The Key to Mental Health May Be In Your Body
Hi community. We lost our beloved family dog, Nellie, this week and it’s been tough. I’ve had my own work to do on grief, mindfulness and managing emotional rollercoasters.
Through my observations, I want to share with you this week on what I know about how our bodies respond to our mental health and how we can use this to our advantage for better health.
TOOLS
I geek out on everything brain - body connection. Obviously, as it’s why we opened Reset “Brain and Body”. I know our bodies are essential to us realizing optimal mental health but most of the time this “knowing” is nuanced. It’s subtle and sneaky. If I miss a cue, I can miss it for a while before I finally connect the dots again and “reset” my system into balance.
In handling my own grief the last few weeks, my body has been very, very present. I’ve noticed migraines resurfacing, digestive issues, insomnia, to name a few. Even though on the surface I feel like I’m managing okay, my body hasn’t gotten the signal that I am okay.
When our bodies sense threat that comes from stress, trauma and loss, it activates through our nervous system in a variety of ways. We can jump into sympathetic nervous system - the one that drives our fight/flight, adrenalin, hyper-vigilance, action-oriented behaviors - or move into dorsal vagal shut down which impedes our ability to digest, rest and properly restore.
Awareness of this connection is so important to our ability to manage the Big T and little t traumas we experience!
GRATITUDE
So while I can name and label the fact that my upset stomach may be due to my unresolved grief, what can I do about it?
Hah, well, that’s half the problem! So often we want to avoid the feelings we are experiencing by continuing to stay in activation mode. If I just do more, push above it and ignore then maybe it’ll settle on its own! Right?
Nope.
I know for certain that I must feel the emotion to let it process through me and re-stabilize my nervous system. If I do not, I then may completely shut-down because my hyperactivity and survival response has finally hit it’s limit.
For me, I am grateful for my yoga practice to settle my system. Additionally, things like avoiding caffeine, inflammatory foods, binge watching/reading to distract myself (which was my Wednesday night), and a jam-packed schedule are important.
INNOVATION
But why do we ignore the signs?
Did you know that more Millennial than any other age group have been diagnosed with auto-immune disorders?
Why aren’t we looking at emotional health and trauma when treating someone for chronic pain, inflammatory diseases and even cancer?
The medical community is pretty franchised, we know that. So, as an integrative mental health practice, we are mission driven to close the gap so we can educate and help a client holistically. We must. It’s the only way to truly create well-rounded mental health care.
Working with a team devoted to the connections within your health is essential, so you too can connect the dots.
PS- If you haven’t yet reached out to Alexa for bodywork, you are seriously missing out!
FEELS
Honestly, the fact that at age 35 I’m already experiencing some early symptoms of chronic diseases scares the heck out of me. I’m privileged as a mental health professional that I am armored with the knowledge to know what my body is telling me. But most people are not.
It takes courage to look at our physical health and get curious.
It takes commitment to assess ourselves through the lens of trauma and emotions.
It takes accountability to practice the lifestyle choices necessary to aide in our healing.
But it’s also essential to our well-being. Stress is toxic. And where previous generations may have numbed the effects of trauma and stress with substance abuse, adultery and escapism (no judgement, it just was the times!), the younger generations are looking for answers and prevention.
Call me bias, but I think integrative mental health care is the answer.
I’m excited to welcome Bethany back after her maternity leave as her main passion is biopsychology and the bridge between chronic disease and mental health. I am thrilled to bring on Eriana who works with trauma and somatic/body oriented treatments.
But I’m mostly excited to keep building and envisioning a practice where we can keep connecting the dots for all of you and keep giving you the help you need to just feel better and thrive for the rest of your life. The world’s future is uncertain, so let’s bring some control where we can.
Click here to learn more about somatic therapy.
