As an optimistic person, though tempered by reality, I like to embrace a message of hopefulness when addressing our responses to our world. Not a Pollyanna response of everything is going to be just the way we want, but a positive message that there is power in choosing our path.
Feeling empowered means feeling better about ourselves, thus giving us an advantage in dealing not only with the workings of our complex worlds, but the equally complex workings of our bodies.
With minds communicating so closely with their attached bodies, improvement in one part of that structure can lead to improvement in the other. Positive begets positive, which leaves me, well, hopeful.
Everything is Connected
As my patients can attest, I am notorious for reminding that “everything is connected to everything”.
When the painful complaint is in the neck, I may end up treating a person’s lower back. The reasoning is based on some dry science about our physical development as we grew from embryos, though the result is knowledge of connections that are not always obvious.
Another such is connection is between our mind and our body. One affects the functioning of the other, which in turn, affects the functioning of the side that started the conversation.
Let’s say that we are undergoing a stressful time in life. (Not too far of a stretch, right?) Our immune system is challenged to keep up with maintaining a healthy response to emotional stress. We already have a part of our nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system that does just that. Pretty cool, right?
However, what happens when these short-term responses are used over a long period of time?
The answer is that the body tries to find other ways to compensate but exhaustion eventually occurs, and the body begins to fail. We become more prone to sickness. Malfunctions like hypertension, heart disease, stomach ulcers, etc., not to mention various poor mental health, can also develop.
All over something as simple as mental stress.
Addressing Tough Times
Given the anger in our current times, I am concerned that hopefulness has become just a quaint old idea.
As human beings, we need to find hope in our future. To find humor in a dire situation, the original “gallows humor”, is to find that hopeful part despite the circumstances. It is part of our nature and essential to managing our mind and body relationship. As our thinking despairs, so too do our bodies.
So many of the louder voices in our world have been selling us a bill of goods lately. We are being sold the idea that a person’s response to a situation is more important than the situation itself. That the more exaggerated the response, the more valid the position.
According to this model, the ones with the greater number of members presenting a shared opinion are the winners. In such an all-or-nothing model, the outlook for the losers in such contests is very poor.
This reminds me of so many improvised games we played when we were children. Such a model being used by adults to allegedly solve problems is certainly disquieting.
Hopefulness Prescription for Healthy Mind and Body
Mental Health concerns have been receiving some much-needed attention in the media lately, though in their usual expression of cognitive dissonance, the media continues to amplify the angry messages that prompt such concerns.
Though it will likely take years for the effects of such intentional mental stresses to produce the long-term physical changes, I like to take the situation by the horns and develop different outcomes.
Let’s work the problem people.
Since central to recent situations have been our responses to calls for action, reframing the problem can produce different outcomes.
- Understanding that Life is not a pep rally full of tribal priorities, but that Life is about fulfilling our own priorities. The first of these priorities is the protection of ourselves. Protecting the mind brings the body along for the ride. Healthy mind = healthy body.
- Own your response to cues from others and just say, “No thank you.” Thanks for sharing your concerns but I will tackle problems in a way that is healthier for me.
- Do the things that make it make sense. Demanding others change just because one says so, has not worked. Work instead on developing a problem-solving method that works for you.
Creating Health
In the end, it is about our self-esteem and addressing the self-loathing message that is being broadcast. Letting go of ideas that do not contribute to our Health is important for ourselves and for our loved ones.
Understanding that courage is necessary to take such empowering steps, knowing that we are strong enough to do so is also empowering.
Responsibilities are not always one of our favorite things, but knowing ahead of time that we are up to the tasks, is especially hopeful.
“In a time of destruction, create something.”― Maxine Hong Kingston
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