is how they get good at it. The raw materials vary from career to career, just as the locations and duration vary depending on the person and the profession.

But the one constant is the working of those materials, the gradual improvements and proficiency. According to the Stoics, your mind is the asset that must be worked on most—and understood best.

One preferably must put forth a significant amount of effort to both physiological and psychological fitness. Otherwise, one’s own physical and mental health will remain subject to the system of pathology-seeking common of a western approach to well-being.

That to which I refer harkens back to my transition from military to veteran status. A physician would explore what was wrong with me, not what was well. I imagine that if you live in the West, you understand precisely how this system of pathology-seeking works.

This matter relates to pathology—the study of the essential nature of diseases and especially of the structural and functional changes produced by them: seeking to discover something abnormal—deviating from the normal or average.

As an example, if you’re morbidly obese (p), then you are prescribed medications for obesity (q). You can play through that logical premise and accept prescriptions which you may or may not actually need. Conversely, you can instead opt for physiological and psychological fitness.

The latter relates to taking personal responsibility and accountability for your condition, acknowledging that you have personal agency, and enduring the difficult path of improving your outcomes through hard work and dedication to physical and mental fitness. The choice is yours.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

CDC. (n.d.). Leading causes of death. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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