In these discussion posts I’ve been writing about two different things-
physical health and mental health. This works for discussing the topics as
separate things and keeping things relatively simple; as I mentioned in the
first post the loose definitions I’ve been using are as follows: Physical Health
as
predominately things related to the body, and Mental Health predominately
related to the mind/thoughts, emotions and behaviour. The reality is that both are intertwined so
complexly that even after many decades of study the academic/professional
industry doesn’t fully understand the relationship between the body and the
mind. In this post I want to share a few experiences I’ve had with that
relationship and how important it is to stay healthy in both body and mind as
one can seriously affect the other.
Throughout my teenage years I dealt with depression and suicidal
thoughts many times a week. There were a whole bunch of emotional extremes that
added to the depression, but I found ways to cope/channel and rationalise such
thoughts and feelings. By my mind teens I had a grasp on it so that it was
reasonably under control. At about sixteen years old I started having the first
signs of my dry eye problems and joint pain from time to time. When it was bad
it made my depression more intense and when I was tired from the sports I did,
or work, or school I would feel even more depressed/intense in my emotions. There
was a relatively simple correlation and I continued to manage it as best I
could.
It became so much more complex
when such things as the IBS, Panic Attacks and Chronic Fatigue struggles were
thrown into the mix. When I started being sick and having panic attacks the
link between my mental health and physical health was so fragilely mixed, and
needed balancing so carefully that the stress became very intense. It became a
cycle of cause and effect and effect and cause. It is difficult to find the original start and
it seems to be a, ‘what came first, the chicken or the egg’ situation. There
were so many factors at the same time that I think it’s impossible to put find
a beginning ‘cause’ but the reality it doesn’t really matter.
One thing that does matter is
learning what is happening so you can understand it as much as possible. This
took me a long time to do, especially with the panic attacks. After much
research and self reflection it was clear my fight or flight mode was being
activated too easily. At the start I had fears of being close to people and even
the thought of someone touching me freaked me out. There were some very strange
psychological things going on, no doubt caused by being so physically ill
(Note: I’m still differentiating between Phys. and Ment. for ease, but
certainly intertwined).
At first I really struggled to
accept that there could be links between my physical and mental health. I was
adamant nothing but something physical was messing me up and pushed for a lot
of tests. None of those tests came back so I had to learn to accept that my
mental health could be seriously affecting my physical i.e being sick and not
eating well; then being sick and not well would affect my mental health etc.
It gives me a headache thinking about the connections as cause and
effect tends to be one thing effects the other, but when both effect the other
it becomes confusing. I have had to learn to self reflect and analyse so well
that I know which one is affecting the other or perhaps both effecting the
other at the same time. I still miss judged this but have learned over the
years how sensitive my body and mind can be and to accept that my mental health
seriously effects my physical. Examples of this include how my emotional state
can really affect my IBS and make me sick.
I remember a few years ago I
went on a couple of dates with a girl and started to really like her. I thought
she liked me too and when I expressed my desire to be in a relationship it all
fell apart. I didn’t have a great level of control of my emotions and this
experience upset me a lot. The strange part was how it affected my health.
Because I was upset and feeling lonely my stomach shut down. Anything I tried
to eat came back up and I felt nauseas a lot. And then not eating and drinking
would make me tired and emotional, and I would think I was a freak etc.
It took a little bit of time,
but as I got my emotions under control my health improved and I was able to eat
etc and not feel sick. This was an important experience to show me the
connections between my body and mind. I learned a lot from it and it has also
should me the benefits of learning to process my emotions better and
rationalise them so they do not affect my body and overall health. There are
many examples of stressful situations that have caused my IBS and panic attacks
to exasperate and I have to continually check what I’m doing etc to make sure
I’m healthy.
I hope my examples and
experiences show how delicate the mental and physical balance can be and that
in reality they are all connected. As always, we as individuals have to be self
aware enough and accepting of this reality. If these problems do occur then we
can get them in check as quickly as possible by looking after our mental/emotional
state as well as the physical, and by helping the one we help the other.
Education: Here’s a short introduction to the mixed nature of mental
and physical health done by Crash Course. It mainly talks about the chemical
aspect to the relationship.
Fun: The Emperor’s New Groove is
one of the funniest films ever!! Here’s some highlights J
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