What we feel emotionally becomes HOW we feel physically. Your attitude and behavior affects your stress level and in turn your health and performance.
People walk about having being entrenched in deeply toxic emotions: resentment and bitterness (broken relationships), anxiety and fear owing to past experiences, depression, grief, gloom and despair. Everyone seems to be unhappy.
People pop pills everyday in an attempt to cope with toxic emotions and their resulting stress – with minimal results.Studies are linking more and more modern diseases, to an epidemic of deadly emotions in our culture.
Heart disease, hypertension, strokes, incidences of cancer, ulcers, skin diseases and headaches all seem to be on the rise in spite of decades of research and innovative treatments to treat these diseases once it is diagnosed. The issue is little has been done to get to the core of the diseases and prevent it.
Emotions such as anxiety and fear have shown a direct tie to heart palpitations, mitral valve prolapse, irritable bowel syndrome, and tension headaches, as well as other diseases.
Eating disorders, nervous breakdown, depression, addiction, heart failure, and broken relationships are but some of the fiery darts that relentlessly threaten our body, mind, emotions and “will power” on a daily basis.
The pathetic thing is that it takes someone to be diagnosed with an incurable disease or heart attack to make a wakeup call to deal with not only their physical health, but also their emotional health and relationships.
STRESS is the body and mind’s response to any pressure that disrupts their normal balance. It occurs when our perceptions of events don’t meet our expectations and we don’t manage our reaction to the disappointment. Stress as unmanaged reactions – expresses itself as resistance, tension, strain, or frustration throwing off our physiological and psychological equilibrium and keeping us out of sync. If our equilibrium is disturbed for long, the stress becomes disabling. We fade from overload, feel emotionally shut down, and eventually get sick. Stress reactions are the ways in which our bodies process and release both the emotions and the negative physical elements we experience in life.
No person experiences an emotion just in his “heart” or in his “mind”. Rather a person experiences emotion in the form of chemical reactions in the BODY and in the BRAIN. These chemical reactions occur at both the organ level – STOMACH, HEART, LARGE MUSCLES and so forth – at the CELLULAR level.
The first outcropping of stress tends to be in the form of TENSION HEADACHES, DIGESTIVE TRACT PROBLEMS (stomach, intestines, bowels), sometimes SKIN ERUPTIONS. These conditions, of course, add another layer of stress….you worry and are anxious.
We are a culmination of spirit, soul and body and when the mind, heart, and spirit aren’t fully whole, how can the body be fully well?
Medical and scientific facts seem to multiply every year on the issue of emotions and your health:- – the mind and body are linked. How you feel emotionally can determine how you feel physically.- – Certain emotions like anger and fear release hormones – especially adrenaline into the physical body that, in turn, can trigger the development of a host of diseases.
Hormones work in a very precise balance in the body. The right amount of any one hormone produces positive results. Too much or too little can produce negative results. Adrenaline is a powerful hormone that has far reaching physical effects. It focuses the brain, sharpens eyesight, causes blood pressure and heart rate to increase, even as blood vessels constricts, and contracts muscles in preparation of the FIGHT or FLIGHT response. In little doses…when facing danger..it is positive. EXAMPLE OF DANGER….. When there is a burst…it is followed by exhaustion and fatigue….. YES? After a particular outburst or angry encounter…you feel exhausted..yes???
But long-term stress can keep these hormones pumping into the system in a continuous basis….
a. Causing impaired immune system,
b. reduce glucose utilization – a major factor in both diabetes and weight control
c. Increased bone loss – which has implications for osteoporosis
d. Reduce muscle mass and inhibit skin growth and regeneration – both of which are directly related to strength, weight control, and the general aging process
d. increase Fat accumulation
e. impair memory and learning and destroy brain cells.
Unresolved anger, working under a boss or system that makes you powerless or abused…constantly angry or a sense of danger KEEPS THIS HORMONE ON A HIGH DESTRUCTIVE PROCESS.
