Could stress be causing your dis-ease?
Did you know stress was linked to 95% of all illness? That’s right, stress can be linked to something as small as the common cold to heart disease. The hormone stress releases is called cortisol, which plays a role in regulating immune cells, but when stress becomes chronic those cells become insensitive to cortisol and inflammation goes unchecked. That means what “should” be a temporary warning sign can become an out of control blaze through your body, wreaking havoc in the process!
The immune system has the ability to regulate inflammation and can predict when you will develop a cold, but more importantly it provides an explanation of how stress can actually promote a cold or any other disease you may have an issue with.
When you are under a lot of stress the cells of your immune system are not able to respond to hormonal control, and consequently, produce levels of inflammation that can actually promote disease. That’s because inflammation plays a major role in many diseases some of us deal with like cardiovascular, asthma, and autoimmune disorders. It’s crazy how much our mental stress can have on us physically.
Can you guess what has also been associated with dramatic reductions in disease and increased longevity? And what can have a greater impact than blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure or any other risk factor in determining whether you will live a long and healthy life?
The answer is your attitude, your spiritual beliefs, your social network community, and having a sense of purpose in life. A feeling of control when it comes to the result of positive self-care is linked to long-term physiological benefits, including overall longevity. Also, doing things that give us purpose can often have the upside of reducing stress, which is a win-win!
Many people fall into the way of thinking that the only way to take care of our bodies is through physicality, like working out or eating well.
But there is a powerful connection between our mind and body! In fact, it really shouldn’t be called a connection because it’s actually bidirectional systems. Hans Selye, MD, is the man who coined the word “stress” and was the first to map out its biological effects. He said “The modern physician should know just as much about emotions and thoughts as he does about disease symptoms and drugs.” This approach would appear to hold more promise of a cure than any modern medicine has given us to date.
We are all living in a time where we have packed schedules and very little time to breathe and relax. There’s no wonder we are seeing an epidemic of stress-related disorders. While eating a healthy diet and getting exercise in our daily routines are vital to our wellness and can definitely play its part in decreasing stress on the body, we also need to focus on mindful practices, slowing down, and cultivating purpose if we want to live long healthy lives and feel our absolute best.
There are so many practices that we can integrate into our lives that can help us regulate our health goals. Yoga, deep breathing, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, making love, getting a massage, walking on the beach or in the woods, or simply taking a hot bath. These are all ways we can help our minds and body calm down. We can also make an effort to join meaningful groups and community events to reduce the psychological stress associated with social isolation and to give ourselves purpose!
In the end, we can do things to reduce the stress in our lives and aid its effects on our physical bodies and mental health. Taking action now is the best preventative approach to disease and also increases your longevity and overall happiness. You hold the power to your wellness.
