What you do to your mind, you do to your body and vice versa.
Sometimes we tend to act as if we are a head floating above our body, totally disconnected, but the way we feel physically can affect our mood massively, and our mood can affect our thoughts and actions.
Teenagers are particularly prone to ignoring their body as if their body is just a robot functioning by itself.
Depression in university students is a common problem and it is in no small way connected to student life (junk food, no exercise, too much alcohol and no sleep).
In the same way, stress can create pain in the body. Many anxious clients complain of pain, in shoulders, knees, back, headaches, sickness, etc. I have also known some more spectacular reactions to stress; fainting several times a day, collapsing because legs aren’t working, and many more. I have even had a few clients who have ended up in hospital after severe panic with suspected heart attacks.
IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is a classic physical problem which is improved by working on the mind. Relieving stress will, in most cases, improve symptoms; if you google it you will find lots of medical back-up that hypnotherapy is great for this.
Relaxing can have a surprising effect…
Clients often turn up wanting to sort out anxiety but find that on the way their digestion problems clear up. Learning how to calm down and relax can have surprising results on the body too.
Anorexia is a vicious circle of starvation, which then depresses mood which aggravates the anorexia. Once it reaches a point where the teenagers (overwhelmingly anorexia starts in teenage years) are too far below a healthy weight, then the mind becomes depressed and unable to make healthy, reasonable choices.
Physical problems can be masked by emotional symptoms too. Thyroid problems can cause weight loss and depression which can be misdiagnosed as anorexia. Anaemia also can cause weight loss and low mood which needs medical attention.
There is another way!
So many clients are stuck in their heads, battling intrusive and scary thoughts, trying to reason with their fear. However, when your mind is in turmoil, it’s like trying to reason with a toddler having a tantrum – useless and frustrating!
In this situation, they forget there is another way to calm down – through your body. Ignore what your brain is saying and focus on relaxing your body. If you do this, your mind will follow. It doesn’t have to be 10 hours of yoga followed by mindfulness, it could be just five minutes of a breathing exercise, followed by running up and down the stairs three times.
Don’t forget what you do to the body, you do to the mind. Feed it, care for it, relax it – give your body what it needs to feel calm and you might be surprised by how much that will impact on your mind.