The strange thing is that this burst of energy can be addictive also. As powerful high as morphine. Those addicted to stress hormones are often very successful in their careers because they are always pushing themselves to achieve new goals or are in pursuit of a new conquest that will give them a temporary emotional high. They like the thrill of the chase, whether the chase is in pursuit of a career, lifestyle, financial goal, or some other prize. They stay in a continuous emotional high.
But the internalization of being continually charged up can put a person on the fast tract total burnout.
– Researches have directly and scientifically linked emotions to HYPERTENSION, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, and diseases relation to the IMMUNE SYSTEM. Studies have also high correlated emotions with infections, allergies, and autoimmune diseases.
– In a ten-year study, individuals who could not manage their emotional stress had a 40% higher death rate than non stressed individuals.
– A Harvard Medical School study of 1,623 heart-attack survivors concluded that anger brought on by emotional conflicts doubled the risk of subsequent heart attacks compared to those who remained calm.
– a study of 202 professional women found that tension between career and personal commitment to spouse, children, and friends was a factor associated with heart disease in women.
– a heart disease study at the Mayo clinic found that psychological stress was the strongest predictor of future cardiac evens, including cardiac death, cardiac arrest, and heart attack
– Specifically, research has linked emotions such as depression to an increased risk of developing cancer and heart disease…and suidice.
75 – 90% of all visits to primary-care physicians result from stress related disorders and most have a root in emotions – whether at work or at home. Even the stress of what is called ROAD RAGE…a Stubborn child refusing to heed advice…you hear about kidnappings and attacks…a stressed out day for the woman who yet has to perform all her duties at home regardless….bumper to bumper traffic to and from work…insufficient funding for school fees, rent etc.,
We all know about pulling weeds out by the root and not just taking off the leaves. Not to do so ensues another bountiful crop of these annoying weeds.
When it comes to treating certain physical symptoms, we just take off the top of the symptoms. We do what we can to get rid of the immediate pain or to settle the immediate upset stomach…that headache that has decided to make life unbearable to you….
We take pills or liquid medication once again —the problem comes back…we take another round of treatment – and so forth ..on and on.
That’s the usual approach.
If you don’t treat the core stress, the symptoms may become chronic. New deeper symptoms can also arise: sleeplessness; weight-loss or gain; muscle aches, especially back and leg pain; general lethargy or feelings of exhaustion; sluggish thinking; and lack of get-up-and-go or ambition. You will pop a few pills, try another diet, exercise for a few days and then give up. YES??? Then you begin to berate yourself not only for your lack of fitness and health but for your inability to stick with a good health programme – and AGAIN you add another layer to your STRESSORS to mix.
If you continue to ignore the core stress, the symptoms can become outright disease – the kind that requires surgery, chemo-therapy, radiation therapy, heavy-duty medications, and other serious treatment protocols. Each of these treatments, of course, is also a STRESS-PRODUCER! So is the diagnosis of a major life-threatening or life-shortening disease.
Stress upon stress upon stress; and all the while, the body doesn’t differentiate what caused the stress in the first place:
– The little arguments and sniping that led to full-blown marital disagreements. – The constant inhaling of toxic chemicals at work – The increasingly frequent nightmares of abusive experiences in early childhood – The inhaling or ingestion of carcinogenic substances over time. (exercising on the road in the morning is better than in the evening. Chinese wear nose and mouth covers) – the nearly constant feelings of frustration at the ineptness and stupidity of just about every body encountered in life (stressful people around you. If you cant get rid of them – deal with your feelings. Become emotionally intelligent in handling your emotions and reactions) – The flashback memories of horrific accidents or traumatic scenes being played back SUDDENLY like a broken record. – The decades of eating junk food that is loaded with hydrogenated fats. – The inability to get on top of the deadlines related to an overbooked schedule and overloaded job description.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? The body doesn’t know or care what caused the stress. All the body knows is that it is experiencing stress.
