Emotional Health: The Importance of Purpose and Self-Care

In their wide-ranging discussion, Drs. Jordan Peterson and Peter Attia touched on the huge, though often overlooked, impact emotional health has on longevity and wellbeing. Finding purpose and practicing self-care emerge as key factors.

How Emotional Health Impacts Longevity

Emotional health influences longevity on multiple levels:

• Poor mental health can lead to self-destructive behaviors or “deaths of despair” like suicide, overdose, or substance abuse.
• Negative self-talk and low self-worth make it difficult to care for physical or mental wellbeing.
• Lack of purpose and meaningful relationships reduce fulfillment and motivation for self-care.
• Unresolved trauma and unhealthy coping mechanisms compound mental health struggles.

Cultivating emotional resilience and self-love thus allows us to make choices that support longevity. But where to start?

Discovering Purpose and Reimagining the Future

As Dr. Peterson shared, having a vision and sense of purpose energizes positive change. Reflecting on values and writing about future plans and goals helps crystallize this vision.

Meditating on how an extra decade of healthy life could impact relationships and growth can also reveal powerful purpose. Finding ways to contribute and serve others is key.

Self-Care Starts with Self-Awareness

Examining our stories, flaws, and childhood experiences helps resolve past pain. As Dr. Attia explained, this frees us to shed negative adaptations while retaining positives.

Forming supportive relationships and networks gives social reinforcement for self-care. Starting small with self-love practices makes them sustainable.

When emotional health is prioritized, the motivation for preserving wellbeing grows. Our lifespan and healthspan dramatically improve as a result.

Watch the interview here: