Or how negative emotions and stress can destroy our health.
When you ask what does " healthy lifestyle life”, most would say “proper nutrition and exercise”. But now I understand that it is much more than just food and exercise stress. Our emotional state plays a huge role.
Now I often think of an elderly man whom I knew when I lived in the States. He was almost 80, but he looked maybe at most 65. And he was a very active man! And in all plans :) I drove a car, played golf, went to play in a casino! And I would not say that he especially adhered to healthy eating or sports. But he was distinguished from many others by one feature that I noticed right away - he was cheerful and never took any problems to heart! Although he had enough of them!
Of course, you can say that this is all high level life and genetics. But I saw many other elderly people and not only in the States. And somehow it can be traced that those who pay minimal attention to annoying factors live longer and healthier!
Therefore, you can’t just focus on what you eat or what kind of physical unloading you do, you need to understand that we are not just physical beings, we have a soul and emotions. And our well-being directly depends on them.
Our medicine tells us that each disease must be treated as a separate condition. But our body is a holistic system where everything is interconnected. And emotions, including.
What is Emotions?
In scientific literature Emotion is explained to us as a natural instinct, depending on circumstances, mood, relationships with other people and the environment.. Emotions are directly related to the sensations in our body.
And now a direct connection between negative emotions and the development of diseases and pathological conditions has already been proven.
Scientists say that we have 5 basic emotions: joy, fear, anger, love and sadness. All other emotions are variations of these 5.
Influence of Emotions on Health - does it exist?
We are intelligent beings and in our body there is a special connection between consciousness and body.
In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a so-called organ system, and each individual organ is associated with a certain emotion. Excessive emotions lead to damage to a particular organ and / or system.
- Fear is kidney
- Anger and anger - the liver
- Anxiety - mild
Strong emotions can provoke a long and powerful response in our body. Now we can definitely say that any psychological negative event, which happens even in utero or in early childhood, can disrupt the synthesis of hormones, such as Cortisol, for the rest of your life. So I now know how emotions and stress affect health. And it turns out it all starts much earlier than we thought.
Traumatic experiences that you may not even remember later in life can trigger the development of autoimmune diseases and cancer.
But what about research?
Modern conservative medicine claims that health is genes, lifestyle and susceptibility to infections. And not a word about the mental state, feelings and emotions ...
The ACE study, conducted in the 1990s, followed 17,000 people and looked at the relationship between emotional experience and health in adulthood. The subjects had to say if they experienced one of eight forms of personal negative experience before the age of 18 years. And it turned out that those who had this very experience experienced 4-50 times more health problems: these were diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes, obesity, alcoholism and others.
So it turns out that what happened to us in childhood or even in the womb has a direct impact on our health at any age!
Relationship between stress and health
We all know that chronic stress is one of the causes of many diseases.
How exactly does stress affect our body?
Stress stimulates hormone synthesis cortisol and Adrenaline adrenal glands.
Cortisol is needed in small amounts by our bodies; problems begin when its level becomes constantly elevated. And it constantly rises from prolonged stress.
And what effect does additional Cortisol have? Well, for starters, it leads to . And then he invites with him extra pounds, hypertension, weak immunity, hormonal imbalance. And then - systemic chronic inflammation, which has a direct impact on the development of malignant tumors, heart and vascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes.
And let's not forget that stress and negative emotions lead to other serious problems, namely, looking for a way out, many begin to smoke, abuse alcohol and overeat.
How to get rid of negative emotions and stress?
We are all human, we breathe, we live and we experience emotions. And they are not always positive. You need to learn not to pay attention to the little things and be able to let go.
Many of us carry around bags of resentment, misunderstanding, hatred and anger. All this sits tightly inside you and slowly destroys.
Learn to forgive people, let go of grievances, forget the pain experienced. Look at your past with kindness and love. Accept it. In the end it made you a little better and stronger. Once you start letting go of the past, you will open the door to a happier and healthier life.
Only recently have I more or less stopped paying attention to the little things that used to irritate or infuriate me. Now I realized that I do not want to waste my energy and attention on this. And I look at it exactly as a waste! I'd rather give my energy and positive emotions to relatives and friends!
And I want to separately address the girls who carry a new life in themselves. Do not take on other people's emotions, do not react to negativity. Think about the fact that all this is postponed for the future health of your baby! Is it really worth it? Try to smile more and surround yourself with positive and friendly people.
Here's how I deal with stress and worries:
Emotional Freedom Technique
In its name conveys the whole meaning! Speaking and tapping on special meridians relaxes and helps to let go of negative emotions, traumas, stress and deal with bad habits. For a more visual example, I even wrote down how I do it.
Yoga
For me, yoga is not just a set of asanas or postures. This is pranayama (breathing) and meditation. After every session, I feel like I've been reborn! Regular yoga classes allow you to maintain a stable emotional state.
I am personally very impressed with Hatha and Kundalini yoga. I highly recommend yoga classes for pregnant women, it not only helps to relax, but also to feel all the muscles of the pelvis and learn how to breathe correctly!
- First principle
- Second principle
- Third principle
- Fourth principle
- Emotion as an accelerator
The importance of emotions in human life is incredibly high. It turns out that emotions are useful tool which can be actively used. It has been proven that a low degree of emotion brings disorganization, and a high degree leads to rapid exhaustion.
For each person, the basic emotion settings work, but you can organize them for yourself, create optimal modes. Let's see how it works, what are the four main laws in this area.
First principle
The higher the emotional arousal, the better the person performs his work. The effectiveness of actions increases. Gradually, emotional arousal reaches its peak, which is also known as the optimal emotional state. Then, if the emotional arousal continues to grow, then the efficiency of work performance decreases. It's confirmed Yerkes-Dodson law. It says that there is an optimal emotional-motivational level to which one must strive. If emotions exceed this bar, then a person loses the desire to learn, he is only interested in the result. There is a fear of not getting this result. Too strong emotions become your enemy, they influence the appearance of another kind of activity, they concentrate your attention not on what is needed at the moment.
Second principle
This principle explains the influence of emotions on a person, follows from the law of force of IP Pavlov. The law says that excitation can turn into extreme inhibition if strong stimuli act on the body.
One of the most powerful stimuli is anxiety. We all know the situation when, due to excitement, we cannot concentrate on doing the work, we forget elementary things that previously did not cause difficulties. For example, the first flight of a flight school cadet will be held under the strict control of the commander, who will voice all the actions for landing the aircraft. Although the cadet knew the whole procedure perfectly, he forgot everything because of the excitement. Joy can also be destructive. Too much intense joy from the upcoming victory may affect the performance of the athlete, and he will show a worse result than he could show.
The second principle is not so simple, there are a number of reservations here. A high level of arousal has a positive effect on the performance of simple actions. A person invigorates, ceases to be lethargic and passive. Cases of medium complexity should be accompanied by medium excitement. And when performing serious tasks, it is worth reducing the influence of emotions on human activity in order to do them well.
If you feel a high level of arousal, then it is better not to start difficult tasks. Switch to something that does not require serious brain activity. Clear your desk, put your papers in order. In a calm state, it is worth paying attention to more complex matters. So it is possible achieve maximum concentration and efficiency.
Sometimes increased arousal occurs during labor or school day when to perform challenging tasks. In this case, anxiety or tension cannot be stimulated. Try to remove the excitement. You can briefly switch to more simple steps, joke, use supportive gestures to remove the influence of emotions.
Third principle
The higher the emotional stress, the worse we make choices. The centers of excitation gain strength, they begin to dominate memory. So we stop see the right solutions. Intense emotions cause counterarguments to be ignored. The person considers himself absolutely right.
Fourth principle
This principle is similar to the reverse lane rule. There are two groups of emotions. The first is active, positive human emotions, also called sthenic. These include those feelings that favorably affect the body, for example, admiration, joy, surprise. The second group is passive emotions, also called asthenic. Boredom, sadness, apathy, shame. They negatively affect the life processes of our body. Both groups of emotions work on the principle of one-way traffic.
The work of sthenic emotions occurs as follows. If a person experiences joy or surprise, then his brain and other organs receive additional nutrition due to the expansion of blood vessels. Fatigue is unusual for a person, on the contrary, he tries to work more, to be in motion. We are familiar with this situation, when joy forces us to run, scream, jump with delight, laugh out loud and gesticulate strongly. We feel additional energy, a force that makes us move. A joyful person feels a surge of cheerfulness. Moreover, the expansion of blood vessels stimulates the brain to work productively. A person can have bright and extraordinary ideas, he thinks faster and thinks better. In all areas, there is a positive role of emotions in human life.
The opposite effect of emotions on a person is observed with asthenic emotions. Blood vessels narrow, which is why the internal organs and, most importantly, the brain are malnourished, anemia. Sadness (or other asthenic emotions) stimulate pallor of the skin, a decrease in temperature. The person may feel chills and difficulty breathing. Naturally, the quality of mental activity decreases, apathy and lethargy occur. A person loses interest in performing tasks, thinks more slowly. Asthenic emotions provoke fatigue and weakness. There is a desire to sit down, as the legs stop holding. If passive emotions have a long-term effect on the body, then all life processes begin to experience them. Negative influence(may occur depression, get out from which is not always easy).