An international study of 2,829 people between the ages of 45 and 85 found that individuals ho reported the highest levels of personal “mastery” – feelings of control over life events – had nearly 60 percent lower risk of death compared with those who felt relatively helpless in the face of life’s challenges.
Let me use the car as an example; Cars are regularly maintained with – fuel, water oil. GENERAL MAINTENANCE: THE FULL WORKS WITH A TRAINED MECHANIC
Human Beings: Fuel: water, and food. Sometimes exercises but neglect the state of the emotionss n the game. Let us look at some areas where emotions can be destructive.
– Anger and Hostility: – Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease
– Resentment, Bitterness, Unforgiveness and Self Hatred: Autoimmune Disorders, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Multiple Scleriosis
– Anxiety: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Panic Attacks, Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Heart Palpitation
- Repressed Anger: Tension & Migraine Headaches, Chronic Back Pain, TMJ, and Fibromyalgia
People who have undergone Divorce, bankruptcy or the death of a child could experience heart attacks, recurrence or cancer or serious crippling or disabling conditions
So, what is the solution? Here are some pointers to assist in mastering your emotions and in return maintain a healthy body and live optimally:
1. REFLECT UPON YOUR ATTITUDE. Ask yourself: Is this the way I want to think & believe? Check your real YOU – check how you are feeling in any given situation.
2. REPLACE DISTORTIONAL THINKING WITH TRUTH: What is your self talk.
3. FORGIVENESS: Those who choose to forgive are those who decide o give up resentment and the desire to punish. Forgiveness enables a person to release buried anger, resentment, bitterness, shame, grief, regret, guilt, hate and other toxic emotions that hide deep in the soul and makes a person ill – both emotionally and physically. A peace always accompanies the cathartic act of true forgiveness. It’s a process – forgiving others and forgiving self.
4. BE JOYFUL – quick to smile and an ability to laugh deeply.
5. HAVE A HEART OF GRATITUDE: Be grateful and thankful to God always.
5. STRIVE FOR PEACE AT ALL TIMES. – A BALANCE OF WORK AND PLAY IS ESSENTIAL. (what would you do if given 6 months to live) Here are some simple techniques you can use to calm yourself down at all time:- – DEEP BREATHING – MUSIC – PRAYER – MASSAGE
6. LOVE YOURSELF – GOD IS LOVE – YOU ARE LOVE –
LOVE OF SELF IS KEY TO HEALTHY LIVING. We go to the doctor when we feel feverish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, or depend on church counsellors or friends. There is so much that they can do.
In Conclusion: Practice emotional hygiene — taking care of your emotions, your minds with the same diligence that you take care of your priced possessions and you will live long to enjoy the fruits of your labour. Look after the 12 Critical components of Life:-
- Health & Wellbeing
- Self Actualization & Achievement
- Contentment
- Work – Career
- Friendship & Relationship with others
- Security – Godliness
- Energy – Passion
- Self – Esteem/Confidence
- Fun, Recreation, Rest and Peace
- Home – Family
- Relationship with Spouse
- Finances
Is there any good news on this bleak horizon? Absolutely – the CHOICE is yours to make.
The CHOICE to THRIVE is in your hands and you can CHOOSE to take control of those toxic emotions that give fuel to deadly and painful diseases of your spirit, soul and body. Make your emotional health a priority in all that you do, or else you may achieve success and be denied of the happiness that should follow.
In organizations, some of the challenges encountered with workers, leaders meeting their deadlines or ability to work together to achieve the goal and vision of the organization can be traced to emotional issues which drive their attitude and behaviour. Emotional intelligence, mind intelligence and body intelligence need to be taught them through focused trainings.
We have programs that can help you in these areas. We also have sessions with Dr. Laila for confidential issues that need to be unraveled. Get in touch here and book a session.
It will be nice to have your comments on this article.
To an Awesome YOU…..Laila St. Matthew-Daniel
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