The Mind-Body Connection
Physical health is important, there is no doubt about that. You get one vehicle in this lifetime, so it’s incredibly important that we take care of it to the best of our ability. However, people often underestimate the importance of mental health and its relation to physical health. The term most often used when talking about the correlation between mental and physical health is the mind-body connection. This term is used to describe the notion that sometimes the cause, development, and outcome of illness are related to the interactions between both psychological and biological factors. Think of it this way, your mental health resides in your brain, your brain is an organ that lives in your head, and your head is attached to your body. Your brain is the engine to your body. If the engine isn’t working properly, the car isn’t going to run well, or sometimes at all. You wouldn’t drive a car for 100,000 miles without popping the hood to check the engine, so why don’t we do the same with ourselves? The founder of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine describes it like this, “the brain and the peripheral nervous system, the endocrine and immune systems, and indeed, all the organs of our body and all the emotional responses we have, share a common chemical language and are constantly communicating with one another.”
One major factor that impacts the mind-body connections is stress. Both “good” and “bad” stress exists, good stress may be getting a promotion or buying a new house, bad stress may be experiencing financial woes or witnessing a traumatic event. Your body responds to how you are feeling and can manifest itself physically with symptoms such as stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, shortness of breath, and or sleep quality. New research has even shown a connection between stress and white blood cell function. Your white blood cells are responsible for fighting disease and infections including cancer cells. Some auto-immune diseases can even be exacerbated by stress.
An example of this interaction can be seen in the fight, flight, or freeze response. When you feel stressed, anxious, or afraid, your body can feel as though it is under attack, even if you are not in true physical danger. When this happens, your fight, flight, or freeze response is triggered and your brain releases hormones that can increase your heart rate, tense your muscles, draw blood away from your digestive system, and cause your logical thinking to go offline. If this process is repeated over and over again, your body can suffer.
So what do we do with this information? How can we promote overall wellness and support our mind-body connection? The good news is that you’ve already taken the first step, you’ve read this post! Awareness of something is indeed the first step to making changes. Below are a few ways you can start towards improved mind-body connection.
Learn to manage your stress: Techniques that manage stress are plentiful, it’s a matter of finding what works for you. For some of us journaling, listening to music, working out, or binge watching a whole Netflix series may reduce stress. For others it may be as simple as eliminating some of your standing obligations (attending book club every month or spending every weekend out with friends). Brainstorm some ideas, make a list, and start trying different ways to reduce stress. Cross things off that didn’t work and make a note of things that did work.
Calm your nervous system: When we are stressed, our body sounds the alarm. Find some ways to calm your nervous system when you are feeling overwhelmed. This can be something like taking a hot shower, using a weighted blanket, doing a meditation or deep breathing, or even listening to binaural beats. Try to engage your senses in ways that calm your whole body.
Don’t ignore your physical health: Yes, I’m talking to you. If you haven’t seen a primary care physician in the last year to get your check-up, GO. The best way to take care of your body is to be aware of what is going on with it. I’m also talking to myself here because this is where I struggle. So, you’re not alone my friend.
I could easily make this post a book, but I will spare you. If you’re interested in diving deeper into this topic (and I hope you are), check out these resources below:
Book: The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health
Podcast Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-body-connection/id858864457?i=1000538992248
Video: https://youtu.be/iNtCDdIz0fE