How Do Thoughts and Emotions Affect Health?

Most of the people opine that eating plenty of vegetables and fruits, exercising regularly as well as drinking lots of water is all enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, a very small proportion of individuals across the globe knows that emotional health also has physical benefits. Our mind and body are not two different things, both of them lie very close to each other when it comes to health. If physical health can affect someone's emotion then emotion can also affect someone's physical health.

Emotionally healthy does not mean that a person should be happy all the time. But it means that he or she is aware of his or her mental health and emotions. Most of the Emotionally healthy persons know how to deal with negative vibes and thoughts. Because such feelings, vibes, and thoughts after the passage of sometime become distressing, irrational, and interfering with normal life. Scientists do not know the exact reason behind this but they know that stress, depression, and anxiety for a long time lead to the increase in the production of cortisol which in turn suppresses the immune system. Each and every day we see so many things changes in our life and such changes can be as unwanted and stressful. Some of the changes/ things include:

• Death of a Closed one.

• Suffering from an injury or disease.

• Money problems

• Divorce or Marriage problem

Our body responds in the same way we think or feel. This type of connection is known as the body/mind connection. When we are suffering from any health or mental disorder then our body keeps us telling that something is wrong. To cite an example, an increase, and decrease in the blood pressure or increase in the production of Ulcers are usually observed in people who have witnessed a stressful event, such as the death of a closed one.

It is often seen that people do not want to show their emotions in front of anyone after a stressful event. Such suppressing of emotions is not good for physical as well as mental health because they kept on generating internal pressure inside the body. If a person keeps on suppressing its emotion for a very long time then he or she may be prone to many life-threatening disorders such as heart disease, insomnia, headaches, autoimmune disorders, and intestinal problems. However, chronic stress from negative attitudes or behavior as well as feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can upset the hormone balance of the body. Such hormone imbalance depletes the chemicals of the brain that usually required for the feelings of happiness. The insufficient amount of brain chemicals have a damaging impact on the immune system. Scientists also found that such changes can decrease the lifespan by shortening of telomeres.

Now the question is how to treat such emotional disorder?

After reading this you guys must be thinking about your mental health. However, a person can improve his or her emotional health in many ways. But the first thing is that a person should understand why these changes are happening in his or her life. Some of the ways with the help of which can improve his her mental health is as follows: 

Be honest and open with yourself: It is the need of the hour that a person should understand that his or her body is trying to send him or her a message about what is happening inside the body. Sooner a person accepts this thing in life, better it will be. Notice each and everything that makes you happy, stressful and sad. 

• Express your feelings: A person should express his or her feelings in front of his or her family members or friends. He or She must tell them what is happening in their life and what is bothering them. If a person does not express such things then it will increase in stress in the brain.

• Think twice before you act: It is usually seen that we do or say some unexpected things when we are angry at someone. Sometimes such things break the beautiful relation between two individuals. Yes, it is right that emotions are very powerful but a person should give himself or herself some time for thinking before doing or something about which he or she might regret in life.

• Calm your mind and body: A person should keep his or her mind calm with the help of different relaxation methods such as Medications, Yoga, Listening to music, etc. However, medication is the best and most useful method of relaxation because it has many forms such as deep breathing, exercising and stretching.

• Things to Consider: Very few people know that weak or poor emotional as well as mental health weakens the immune system of the body. The poor immune system makes a person more prone to colds and other infections. When a person is feeling stressed or upset he or she is not eating nutritious foods or exercising. In such conditions, he or she may start consuming alcohol, drugs as well as tobacco. Some main signs and symptoms that indicate poor emotional, as well as mental health, includes Change in Appetite, Back and Chest pain, Diarrhea or Constipation, General Aches and Pains, Dry mouth as well as Extreme Tiredness, Sexual problems, Shortness of breath, Stiff neck, Weight gain or loss, Upset stomach, Sweating, Lightheadedness, Insomnia and Palpitations. ( It is a feeling in which a person feels that his or her heart is racing).

• Forgiveness: The person should learn the attitude of Forgiveness. If he or she learned the habit of forgiveness then he or she can easily push away the negative feelings. A study was conducted some years ago in which doctors trained a group of individuals about forgiveness. After six weeks, it is reported that more than 70% decrease was observed in feelings of hurt in the controlled group, 13% of people experienced a reduction in anger, 17% of people experienced lesser physical complaints. It is also found that the practice of forgiveness is linked with the betterment of the immune system as well as lifespan. However, some other studies indicate that Forgiveness also has a metaphorical effect on the heart. Forgiveness not only improves cardiovascular health but also lower blood pressure.