Mental Health & Overall Health

Taking care of your mental health is essential to maintaining your overall health now and for the future. In this issue, we explore how your mental health can impact your physical health, and vice versa.

By gaining a greater understanding of this connection, you can develop effective tools to nurture both your mind and body and improve your general well-being.

 

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The Relationship Between Mental and Physical Health

We may think of mental and physical health as two distinct parts, but in reality, they are inextricably linked. This means that a change in one can radically impact the other.

For example, mental illnesses like depression not only affect your mental health, but they can also alter your physical health. The stress of the condition elevates your cortisol levels, which, over time, impair bodily functions like your immune and digestive systems. This can ultimately lead to disease and premature aging.

In addition, mental health challenges often impact your behavior, which in turn affects your physical health. Stress may lead to a poor diet and lack of exercise or cause disruptions in sleep. In fact, research shows that chronic sleep problems affect 50% to 80% of patients in a typical psychiatric practice, compared to 10% to 18% of adults in the general population. People may also abuse drugs or alcohol to cope with stress or mental illness, which can cause long-term damage to the body.

In this way, the effects of poor mental health may add up to a higher risk of medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

However, it’s important to note that the mind-body connection can also work in the opposite way—by improving one, you can also improve the other. For example, if you work on bettering your physical health with regular exercise, you may also see improvements in your mental health, such as a decrease in stress and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms.

 

How the Stress Hormone
Cortisol Affects Your Body

Chronic stress can take a toll on your overall health, putting both your mind and body at risk. Many of the negative effects of stress are due to a hormone called cortisol, which serves the important purpose of helping to protect you in times of danger. However, if cortisol levels are elevated for too long, they can disrupt a variety of bodily processes.

Cortisol is produced by your adrenal glands and works by increasing glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. It enhances the body’s use of glucose and boosts your energy to deal with a potential threat. It also slows down bodily functions that would be nonessential or harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. This means altering immune system responses and suppressing the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. Cortisol also impacts regions in the brain that influence your mood, motivation and fear reactions.

This stress response usually subsides when the perceived danger is gone, and hormones return to normal. However, if you feel like you are constantly under threat, your cortisol levels may remain elevated in the long-term. This can lead to a wide range of health issues, such as digestive problems, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, sleep problems, weight gain and problems with memory and focus.

Fortunately, by learning to identify your stress triggers and developing healthy ways to respond to everyday challenges, you can lower your cortisol levels. Taking the time to reduce stress can have a powerful impact on your overall health and even enhance your quality of life.

 

The Practical Case for Self-Care

The term “self-care” is sometimes over-simplified on social media—becoming synonymous with bubble baths or extravagant spa treatments. However, the fact remains that it’s essential to prioritize taking care of both your mental and physical health in order to maintain happiness, achieve all you want to accomplish and take care of others.

Self-care can include everything from nutrition to hygiene, as well as ways to manage common stressors. How you approach self-care depends a lot on your individual personality and the resources at your disposal.

The right way to enjoy self-care is unique to every person, and ultimately all that matters is that the practice brings you a sustained sense of peace and joy. In this way, self-care can lead to real positive health outcomes, such as reduced stress, disease prevention, chronic condition management, improved quality of life and increased longevity.