When discussing the ways in which to improve mental health, we tend to focus on the abstract. We explore family influences, maladaptive thinking, reoccurring themes, and several other intangible concepts. Though this focus on the abstract is imperative, we can sometimes ignore the concrete counterpart. Therefore, what is physical labor, and how does it affect mental health?
Defining Physical Labor
At its core, physical labor is simply the tangible stress placed on our bodies. Physical labor occurs every day and comes in numerous forms. Though working out is perhaps the clearest display of physical labor, carpentry, construction, waitressing, nursing, firefighting, coal-mining, doing chores around the house, and riding a bicycle to work, are all examples of physical labor.
Another way in which to define physical labor is through its impact on the body. In other words, physical labor leaves your body feeling exhausted, tired, and perhaps sore. For example, you wouldn’t say that taking a bath is physical labor; it’s relaxing and restorative. However, scrubbing the tub to make it clean enough for a bath would be physical labor. After reading all of this, one might think that physical labor is inherently bad. Let’s explore that.
Is Physical Labor Inherently Bad?
Like anger, physical labor is not inherently problematic. It’s simply a matter of context and intensity. If your car breaks down while driving to work, it makes sense to be angry. Cursing would be understandable, but not cursing out the person towing your car. The same applies to physical labor. Physical labor helps us keep our body in shape, enables us to build homes, hunt and farm for food as well as master our environment. Physical labor releases endorphins, which helps us feel better. An extra shot of endorphins feels like a natural high.
Physical Labor and Mental Health
As mentioned earlier, physical labor is strongly connected with our mental health. Too little physical labor and we become sickly and lethargic, and consequently, bored, languid, and even depressed. Too much physical labor (e.g. working 12-hour shifts, exercising excessively) isn’t very healthy either. Too much leaves us ragged, exhausted, irritable, wasted, overwhelmed and sets us up for future failure. Therefore, it’s crucial to incorporate a balanced amount of physical labor in your life.
Final Thoughts
Physical labor is the tangible activities that add some degree of stress to our bodies. Physical labor varies within our day-to-day activities, and is fundamentally essential. With this knowledge, the goal isn’t to avoid physical labor all together, but to rather strike a healthy balance of physical labor versus rest within our life. Remember, balance is the key to physical and mental health. Everything in moderation.
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For your convenience, we have brick and mortar offices and work with clients virtually in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Physical Therapy Office Locations:
Ocean City Therapy Office 360 West Ave, Floor 1, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Mechanicsville Therapy Office 9044 Mann Drive, Mechanicsville Virginia, 23116
Society Hill Therapy Office 233 S. 6th Street, C-33, Philadelphia PA 19106
Art Museum / Fairmount Therapy Office 2401 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 1a2, Philadelphia PA 19130
Providence Therapy Office 173 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906
Fayetteville Therapy Office 101 Devant Street #606, Fayetteville GA 30214
Santa Fe Therapy Office, 2204 B Brothers Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505
Telemedicine Therapy Locations: We have therapists who are licensed to work in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia and Pennsylvania
Therapy Services Offered in Fayetteville, Ocean City, Mechanicsville, Philadelphia, Providence, Santa Fe:
Individual Counseling and therapy
Couples Counseling and marriage counseling
Teen Therapy and Adolescent Therapy and tweens and child counseling
Family Therapy and multi-generational counseling
Art Therapy and Counseling no art skills needed
ADHD Therapy and ADD, Dyslexia, Autism, Tourettes counseling
Anxiety, Panic, OCD Therapy and worry and fear support
Breaking the cycle of Codependency and being your own person
Overcoming Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain .
Depression Therapy and sadness, gloom, and upset support
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Therapy is a particular style of therapy designed for people with problems affecting their nervous system, how the brain and body send and receive signals.
Grief Therapy and loss, End of A Relationship, rejections, pregnancy and loss and therapy
Mindfulness Based Therapy and spirituality based therapy
Narcissistic Abuse Recovery child of, parent of, spouse of, sibling of a narcissist.
Sex Therapy and sexual function & dysfunction, sex addiction, sexual orientation and gender identity support
Trauma Therapy both emotional and sexual abuse, complex trauma, PTSD counseling
Divorce support
Affairs, Infidelity, Unfaithful, Cheating counseling
Parenting therapy
Personality disorder treatments Narcissist, Borderline, Histrionic
Setting Boundaries and identifying ones own Core Beliefs
Just name some of the Mental Health issues that we work with. Our goal is to help you Change and Achieve Your Dreams
