The extent of the problem is really worrisome. Figures from the CDC reveal that more than 20% of American adults have mental health problems. This constitutes 57 million patients which is a huge number. But this is just the figure for the people who definitely qualify for a disorder. The state of mental health among teenagers continues to plunge with research indicating that more than a half of students claim to be in a state of low spirits all the time. Despite the fact that the number of people using medications for their mental health is immeasurable.
The proof that this article clearly connects with the reader is that the author uses a conversation style, addressing the reader directly. The conversational tone throughout the article aligns with how one would talk to a friend to explain something new or complicated. Here is the mind-body connection and how it strengthens the emotional and mental health of the individual.
What is Holistic Therapy?
Isn’t that amazing? This is the whole picture (holism) and not just the mental aspect that is being taken into account (dualism). This is why therapists using a holistic or integrative approach are not limited to the monitoring of the conditions. They are also tasked with taking care of the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the clients.
Accordingly, the mental illness someone experiences and the road to recovery that their potential holds are the outcomes of significant factors. Those factors include his/ her physicks, age, gender, culture, and beliefs. To put in another way, with the holistic model in mind, issues like health or disease, no matter if they are mental worries or physical illnesses, affect the person as a whole. By understanding this explanation, an example of the health institutions that are advantaged by the method of natural healing was United Recovery Project’s facility in Florida, which is a contemporary responder to these matters.
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What is the Mind-Body Connection?
The term mind-body connection signifies that the emotional and physical condition of an individual are two inseparable entities. The two are so closely and indirectly related that the state of one is determined by the other. It is the correlation of one’s thoughts, feelings as well as actions to the health of the individual’s physical body.
A good example for the body’s stress response. The body releases cortisol and adrenaline when you are stressed. These are okay when you face a dangerous situation, but the body may in the long term develop negative effects if it continues to produce these hormones even if the threat is no longer present. When it comes to stress that continues over time, it can cause immune system deficiencies, slow down the natural process of healing, and damage body receptors, which in turn generates gastrointestinal problems.
Even this model gives us a guide on how to take care of the body and help emotional well-being. And yes, you may also think about the opposite: how to feed the body to increase emotional well-being.
Mind-Body Practices for Emotional Well-being.
These practices solve anxiety by means of reducing the load of stress and thereby lowering the symptoms of anxiety. The practices make use of the body to control the mind and vice versa. The following are some of the practices that are commonly used:
Mindfulness Meditation.
Mental wellness is a common need that meditation based on mindfulness covers. In this type of meditation, you focus on your thoughts, but at the same time, you are alert to the rest of your life, your body, and the external world around you. Mindfulness meditation is a form of meditation that brings together the benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness to keep you in the present and allow you to have thoughts and sensations as they are without judging them.
There are quite a few ways to practice the skill of mindfulness meditation and among them are the silent and the walking meditation. The major elements are the breath that comes from deep inside and paying attention to your thoughts without replaying, pushing away, or avoiding them. When you walk in meditation, you would practice focusing on your external environment, bodily sensations, and walking speed for a minute or so.
Therapeutic Massage.
Massage therapy is a mind-body intervention that is a healer both emotionally and physically. This practice not only takes away stress by controlling cortisol, the stress hormone that triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, but also it raises levels of important neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine further boosting one’s mood.
Art Therapy.
Art therapy involves using a variety of art media to reach deep into your thoughts, feelings, and imagination. It’s an alternative therapeutic method that assists in giving relief to those who find trouble with traditional therapy. Through use of art therapy, you show creative gestures and not a specific form of art. In fact, art therapy is formed as a non-verbal communication means that triggers the expression of both the conscious and the unconscious. Moreover, it can be classified as a mind-body healing practice because the very instrument you use to create is nothing else but your hands, and it screams the real feelings you are experiencing.
Journaling.
Just like art therapy does, journaling brings out your underlying emotions and advances the level of self-awareness. When you write your thoughts on paper, you can detect repetitive behavior, understand the triggers, structure your ideas, and devise ways to act. When you pen down the happenings of your life and the related related emotions, you show empathy to your feelings and get the chance for catharsis. By analyzing and identifying your emotions, you make the right decisions in handling pressure and tame your reactions.
Movement Therapy.
As part of dance or movement therapy, you can express your inner feelings through different movements. You should be in collaboration with your therapist to explore the stress-related problems that are the result of different movement patterns and to make them reflect your new life. This is a pivotal part of the holistic approach aimed at treating the human being as a single unit and is based on the belief that our body, mind, and inner self are interwoven. Movements may include embodied and new forms, which are not always in line with the traditional conception of what dance is. Connecting with the body by mind has been the core of the notion behind movement therapy. Understanding that the movements that are suitable for the needs of a person holistically as they could be, they include changes in emotions, pathophysiology, thinking levels, and other social factors.
Yoga.
The list of mind-body practices cannot be exhausted without including yoga. It’s a kind of mind-body fitness with a long history that combines movement of the muscles with concentration on lung function, thus suggesting an integrated approach to mental and physical well-being. When one is alternating positions and breath, they meditate on their breathing to escape from any past emotions, becoming more and more mindful of their mental state and any physical sensations. This way, mindfulness becomes fully concentrated in the here and now.
Bottom Line.
To summarize, a combination of body practices that use the body to influence the emotions play a Central role in these practices. As noted before these practices are focusing on a holistic approach that most emphasize the person as a whole and not merely their mental issues. The most used (except for the techniques mentioned before) are the other practices like mindfulness meditation, art therapy, movement therapy, and therapeutic massage. The pattern of these techniques is considered to be contribution, apart from such awareness, to the establishment of your mind-body connection. Consequently, by learning how your thoughts affect your body and vice versa, you will become both emotionally and physically more aware of yourself.
