Health Matters: The Mind-Body Connection

Until recently, the connection between the mind and the body has never been truly emphasized. For many years, mental health and physical health were regarded as two separate entities. But over the last couple of years, and with the help of countless studies, it was finally determined that mental health and physical health are intertwined.

 health-mind-map

Now it can be said that if the mind is not of sound health, the body may eventually suffer the consequences of an unhealthy mind.

You’ve read about the damaging effects on the brain of not getting enough sleep, smoking, high intake of sugar, overeating and skipping breakfast and avoiding these will indeed greatly improve your mental health. However, there are still some things that you can do to further enhance your mental health.

Below are some of the things that you can do to take care of the mind.

Keep Stress at Bay

Stress is a major culprit for a lot of people’s poor quality of life. Highly-stressed individuals are more prone to developing life-threatening diseases than people who take things in stride. Stress raises your blood pressure for one thing, and an elevated blood pressure alone can trigger a lot of ailments; not least of which is a stroke.

When you are under a lot of stress, your brain works double time to cope-up with this highly-negative feeling and by doing so; you are stretching it to its limits – only in a negative way.

Stress can come about for a lot of different reasons. You could be under a lot of pressure at work, you could be worried about your overdue bills, you could be having relationship troubles or it’s simply that you are a worrywart. You can see a pattern here: emotions play a huge role in your mental state and the way you react to these stress triggers further aggravates the way your brain reacts to these external factors.

Consider this: When you feel rushed and extremely pressured or very emotional about a situation; that’s the time when you have to drop everything and just take a break. Spend an hour in a quiet room or take a walk. When you get back, you’ll be in a better state of mind.

Go Out and Socialize

It’s good to have solitude once in awhile – to be alone with your thoughts – but too much solitude isn’t healthy for your mind and body. Socializing with peers enables you to relax in an environment where you feel comfortable. It also gives you temporary respite from your highly-strung life.

Consider this: Socializing with your friends once a week or at least twice a month can greatly help in improving your mental, emotional and physical health. Going out every night after work however is not recommended because while you may be having a great time, you might be depriving your mind and body of the rest that they need after a hard day’s work.

 

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