Our mind-body connection describes the overlap between mental and physical health. Taking good care of ourselves can go a long way in improving our health.
Many of us think of mind and body as two different things. We also treat them differently, going to doctors for physical problems and therapists for mental problems. However, scientists are finding more and more overlap between the two.
A healthy mind helps your body function optimally, and a healthy body improves your mental health. Together these two areas form a unit called the mind-body connection. The mind-body connection is a subscale measured in MHQ (mental health quotient). Taking care of this important relationship can go a long way in improving overall health.
Having A Healthy Mind-Body Connection Usually Means That You:
- Get a good night’s sleep and wake up refreshed in the morning
- Coordinate their body movements (such as having good eye-hand coordination)
- Have the mental, emotional, and physical energy needed to complete daily tasks
- Keep checking your eating habits so that you can maintain a stable and healthy body weight
- Cope well with stress
If You Have Difficulty Relating To Your Mind And Body, You May Experience:
- Frequently suffering from cold, cough, or infection
- Having physical symptoms (such as digestive problems) for no apparent physical reason
- Chronic illness or recurring pain
- Feeling tired often
- Loss of sexual interest
Understanding The Mind-Body Connection
There are many ways in which your mind and body interact with each other. One of the ways is the two-way connection between our gut health and our mental health – something that is regulated through the gut-brain axis. The point to note here is that your mental state can affect the physical symptoms you experience in your gut and vice versa, the health of your gut (bowels) can affect your mental state.
Other evidence also suggests an important link between immune functioning and mental health, particularly mood symptoms found in disorders such as depression. This again revolves around the two-way nature of this relationship – in other words, it’s not just about how your mental state can affect your immune functioning, but on the contrary, it’s also about How your immune functioning can affect your mental state.
In addition, how we think about, deal with stress, and view our physical health issues can affect our mind-body connection.
An example is also those people who have some chronic pain. Sometimes people experience persistent or intermittent pain due to physical anxiety. If they can accept pain as an inconvenience while trying to get healthy, they are more likely to improve over time. On the other hand, if they become frustrated, angry, and frequently angry because of the pain, these thoughts and feelings can increase the pain and its frequency. Then the disappointment may keep them from trying to get healthy.
Chronic stress, emotional problems, and a generally negative outlook can also raise blood pressure, lower the immune system and even reduce lifespan.
Can I Improve My Mind-Body Connection?
Changing the way you deal with your emotional troubles and solving physical problems is one of the most effective ways to improve your overall health. If you’re also struggling with other areas of health, such as mood and outlook, then finding support for that can help here as well.
Specific Types Of Therapy
Therapy Such as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, can help you change negative thinking patterns that impair mental well-being. And it further helps you deal with the obstacles that come in the way of taking care of your physical health needs.
Other basic ways to improve health include eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly. Taking care of the body protects the mind. Several studies show that increasing exercise helps reduce depression for some people. In addition to the many physical benefits we all know, exercise can improve nerve cell connections, helping the brain function better.
There are many options to start today to improve your mind-body connection. Many activities diplomatically combine mental and physical activity. Examples of these include yoga, learning a new dance (which helps the body and mind), tai chi, or simply moving mindfully. If it’s hard for you to access these activities because of the need to a social distance where you live, consider taking a Zoom class, trying a completely new activity, or watching a fun exercise video online. This can be the best time to take good care of your mental and physical health.
