How Does Mind Body Healing Work?

 

There is a direct relationship between the way your brain thinks and the way your body reacts to it. Have you ever felt a strong churning in your stomach before an important interview or examination? Have you ever felt nauseous with anxiety or stress? Have you ever been so worried that you couldn’t sleep the whole night? If yes, then the proof that our mind greatly affects our body is right there. Our emotions can overwhelm us and impact us physically and with recent studies we have come to see just how powerful that influence actually is. Sometimes if a person is under stressful conditions for a long time, he can have acidity, heartburn and other physical problems for which anti-anxiety medication has to be taken.

What is the Connection Between the Mind and the Body?

Our mind and our body have a very powerful dynamic and strong alliance. As we can manipulate our body to reduce the psychological stress, we can also manipulate our mind to recuperate our body. How we feel can affect how we think and how we think can affect how we feel. The connection between the mind-body is the link that ties a person’s thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and physical health together in one thread. If someone thinks about getting better it just starts to happen and happen faster. Simply by changing your mindset you are able to take control of your mind, manipulate it and make it work in a much more positive and productive way, it’s all in the mind!

Even though your positive thinking won’t cure anything, a mind which has only good thoughts in it can have a very good impact on your health and overall well-being. Doctors now take into account all three mind, body and spirit before doing any treatment and then take a comprehensive approach for a better healing. If your body is backed by a positive mind then it becomes a natural anxiety relief medicine itself. We often refer to our brains as having a supercomputer or command center but our brain isn’t functioning discretely from our body, in fact it's all a very convoluted and intertwined setup.

Take stress for example, if a person is under incessant stress, strain or pressure, over the time he/she will develop problems like constant headaches, stomach problems, high blood pressure, obesity or other serious illnesses. On the hand, if a person is dealing with sickness or illness for a very long time, it will surely take a toll on his emotional health. A person can go into depression, can develop anxiety disorders or may even lose his confidence and become isolated. Anti-anxiety medication or other natural anxiety relief options must be considered under these circumstances.

How does Mind-body Healing Works?

The brain produces and releases certain kinds of hormones or substances that are associated with our emotions. Endorphins is one such substance that acts like a natural painkiller and Gamma Globulin is a substance that toughens our immune system. Whatever substance the brain releases is dependent on our thoughts and feelings and also on our emotional state. If someone is very stressed about an interview but has high hopes and a positive attitude, not only will his interview go better, he will also not be so disappointed if he gets rejected due to his positive emotional health.

Negative thoughts and emotions can obstruct the production of these substances which will in turn make you think about the worse consequences, your interview can go all wrong due to stress and if you don’t get the job you might blame yourself and feel discouraged and demoralized. The state of your mind can make you powerful enough to overcome any loss and find positivity in any situation.

When a person is stressed, our body automatically releases two hormones as its defence mechanism; Adrenaline and Cortisol. These are short term energy boosters that give the body the strength to think out of the box and do some extreme things that wouldn’t be possible in normal conditions. If we are having bad emotional health then we will frequently release this hormone which has adverse effects on our health, like slow healing or weak immune system in the long run. Positive attitude and self-confidence will give us courage without having to release these hormones.

Mind-Body Healing Therapies

Mind-Body healing therapies are those techniques that boost relaxation and promote focus. These therapies work both ways, like that mind affects the body and body affects the brain. A few common ones are: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that refocuses the thoughts, feeling and behaviour of a person to stress or pain. Meditation, Deep Breathing, Relaxation, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Acupuncture, Art Therapy, Guided Imagery, Music therapy, Tai Chi, Yoga, Qigong and Group Therapy.

Synopsis

Our mind is a very powerful organ, it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Train your brain to be your strength and not your weakness so that the body also functions in top form. Each one of us can build a strong, positive mind with the right attitude, thinking and mental training.