Mental and physical health are deeply connected. The mental health of your mind and your brain directly affects your physical being. It’s obvious when your physical being is not at its best, or you don’t feel your best, your mental health is directly affected. You are not focusing. You may have feelings of depression or anxiety. You may even start to get a headache from the stress because you are not eating. Your mental health has a similar effect on your physical being when you are not in a good, mental place. This could impact everything from chronic diseases, to sleep and immune function.
Let’s dive deeper into how your mental health affects your physical health. Some mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, have been linked to an increased risk of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, and even certain cancers. When your immune system is compromised or weakened, it can lead to chronic stress and mental health struggles, which then suppress the immune system, making the body more susceptible to illness. Mental health conditions can disrupt the way you sleep, which can lead to poor sleep patterns. Some nights you may be up all night because your mind is racing. Poor sleep can directly affect physical health. You will probably feel daytime fatigue, which further impacts physical health in many ways. Mental health issues can lead to unhealthy behaviors, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, substance abuse, excess alcohol consumption and smoking, which all negatively impact physical health.
As mentioned earlier, mental health conditions can result in headaches, fatigue, digestive problems, and muscle tension. When an individual is struggling with mental health issues, they often neglect their physical needs. They disregard doctor appointments, they don’t eat properly, they don’t socialize etc. As I have mentioned in many articles, socialization is just as important as anything else, when it comes to being healthy. Your body is all connected. When you are off physically, you are off mentally. When you are off mentally, it absolutely affects your physical health because it can cause you to lose interest in your daily routine. Everything from exercise to eating to going out with friends, missing appointments, etc. We need to keep the mind just as healthy as the body.
To keep the body healthy, we eat right, we exercise, we drink plenty of water, etc. The mind needs just as much attention as the body. To have and keep a healthy mind you first must eat. Your brain needs nutrition. It needs this to do basic functions. At one time or another, we have all skipped a meal or two. Not necessarily on purpose, but if you got busy at work, or the kids’ schedules have you running around, it’s easy to miss a meal. When this happens, you may have noticed you get a headache. This is very common when you don’t have food to fuel the brain. Another thing you can do to keep the brain healthy is read. Reading is so good for your mind. You can also do mind puzzles or games. This is exercise for the brain, just like working out is exercise for the body. To keep the body young, we exercise. To keep the mind young, we must also exercise it by keeping it active.
If you are suffering from anxiety or depression, find a therapist or someone you can talk to. Staying in this state is not healthy at all.
After being in a very bad car accident, I didn’t have serious physical injuries, but I had a traumatic brain injury. Obviously, that affected my physical health, but I had to do a lot of therapy for my brain. My cognitive therapy included mind games, crossword puzzles, card games, etc. They had me perform activities to make me concentrate and think. I also fell into a depression, so what I write is not research I’ve read, it is my own life experience.
There are medications you can take to put you on an even keel, but even talking with someone is a form of medication, and does help. It helps to see a professional, not only because if you do need medication, they can prescribe it, but it helps to talk to someone not in your close circle. Getting a professional, an outside opinion, helps in so many ways. These professionals will give you guidance on how to rethink and get you to a more positive place. Your brain is an amazing tool, but again, it needs activity to keep working. To summarize and to reiterate, the mind and the body are connected. One directly affects the other. You must exercise both to stay healthy.
“Your mental health is just as important as your career or education.”
Susan Gazerro
