Emotional health is a big component of mental health. However it’s more than just being in good or bad moods. Various factors affect emotional well-being, such as diet, physical environment, events going on in your life and how you’re handling them. All these have a bearing on physical health as well.
When you are stressed and thoughts of anger, despair, fear, hopelessness, etc dominate your mind, the brain interprets this as a threat. It stimulates the body to enter fight- or- flight mode. This is a natural reaction that acts as an alarm system whenever something is wrong. The body releases high amounts of adrenalin which increases your heart rate and blood pressure, causes your muscles to tense up and increase sweat levels.
If you remain in this fight- or- flight state for long you’ll experience constant fatigue, insomnia and feeling weak since your body is using up a lot of energy fighting stress. What’s more, you’re more at risk of strokes, heart ailments, ulcers and diabetes.
In contrast, when your mind is full of thoughts about gratitude, joy, harmony, love, etc, adrenalin levels drop. The parasympathetic nervous system (which helps the body heal itself) is activated. The brain releases neurotransmitters such as endorphins which boost your moods and contribute to better physical health.
You may have noticed that when under extreme stress, you experience pain in some parts of the body. For instance tongue sores, headaches, constant stomach problems, a feeling of heavy weight on your chest, unexplained pain in your limbs. This is known as psychosomatic pain, where emotional pain manifests as physical. This is your body trying to alert you that things aren’t in order and you need to find a healthy outlet for the stress.
Scientific studies have shown that patients with heart problems are less likely to be readmitted when they have high happiness levels. Patients who are optimistic tend to have faster recovery rates after surgery than those with a negative outlook on life.
How can you improve your emotional health? Try simple things like:
Regularly doing activities you love
Sharing what’s going on in your life with a trusted friend/ therapist/ counselor
Cultivate a healthy diet
Keeping a journal of things you’re grateful for
Learning how to handle stressful life situations by controlling what you can and letting go of what you can’t
