How your emotions affect your health as well as your whole life ?
Our Body vs. Mind
Each of us and in each single moment run a never-ending talks and chit chats inside us (”what do you thin? How ma I gonna do it? I am stupid? Why am I unhappy, etc.” ). These little talks – silent one and 99% coming from your invisible unconscious mind, are first of all your emotion-based signals – signals that connect your heart and brain. There we come to a mind-body dualism . In this respect I can not stress enough to what extend they are part of the same system. You are not your body, nor your mind. You are part of one single ”system”.
What is Mind?
It’s important to note that “mind” is not synonymous with brain. Instead,the mind consists of mental states such as thoughts, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, and images. The brain is the hardware that allows us to experience these mental states. Mental states on the other hand can be fully conscious or unconscious.
We can have emotional reactions to a situations without being aware of why we are reacting. Each mental state has a physiology associated with it—a positive or negative effect felt in the physical body. For example, the mental state of anxiety causes you to produce stress hormones.
Stress impact to your health
Your brain and peripheral nervous system , the endocrine and immune system , in other words, all beautiful organs of your body including emotional responses you are having all share one common chemical language – universal language and are constantly communicating between each other.
The reason this conversation you are having between your mind (first) and your heart , is of crucial importance because the quality of your emotional signal (hurt) that is sending to your heart (jealous) – and then your heart sends feeling to the brain will determine what kind of chemicals are released into our bodies.
When we feel what we would typically call negative emotions (I personally call them ”unpleasant emotions” rather than ”negative ‘ because every emotion has some purpose so it’s better not to be determined as a ‘negative’ -for instance, anger,hate, jealousy, and rage), the heart sends a signal to the brain that mirrors our feelings. Such emotions are irregular and chaotic, and this is precisely what the signals they send to the brain look like.
If you can envision a chart of the ups and downs for the stock market on a wild and volatile day, you’ll have an idea of the kind of signals we create in our hearts in times of such emotions. The human body interprets this kind of signal as stress, and sets into motion mechanisms to help us respond appropriately.
The stress from unpleasant emotions increases the levels of cortisol and adrenaline in our bloodstreams, hormones that are often called stress hormones,which prepare us for a quick and powerful reaction to whatever is causing us stress. That reaction includes redirecting the blood supply from the organs deep within our bodies to the places where it’s most needed in such times: the muscles, limbs, and extremities that we use to either confront the source of our stress or run as fast as we can to get away from it. It’s called human instinctive fight-or-flight mode or response.
For an animal it is normal because it saves them from an angry lion. The difference between reaction of an animal, say a deer and human, is that when deer felt that the threat was gone, their emotions shifted and the elevated levels of the stress hormones returned to the normal levels of everyday life.
The key here is that the stress response is designed to be temporary and brief. When it kicks in, we infuse our bodies with the chemistry needed to respond quickly and powerfully to the threat. It’s all about survival.
The release of vital chemicals that support functions of growth, immunity, and anti-ageing is dramatically reduced during times of fight or flight. In other words, the body can be in only one mode or the other: fight/flight. Humans were never meant to live day in and day out with constant stress as a way of life. Yet this is precisely the situation that many of us find ourselves experiencing today.
In our modern world of technology abundance and all kind of information overload, poor diet, it is really inevitable that our bodies can feel that we’re in a constant state of never-ending stress. People who cannot find a release from this kind of stress find themselves in sustained fight-or-flight mode, with all of the consequences that come with the territory.
The rise in the EU statistics for stress-related conditions, including heart disease and stroke, eating disorders, immune deficiencies, and some cancers, is less of a surprise when we take into account the relentless stress that many people experience in their daily lives. The good news is that the same mechanism that creates and sustains our stress responses, often on a subconscious level, can also be regulated to help us relieve the stress in a healthy way—even when the world is in chaos. And we can do so quickly and intentionally.
Just the way our heart sends our brains the signals of chaos when we feel ”unpleasant” emotions, positive (”pleasant”) emotions on the other hand, sends another kind of signal to our brains that is more regular, more rhythmic,and orderly.
Hence, in the presence of pleasant emotions, such as appreciation,gratitude, compassion, and caring, the brain releases a very different kind of chemistry into the body. When we feel a sense of well-being, the level of stress hormones in our bodies decreases, while the life-affirming chemistry of a powerful immune system with anti-ageing properties increases. The shift between the stress response and a feeling of well-being can happen quickly.
What therapies can we use to put in balance our mind and body?
There are many therapies that use the body to affect the mind, such as prayers, yoga, ta chi, qi-gong, and some types of dance. Ultimately mind-body and body-mind therapies are interrelated: the body affects the mind, which in turn impacts the body-mind. Many mind-body therapies focus on becoming more conscious of mental states and using this increased awareness to guide our mental states in a better, less destructive direction. Choosing a mind-body therapy isn’t easy, and doing some “homework” before making your choice can help you identify the practice that is best for you
Beginning any new health regime, including a mind-body therapy program, requires you to change your habits, your schedule, and your mind first of all.
Here are six steps to starting on and sticking with a mind-body practice:
1. Identify what you want to change.
2. Set a clear and realistic goal.
3. Recognize challenges you may face, so you can plan for them.
4. Create specific, measurable action steps.
5. Enlist support.
6. Check your progress on your action steps as you move to your goal and make adjustments as necessary.
I am sure you will more empowered after reading this text and ready to cope with the ongoing challenges with a smile. Work on yourself and remember that it is not stress that ruins your life and eventually kills you, but it is about our reaction to stress.
Good luck!
