If you’re a busybody like me, feeling “stuck” can be the worst. But, despite what productivity culture tells you, it’s completely normal. Maintaining momentum, the research suggests, means maintaining a delicate dance between the mind and body—which can be disrupted in all sorts of ways, says Dr. Gladys McGarey, holistic medicine pioneer and author of the new book, The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age.
Feeling “stuck” also can have a huge effect on one’s physical wellbeing, explains McGarey in a column for TIME. A few examples:
Digestion is a tell-tale sign of stagnancy. Our thoughts and emotions can greatly affect our stomachs, creating and releasing tension around the organs that impact their functioning.
Trauma has a lot to do with it. When experiencing trauma, our brains feel as though they’re in a loop, finding a well-trodden neural pathway, digging in deep, and causing us to feel frozen.
Physical inaction promotes tension. What’s more, it can restrict circulation, digestion, and the nervous system, making it harder for our body to get nourishment.
Exercise, on the other hand, can help generate feel-good hormones that loosen you up.
House Republicans say that the work requirements would reduce government spending, but some economists are skeptical that they will result in significant savings.
Did you know that there’s a right and wrong way to take pills? If you learned from watching movies, writes The Atlantic’s Daniel Engber in this fun essay about what the gesture means onscreen, you probably picked up a, well, less-right method.
