The BodyMind Impact of Emotional Stress
EMOTIONAL STRESS
Your thoughts, mindset, and emotions can impact your health in more profound ways than you’ve ever been led to believe. The power of our mind to influence our health is astounding. At some point in your life you’ve felt grief, anger, worry, saddness or frustration. These are all emotional stressors, and are common reactions as we process and confront life experiences and the world around us. When these emotional stresses overwhelm us or are not acknowledged and worked through, they can lead to physical symptoms.
Physical symptoms of emotional stress include:
Headaches or migraines
Feeling tired or fatigued or exhausted
Sleep issues: insomnia, too much or too little
Weakened immune system
Skin issues: rashes or acne
Heaviness in chest or chest pain
Increase heart rate, palpations, high blood pressure
Body aches
Teeth grinding or jaw clenching
Gastrointestinal problems
Shortness of breath
Ways to cope, especially when these feelings and thoughts become overly invasive and prevent you from doing what you need or want to do.
Acknowledge the emotion(s)
Share how and what you are feeling with a support person (therapist, counselor, trusted friend)
Write it down - Journalling can help you acknowledge and bring you insight. It can also help to get it out of your head, especially if the thoughts have become a repetitive loop.
Take a Break from the emotional stress by making time to RELAX your body/mind.
-Breathing exercises
- Physical exercise
- Yoga / Tai Chi
- Meditation
- Soak in a Hot Bath
- Get Massage/Bodywork
- Tapping Meditation
- Do something (anything) [read a book, watch a movie, listen to music, drum, sing, dance, paint, draw] that you love and enjoy that distracts your mind from anxious or repetitive thoughts about your emotional stress.
Once you have some space and time away from the emotional stress and feel physically relaxed, you can shift your mental outlook by reframing with positive affirmations, healthy life-style habits and gratitude thinking. A more positive mindset can positively affect the physical symptoms that resulted from the emotional stress.
When you come in for a massage session, we can work on these coping strategies together, so you don't feel like you have to handle this stress all alone. I am here for you to offer resources and guidance if you are new to Breathing exercises, Meditation, Tapping, Eden Energy Medicine, Positive Affirmations. We can include them as part of your Bodywork session.