Article

What does it mean to feel good, and how good can you feel?

Many of us are probably asked the question often, sometimes daily, 'How are you?'. The answer often comes automatically without a second thought, 'Fine, thanks'. But what does it really mean to feel good?

The Fascia Guide · 20 May 20246 min read

Key takeaways

01Book a fascia treatment to restore physical body balance and get individual exercise tips
02Breathe deeply and consciously through your nose several times daily – activates the diaphragm and lowers blood pressure
03Avoid processed food and white sugar to reduce inflammation – supplement with vitamins B, C, and D, magnesium, and zinc
04Walk regularly in nature – combines movement, recovery, and positive energy
05Body and mind are connected – mental stress tenses the muscles and locks the diaphragm

Many of us are surely asked the question often, sometimes daily, "How are you?". The answer often comes automatically, without a second thought, "Fine, thanks". But what does it really mean to feel good? Does it mean not having pain anywhere, having a body that works, being healthy? Or is it about being mentally well, feeling harmonious, happy and content on a purely mental level? In this article, we explore what it means to feel good, and how you can optimize your well-being on both a physical and mental level.

The whole of body and mind

Our body is a whole, everything is connected, and our mental and physical well-being are reflected in one another. For us to feel truly well, both pieces have to be in place. If I have pain in my back or in a knee, it will affect my mental well-being, and vice versa: if I feel mentally unwell, then after a while I will also develop physical pain in my body. I will tense up, my shoulders will pull forward, my breathing will become shallow and forced, my diaphragm will lock up, I will get a completely different movement pattern, and my whole posture will slump. Body and mind must therefore work in balance and harmony for us to feel as well as possible.

Responsibility and self-help

There is an old saying that goes, "You are the architect of your own fortune". It underlines the importance of personal responsibility; actively taking care of both body and mind yourself is absolutely crucial to feeling good. You cannot rely on others to fix your well-being. It is your own active work, and it demands quite a lot of you and can be hard. Everything from managing and preventing physical pain to actively working toward mental balance and contentment.

We are all different individuals and have different needs for what makes us happy and satisfied, so only you can determine what you need in order to feel good. This applies to both physical and mental problems; we have different thresholds for how much pain (physical and mental) we can handle before we start to feel really bad.

Encouragement and support

Even though the main responsibility lies with you, you should of course ask friends and loved ones for help, support and encouragement. It is incredibly important to have someone to talk to, and you have to dare to ask for help. Sometimes you may also need more professional support from an outside party. In the end, it is you yourself who must do the biggest job, and take the step to get help.

Also keep in mind that it is important to give of yourself to others. It often makes you feel more satisfied and content with yourself, because you feel that you have helped someone or made someone else happy.

Not always a bed of roses

Even though you feel good and feel content, you can of course sometimes be both sad and angry. Life happens around us all the time, and things will constantly occur that make us both angry and sad. All emotions need to be expressed, but if you feel good, physically and mentally, then you are better equipped to handle anger and sorrow. You could also say that it is the sum of everything that affects how you feel; everything is not always a bed of roses. If you feel mentally satisfied with life, for example by having stimulating work or family and friends who make you feel secure, then you cope with setbacks better.

"Think positive thoughts" is not just an empty phrase; you become happier and more content by thinking positively. Smiling and laughing, even in a so-called artificial way, sends signals to the brain so that you actually feel better.

What can I do to feel good?

There are a few things you can do to feel as well as possible.

Make sure you feel as physically well as you can in your body! If you have the opportunity, go for a fascia treatment where you get help building up physical body balance, tips on exercises and perhaps nutritional supplements, in order to enable self-healing.
Include breathing exercises with conscious deep breathing and nasal breathing a few times a day. It does more good for the body than you can imagine! You activate the movements of the diaphragm, train the lungs, get better oxygen exchange, lower your blood pressure, and several other health-promoting effects.
Make sure to eat clean ingredients and good food. Avoid processed food with lots of additives and unhealthy fats, as well as white sugar, in order to reduce inflammation in the body. Supplement with nutritional supplements, above all vitamins B, C and D as well as the minerals magnesium and zinc. Depending on your eating habits, other things may also need to be supplemented, for example if you are a vegetarian.
Build a social network! Try to stay in touch with friends you enjoy being with. Friends who give you energy and where you can give something back. Also make an effort to form new connections, with neighbors, gatherings within your areas of interest, colleagues and so on. Sometimes it can feel good to be alone and just be with yourself, but it should be a solitude you choose for yourself.
Take walks in nature! Discover and SEE the trees and plants, listen to the birds and take in the scents. Beautiful and soothing regardless of the season. See how nature changes its appearance with the seasons! It gives a lot of positive energy.
Move your body, walk or jog in nature, go to yoga sessions or exercise on your own. Just try to make it a regular routine. Movement and exercise don't have to be hard training, but they let a sense of well-being spread through the body. Going to the gym or to yoga classes also means you meet others with the same "interest".
Is there a course or study circle within your areas of interest that you can take part in? You deepen your knowledge while also having the opportunity to form new connections. It builds self-confidence.

If you try to take the above tips to heart and actively work to feel as well as you can, you also build a robust foundation for long-lasting well-being. Feeling good is a lifelong journey, and absolutely perishable!

Many of us are probably asked the question often, sometimes daily, 'How are you?'. The answer often comes automatically without a second thought, 'Fine, thanks…