An Unhealthy Mind Does Lead to an Unhealthy Body

We often hear the phrase; Mind not well, body not well. It seems that most people do not put that much emphasis on this belief, but no longer will people be able to ignore this well known phrase. I'm currently taking a college level class that shows how our mind is connected to various interactions with our body-physically, mentally, and spiritually. Phrases such as Mind not well, body not well or Mind over matter don't seem so unbelievable now. I have always felt that the way we perceive things can affect us, but I didn't know to what extent or how it worked. After a few weeks of this class I have already gained a further understanding and an increased belief on the subject of how our mind is connected to our body. In this article I would like to share with you what I have learned so far. I will be discussing what psychoneuorimmunology is and my opinions on the subject. If you are interested in alternative medicine than this article may be appealing to you.

From our readings I learned that psychoneuorimmunology (PNI) is a study on how our brain interacts with our immune system and nervous system as they are all connected with each other. By studying this we can learn how our body's immune system and cells are affected by our behavior and emotions. PNI has been around throughout different civilizations and history but became overlooked as we as a society tend to focus on more materialistic things we can see and explain. People have supported this theory and had followers but it was not as popular of a belief when you can see a germ or virus that is causing illness and curing that. In the 1960s researchers finally began studying the immune system in-depth and with experiments. Robert Ader, a psychologist, gave the mind-body field the grounds to be developed and researched more...he opened the doors though the experiments he did on rats. Through his experiments he showed that rats will react to stimulus unrelated to immune functions. He proved that actions of the nervous system can influence the immune system which proved there was a connection between the immune system and nervous system.

Many different experiments and case studies have been performed since then and still are. In most cases we can see how stress, not expressing emotions, depression, anxiety, anger and various other emotions can affect our health. There have been links to colds, heart disease, cancers, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, allergies, asthma, arthritis, sexual dysfunction, pregnancy related problems, stomach ulcers, and even dental cavities. These studies have shown that with psychological treatment to balance out emotions that the patient's condition often improves and people are now beginning to think that mind treatment should be provided with medical treatment for certain conditions. Obviously with things that need immediate/unavoidable surgery (like internal bleeding) are to be dealt with procedures that are widely used now, but if we could help people to control their stress levels, depression, and other emotions it is likely that we would see a decline in heart attacks, high blood pressure, loss of appetite, and successful cancer treatment among other decrease in certain illnesses.

By doing these studies researchers have proven that when the body experiences certain emotions our brain releases endorphins which can prevent or confuse the immune system to work at full potential. According to our readings endorphins from pain or stress can bind our natural killer cells which attack and destroy other cells such as tumor cells. Emotions that are powerful can alter the function of our immune system due to the release of chemicals such as endorphins, corticosteroids, and catecholamines.

After researching PNI I do not view my personal health any differently because I've always felt that our emotions and beliefs affect how our body feels. I've been able to observe my experiences of how my body reacts to stress, long termed depression, anxiety, sadness, repressed emotions, and several others throughout many of my life experiences. I was able to see physical changes within myself and after reading this chapter it reaffirms my beliefs and now I am able to understand it more and just what changes that are taking place. If nothing else it will help me to pay better attention to how I handle my emotions and situations more as well as promote to other people the benefits of managing their unpleasant emotions as well.

I definitely see a connection with my emotions and physical health. I often get tired, dizzy, loss of appetite, stomach pains, and headaches when I'm really stressed or worried about something. It varies depending on what the situation is. Luckily nothing serious has happened, but I have experienced the connections and I think they are vital to pay attention to. We live in such a high paced society and a demanding one as well where so many people are affected with stress of anxiety disorders not to mention other mental illnesses. If we could all take a step back and learn to cope with these things and slow down we will probably see many beneficial changes. People would feel better about themselves and start to enjoy day to day life. So many people are unhappy with their lives because of all the paradigms we as a society demand from each other and it's really sad. We are here to live and we only get one time to do it so I feel that we might as well enjoy it and live our life to the fullest and I hope more people will start to see this and really start taking better care of themselves and doing what makes them happy. There will always be a need for money or for working, but I think we could go at in a different way so that we aren't affected so greatly by stress or anxiety and in return we would be healthier all around. I've always believed that everything is connected and this chapter reaffirmed those beliefs that I have.

For those who don't believe in this theory of PNI why not try testing it? Observe how you feel physically the next time you find yourself stressed or overwhelmed by your current situations. Chances are you are going to see that you do feel differently physically and not in a good way. With these types of findings it is not hard to see how our society could benefit on making changes to the fast pace life we have created. Imagine how enjoyable it would to once again now that you could actually have time in your day to relax instead of waking up and knowing that you are already out of time. Changing our ways or beliefs will lead to many benefits the question is how do we get there in a society that does not like to change until it has to.

In summary, I enjoyed reading about the outcomes of all the illness and how people's conditions changed after the psychology aspects were treated and how people are starting to see that we need to start treating the mind. I fully see the importance of medical advancement and it is still much needed, but I also feel like we push too many pills for things that aren't needed if that person just had someone to talk to or a counselor to help them through it and teach them how to deal with certain situations in their life. Hopefully people come to realize that upset emotional responses disrupts our homeostasis (the ability of our cells and organs to maintain equilibrium) which causes our physiological processes to get out of control. Our mind is connected to everything and now there is proof that the way we feel, the things we believe, and our emotions can affect our health. The question now is how are we going to use this information and what more can be learned from it. There are critics to every theory and I find that it will be interesting to see how this field develops and to see how many people are won over by this belief. Medical treatment will always be important but I think our society has often casted aside our mental wellness and now we are being forced to pay more attention to it and hopefully it will lead to an improvement in the overall picture of our health which will in return only better our society.

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoneuroimmunology (1)
(2) Mind/Body/Health The Effects of Attitudes, Emotions, and Relationships 3rd Edition. Keith J Karren, Brent Q Hafen, N Lee Smith, and Kathryn J Frandsen. "Chapter 1: Pyschoneuroimmunology: The connection between the mind and the body". Pgs. 3-37. 2006.