When people go to hospital or visit their doctors it is often because of physical symptoms. For some physical problems the diagnosis and treatment is clear. For example, if you have a broken leg your doctor can take an x-ray to confirm the break and put your leg in a cast. However, some health conditions are more complex and are affected by many different factors.
For example, we know that the mind and body are closely linked and affect each other. Learning about how they are linked may help you to manage your day to day actions and reactions a bit better.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
The objective of this note is to help you understand this link and look at different ways to manage your physical symptoms and emotional well-being.
These ideas are no longer new or unusual. But letting it all sink in is hard, and implies changes in how you live.
You may wish to read this series of articles in small sections – and if you want someone to read it alongside you, and discuss the content, that might help too. And if someone asks you to help them read this note, and you think you can spare them the time, then it will be very valuable indeed.
Is it ‘all in my head’?
It is important to point out that we are not suggesting your physical symptoms are all in your head. The reality of your physical symptoms is not in doubt when we talk about the mind and body being linked. It is important to make this clear because we know that some people, at one time or another, have felt that their difficulties were dismissed by others, including healthcare professionals, as “all in their head”.
There are experts on the brain and its functions, and they would tell you that thoughts and feelings are real things we can observe these days, with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI).
What is the mind-body link?
You may already be familiar with phrases which describe the mind-body connection in day-to-day life such as something being a “pain in the neck”, making your “blood boil”, having a “gut feeling” or being “heart-broken”. These examples all describe the way that the mind can affect the body.
The internal world
When we talk about the ‘mind’ we mean the collection of thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, memories, past experiences and personality that make up a person’s internal world.
How does it work?
The brain and the body are constantly sending messages to each other. These messages tell the brain and body to make changes and adjustments to the way they are working.
For example, if your eyes told your brain a car was travelling towards you at speed, it would send a very fast message to the body to step back out of harm’s way.
And if your stomach was empty and your body needed fuel, your brain would listen to that message and send you in search of food.
So, the brain and the body are in constant communication to keep you alive and healthy.
Summary
The mind and the body are closely linked and affect each other. This is not the same as saying your physical symptoms are ‘all in your head’ or not real.
It means that your thoughts and feelings can affect your body and physical symptoms can have an effect on what you think, how you feel and what you do.
‘Fight-Flight’ mechanism
An example of this close relationship between the mind and body is the ‘Fight-Flight’ mechanism.
This alarm system developed to keep us safe from danger, like the threat of predators for example. It is triggered when you feel threatened and it makes your body get ready for a fight or for running away (e.g. by making your heart beat faster and your muscles tense up). These physical symptoms are the result of the release of stress hormones in the body, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
This worked really well when there were predators around. Unfortunately, it is less helpful for modern day threats. Things like money worries or fears about the future can trigger this ‘fight or flight’ response, even if it is not that helpful for solving the problem.
Chronic vs. acute stress
When the ‘Fight-Flight’ mechanism is activated occasionally the body can cope and recovers well after the surge of stress hormones. This is sometimes called ‘acute stress’ and as human beings we are designed to deal with this.
Eating
Doctors tell us to try and eat a well-balanced diet spread across the day. This may help your body fight off infections and when the ‘Fight-Flight’ mechanism is activated occasionally the body can cope and recovers well after the surge of stress hormones. (This is a core bit of self care. The NHS publishes a guide to a balanced diet and this link is where you will find it.)
This fight or flight response is sometimes called ‘acute stress’ and we are designed to deal with this.
However, when the ‘Fight-Flight’ mechanism is activated very often, the body has less chance to recover fully before the next stressful event. This is called ‘chronic stress’ and we are less well adapted to this kind of stress.
Sleeping
If you feel that improvements in sleep might help you to manage yourself better, or feel less tired, there is guidance on this too. Some of us take time to fall asleep, and others find that our sleep is interrupted. That does not help with difficult thoughts arising, particularly in the middle of the night. The importance of good sleep cannot be emphasised too much.
Summary:
Our fight-flight response helps us identify and respond to threats.
This has helped us over the course of evolution.
However, when it is switched on over and over again, rather than occasionally, it is less helpful and can even work against our health and well-being.
Eating well, spread across the day, lies at the core of managing ourselves around stress
Sleeping well helps a lot too
Next time, we will look at the powerful role of thoughts.