Are the Olympics Good for Mental Health?
By Marilyn Zink
With Canada’s hockey win over Russia tonight, Canadians are on an Olympic high. Add to that the bobsled wins by the Canadian women’s team for gold and silver along with silver in short track speedskating and you can see how Canadians are feeling pretty good about themselves during Vancouver’s 2010 Olympics.
The Olympics are motivating and inspiring Canadians to feel positive about themselves, so positive, in fact, many Canadians are demonstrating a great amount of patriotism. That’s not like us - we don’t usually believe in making a big show of things.
So I believe the Olympics are good for the mental health of Canadians. But what about other countries and the Olympics in general? Sure, everyone feels a sense of pride when someone from their own country does well. So maybe it depends on how much you take it to heart.
I think that’s what it boils down to. When you have invested yourself in the games, you take it to heart. So I think that’s the crucial difference. Canadians are taking these Olympic games to heart in a big way - because it’s on Canadian soil in the beautiful city of Vancouver and we really want our athletes to do well.
I went to downtown Vancouver recently to take in some of the activities and the energy in the city is wonderful - people are in a good mood and enthusiastic.
So when you take something to heart, it affects you emotionally and mentally. Naturally, if it’s a good thing, it’s going to have a positive effect on your mental and emotional health.
That can have a spillover effect on other areas of your life - affecting your physical health as well, maybe improve relationships too. Having a positive attitude is just going to make you feel that much better about your life.
Marilyn Zink is the publisher.editor of the Herbal Collective magazine. Learn more at www.herbalcollective.ca or www.herbguide.ca
