Emotions can assist or hinder recovery

We are fast coming to the conclusion that the emotional component of the disease process, is more important than what we previous thought.

When we think about prevention of disease it’s usually about physical factors but there is a very important emotional component that comes into play. Each influences the other. Coping does not just mean dealing with the physical symptoms, it also means processing the emotional competent of the disease.

The main reason for the failure of modern medical science is that it is dealing with results and not causes.  Emotional and psychological issues can affect the body and cause illness, and it is essential to be aware of this.

The importance of emotions in the contracting of the disease:

There is an old saying “Sorrow that has no vent in tears may make other organs weep.” Many physical problems and disorders have a marked emotional component. Individual events are really interconnected aspects of a larger, more complex system. The immune system is the first line of defense against disease. Usually there is an emotional component that needs to be resolved.

The heaviest burdens in life are not our physical burden but our mental ones.

Sometimes these emotions are buried so deeply we no longer even recognize them as belonging to us. Just because we no longer feel them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Emotions have a tremendous influence and cause significant pain. They influence our health.

Thirty-five medical students at Harvard in the 1950’s were given a questionnaire and asked to describe their relationship with their mother and father as very close, warm and friendly, tolerant, or strained and cold. 35 years later, 91% of participants who said they did not have a warm relationship with their mother had serious diagnosed diseases in mid-life, including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism and ulcers, compared to with the 45% of those who perceived themselves to have had a warm relationship with their mothers.

How does emotions affect the body?

The body responds to the way you think, feel and act. This is often called “mind-body connection.” For example, high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer might develop after a particularly stressful event, such as the death of a loved one. When you are worried about something you’re also likely to have an upset stomach.

Poor emotional health can weaken the body’s immune system, making you more likely to get colds and other infections during emotionally difficult times.

The following may be physical signs that the emotional health is out of balance. Change in appetite, chest pain, constipation or diarrhea, dry mouth, extreme tiredness, general aches and pains, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, lightheadedness, palpitations, sexual problems, shortness of breath, stiff neck, sweating, weight gain or loss. In many cases emotional stresses are known to affect fertility and can cause impotence.

How does emotions assist or hinder with the treatment of the disease?

Emotions are a valuable signal that tells you something in is need of attention. We can’t run from our emotions. They are as much a part of us as our bodies, our dreams, and our thoughts. Suppressing them zaps our energy, dampens our outlook, creates havoc in our lives, and leads to the creation of disease.

It is important to recognize your emotions and understand why you are having them. Sorting out the causes of sadness, stress and anxiety in your life can help you manage emotional health.

There is a heavy price to be paid when feelings are denied or repressed. Those who are unaccustomed to dealing with feelings in healthy ways often seek out other means to cover up those feelings or distract themselves, such as alcohol, food, drugs, TV, unhealthy relationships or compulsive work.

The client should speak to someone in confidence about absolute everything they feel the need to, without feeling that their treatment may be compromised.

Correction of mental attitude could treat a disease at the energy level before it becomes grossly pathological, thus halting the disease process before it becomes physical, and assist the healing process when a disease does become physical. This is because the emotional component may cause the physical problem.

How does emotions assist or hinder the recovery process?

The way a person learns to deal with disease is different at different times and the mental connection of how you treat yourself is usually also associated with disease. One person may convince himself that the problem is not big or even deny that the problem exists at all. At times one may find the pain of their emotions very destructive but at other times may find it a useful motivating force in their lives. People who do not express emotions, or who are unable to assert themselves are especially vulnerable to diseases.

In cases of disease the patient’s emotional state should be noted as one of the most preeminent symptoms, along with the symptoms complex, if one wants to record a true image of the disease in order to cure it.

It is better to promote natural healthcare so that the body can use its natural ability to heal itself instead of attempting to force the body to change by suppressing symptoms and shutting down the natural defenses of the body. Emotional release techniques can help restore the body to health.

There needs to be a change in the false understanding that toxic drugs and other modalities are the key to healing instead of using them in limited ways to insure the continuity of life in the midst of medical emergency intervention.