Psychoneuroimmunology explains the relationship between the mind and body and our health. When we are feeling certain ways, it directly reflects our body’s ability to fight off infections and diseases. We are more prone to illness when our minds struggle. We are more resilient when our mental health is doing well.
The mind may have cycles. If a low mood occurs, it decreases the desire to take care of one’s self. We may not eat right, choosing to make hasty decisions because we already aren’t feeling well. We may choose to stop exercising. We don’t want to participate in activities that usually help our mood to rise back up, as it takes energy and we typically don’t have the energy there when we aren’t feeling well. The longer we stay in the down cycle, the harder it is to come back up. When we are down, it opens the door for our immune system to struggle as well.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t feel. Everyone will have times of not feeling well mentally. It becomes the aspect we have to work at breaking the cycle so both our mind and body can feel well. When we take small steps to increasing our mood, we slowly also increase our immune system and get back into a regulated state. A person can’t be happy all the time, but finding a balance in how to handle times of stress, depression, and difficult situations is key to overall wellbeing.
