Physical health and emotional health are inextricably linked. Researchers have been studying this connection, trying to find ways of analyzing, measuring and monitoring exactly how one affects the other. Doctors and patients alike have seen the effects of too much unrelieved stress or sleep deprivation on a person’s physical body.
This article—indeed, the next three articles—will delve further into this issue.
An Unhealthy Mind / An Unhealthy Body
"75 to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians result from stress-related disorders." (Paul Rosch, M.D., President, American Institute of Stress)
Even though we all know our physical health can be adversely affected by poor emotional health, unfortunately, many people don’t realize that keeping themselves healthy emotionally needs to be done on a day-to-day, almost moment-to-moment basis. Only when we can no longer function at work, at home or at school—we’ve pushed ourselves to the very limits of what our mind and body can handle—do we stop and take a look at managing those things that are taxing our mental resources.
Maintaining stable emotionality presents an even greater challenge when there is a chronic psychological or psychiatric issue such as chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, or post-partum depression.
What are Emotions?
Emotions are how our bodies respond to events, circumstances, interpersonal interactions, and our own thoughts and memories, whether we are conscious of them or not. So long as those emotions remain unresolved, life will be stressful and our physical bodies will eventually feel the effects.
Practical Examples of Emotional/Physical Health Link
One example of how our emotions and physical health are linked is what happens to our sleeping patterns when we are stressed. When our minds are weighed down with the pressures of providing for our families and making sure the bills are paid on time, we may not be able to completely relax and reach REM sleep; that part of the sleep cycle where our minds de-stress, sometimes rather interestingly combining various issues that we’re dealing with or experiencing. This lack of restful sleep means that our bodies and minds are not getting the release they need, resulting in the inability to remember details of our jobs, birthdays, appointments, etc. As the stressful situation continues unresolved, we may continue to lose sleep. While some people’s bodies become accustomed to this new sleep pattern and learn to function anyway, still many others will not and they are constantly tired, they make simple mistakes and are unable to focus on things and retain information.
It is said that the most automobile accidents of the year occur the Monday after clocks spring forward. Amazing how a simple difference of an hour’s less sleep can make.
As people become more and more sleep deprived--parents of newborns know this only too well--the more irritable they become and the more incapable they are of keeping their emotions in check. They start to read intimations or sarcasm into people’s comments that really aren’t there.
“What about…?”
Okay, so we know that emotional health and physical are interlinked. If you experience too much stress over too long a time, or go too long without getting the rest you need, your heart, mind, and overall ability to handle life becomes compromised.
Article 2, "Balance Crucial to Emotional and Physical Health” will examine this connection on a physiological level.
Sources: www.alive.com; www.shepellfgi.com; www.helpguide.org; www.heartmath.org; www.phac-aspc.gc.ca (Public Health Agency of Canada); www.ThePsychologist.com; www.everydayhealth.com; www.essentiallifeskills.net; www.dictionary.com