Emotions and thoughts often overlooked impact our physical health a lot. Negative and positive emotions both can be felt in our bodies as we physically react to all the emotions that pass through us. For instance, when someone is stressed they tend to walk around and become restless, along with having symptoms of nausea and indigestion. Similarly, when someone is happy they also feel the energy in their body as the adrenaline kicks in and makes us restless and unable to sit, we walk around with a feeling of elation.
Such is the impact of our emotions on our physical health. Hence it becomes crucial to understand the importance of emotions and emotional well-being for the betterment of our physical health. Especially paying special attention to the negative emotions as they tend to have a very harmful impact on our physical health.
Understanding the importance of emotions:
Emotions are felt throughout our lives, some pass easily as they get expressed while the repressed emotions that we keep bottled up inside are the cause for worry. Emotions can have a massive impact on not only our health but our behaviors and relationships as well. Not managing your emotions, feelings and thoughts can create a cycle of bad and unresolved thought processes that lead to many health issues.
The most common emotional conundrum we all face is the never ended cycle of thoughts as we keep feeling a single emotion or thinking a single thought over and over again. This happens because that particular situation is not resolved and we may be carrying some kind of guilt. Hence to understand the importance of emotions, it is also important to understand the thought processes that create these emotions.
Managing your thought process for emotional control:
Emotions may run wild through the day, as we get to see, heel, and feel so many emotions. The issues that we may face every day may have a varied effect on our emotions. As some emotions we can vent out yet others that are more personal we keep bottled up. Hiding the secrets that are weighing on us and the inability to share with someone makes it even more difficult to carry on in life. Hence, the importance of understanding the thought process becomes eminent. For restoration of emotional balance, we must control our thoughts too.
Most of us are prone to thinking. We worry about the future, about the past and then the present keeps providing us reasons to worry. So to keep up with this barrage of emotions and feelings, we must let go of some. Letting go of some of the fears and worries can have a very positive impact on us. Centering yourself to live in the present and one day at a time. No one is asking you to not plan. We all do go through planning stages in our lives and it is very important as well. Yet worrying about what might happen in 2, 3 years is overthinking. And that leads to negative thoughts, which result in poor mental and physical health. Do you notice the correlation of all these elements? If you do you are about to change your life for good.
What are the symptoms of poor physical health caused by emotional distress?
Our emotions play a major role in how we react to many different situations. During stressful times people often lose their appetite and eat less, or they gain more by eating junk. Similarly, when stressed by our thoughts and worries, we face issues like lack of interest in exercise, eating healthy, insomnia and so much more. Some of the common issues that are faced by people are mentioned below:
- Indigestion
- Insomnia
- Back pain
- Headache
- Chest pain
- Extreme tiredness
- Dry mouth
- Aches and pains
- Upset stomach
- Stiff neck
- Sexual troubles
- Lightheadedness
- Palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Weight gain or loss
When you get stressed you can experience any or some of these physical health issues. Can you see what can happen if you do not pay attention to your emotions? Especially when all that needs to be done is to keep a check on your emotional well-being regularly and try to control your emotions before you collapse due to health issues.
What to do in case any symptom appears?
Considering the symptoms that might pop up while you are stressed, you should consider seeing a doctor as soon as possible. Taking your physical and emotional health lightly will not result well. Hence do not avoid going to the doctor by dismissing any minor symptoms. It would be better to analyze your situation and consider paying a visit to a therapist or psychiatrist. They are experts and will be able to not only determine the emotional reasons for the problem but will allow you a safe space to speak your truth.
What can I do personally for better emotional control?
Before you end up in a situation where doctors are needed. Why not try to take preemptive measures to ensure that none of the said things happen? All that needs to be done is to understand the toll your emotions take on your body. And then you can move towards managing them better so that you can understand that what you are feeling is just a fleeting emotion and it will pass. Sometimes it is good to feel the emotion as it releases some of the pain. But to constantly getting stuck in an emotional spiral can cause damage to your physical health. Hence here are some things you can do to improve your thought process:
Don’t bottle up your emotions:
Some emotions can be hard to process and even harder to share. They can be embarrassing secrets or bad thoughts about someone or something. Hence you must find the best outlet to express the emotions that you have bottled up. Sometimes that person can be a friend in other cases seeing a therapist can also be a lot of help. As they offer their unbiased opinions on the matter and help you get over and past those emotions.
Find a balance:
There will always be something that rubs us the wrong way and makes us stressed. However, instead of focusing on all the negatives, it’s better to consider the positives in life as well. Try to make a journal of all the good things that are happening around you and what are you grateful for. Remind yourself of the happy and blissful things that you are looking forward to. Balance out the good and bad emotions equally, this doesn’t mean that negative emotions shouldn’t be felt and you must carry on your life pretending to be someone you are not. It is just about understanding your emotions well enough to understand them and take care of yourself.
Build resilience:
Becoming resilient can help in making you move on and live your life better. To build resilience, you try some strategies that will benefit you such as; changing your perspective, having a support group, accepting of change, and having a positive outlook on life. These strategies can be implemented with the help of a therapist or a psychiatrist. Someone who understands psychology and human nature.
Calming practices:
Calming your body and mind through exercises and guided meditations can help you in a great way. You can end up feeling relaxed and emotionally centered on the present. This practice can help you achieve inner peace and for someone who worries too much about the future, it can help bring them back into the present moment. Staying in the present moment will help make most of your worries wash away.
Practice these exercises and maintain a healthy physical and emotional life.
Live a blissful life:
take into account the emotions and feelings that pass through you. Understand them and evaluate how much time do you need to spend on them. And then let them go. To let them go, you may refer to the activities suggested in this article. This way you will live your life in a healthy balance. You will from time to time encounter events that will stress you out, but you will learn how to manage your emotions and the associated feeling better. With time, you will be able to live a blissful life and enjoy the health benefits of an emotionally stable mind.