We’ll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch in this TED Talk. But we don’t have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, – with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.
By taking action when we’re lonely, by changing our responses to failure, by protecting our self-esteem, by battling negative thinking, we won’t just heal our psychological wounds, we will build emotional resilience, we will thrive.
A hundred years ago, people began practicing personal hygiene, and life expectancy rates rose by over 50 percent in just a matter of decades. According to the author, our quality of life could rise just as dramatically if we all began practicing emotional hygiene.