The one-way rule mentioned above works in the case of unambiguous emotions. This rule has minor exceptions. But 90% of unequivocal emotions can either reduce human potential or increase it.
But the influence of emotions on human activity cannot be so simple. There are also ambiguous emotions that act as reverse lanes. They can have different directions, on which it depends whether the effect on the body will be favorable or negative.
To better understand the principle of work will help such an emotion as anger. If anger is used as psychological influence on the environment, then the effectiveness of the group and its balance are destroyed. Emotions and behavior of a person in a group change. But anger can stimulate the inner strength of a person, which, on the contrary, increases the efficiency of his work.
Anger can have a positive effect on conflict situations when they develop slowly. It stimulates the emergence of disagreements that have not previously appeared, have not been discussed. Anger aggravates the conflict, which leads to its resolution. Therefore, human emotions can be divided into the following groups:
- unequivocal emotions that positively affect activity;
- unequivocal emotions that negatively affect activity;
- ambiguous emotions that have a dual effect depending on their direction.
Emotion as an accelerator
The influence of emotions on human activity can significantly increase its effectiveness. Various emotions are responsible for this. The impact is not only on the intellectual sphere, but also on other areas of life. The group of emotions that positively affect activity includes:
Adoption. Trust begins with acceptance. Trust projects security and faith in a person, opinion, or situation. With trust, we can completely rely on the other, save ourselves from the need to control, from studying a certain issue.- Confidence. Trust causes many emotions, some of them polar. For example, trust can stimulate both love and hate. It can cause various conditions - both comfort and stress. The atmosphere of trust is favorable, but this feeling itself is not a motivation. Usually the beginning of work on many projects begins with acceptance and trust. They go hand in hand with performance. The lower the trust, the lower the efficiency. Its presence determines the internal atmosphere in any team. Observed positive influence emotions on human activity.
- Expectation. Expectation is related to our ideas about the result. It arises even before the result has appeared, it expresses the emotion of anticipation. Expectation is more powerful than acceptance and trust. It stimulates human activity, he is ready to perform any work that will be aimed at achieving the desired result.
Joy. This positive emotion causes feelings of satisfaction and activity. It appears very rapidly, often bordering on the strength of affect. A person feels joy when he receives a desired or pleasant gift, news, and so on. Creativity is strongly associated with joy and interest. These emotions combine to set us up for a constructive and productive creative process. Even if the joy is not related to the work process, the positive impact of this emotion can be transferred to the activity, increase its effectiveness. Joy is a strong stimulus, only surprise will be greater in strength.- Astonishment. This emotion is caused by a strong impression of an unusual or strange object or events. Surprise is often called the emotion responsible for clearing the channels, because. it is this that prepares the nerve pathways for activity, frees them. With the help of surprise, we can highlight and note something new and unusual for us. A person distinguishes the old from the new, stimulates attention to an atypical situation, makes it analyze. Thus, the efficiency of mental activity increases, since the brain wants to fully study the phenomenon or event that aroused surprise in it.
- Delight. Admiration occurs for a short period of time. Sometimes this feeling is confused with delight. The difference lies in the direction - admiration appears to certain person or subject. Of all the emotions described, admiration is the strongest. It significantly affects the activity and activity, makes you work to get a result. If a person feels admiration, it means that he sees a certain positive quality. When subordinates follow the conduct of successful negotiations, they try to achieve the same heights that their leader reached. When a project delights its participants, their responsibility for the result increases. And if admiration coexists with interest, then this symbiosis is already becoming a sure recipe for success.
Having understood and understood how emotions affect our activities and life in general, we can learn to control them. Development of emotional intelligence- one of the stages in building inner harmony and a serious step towards great success.
Emotions and spiritual interaction between people
Have you noticed that we feel and behave differently around other people? “The mood has changed,” we say. In fact, not only the mental attitude changes, but also the physiology of our body, which instantly reacts to what is happening around.
We perceive the "language" of the body and facial expressions, the mood of others with all our senses. Empathy, imitation, copying is inherent in us at the genetic level, and we cannot control these processes. We, like communicating vessels, transmit our moods, experiences, nervous interconnections to each other, “infecting” them and “infecting” others. Agree that such feelings as anger, fear, indignation are very contagious? Just like laughing and smiling!
The impact of emotions on health
Emotions (from lat. emoveo - shake, excite) are the subjective reactions of humans and higher animals to any external and internal stimuli. Emotions are a personal attitude, a person's reaction to events happening to him; they accompany all the processes of human life and are caused, among other things, by situations that exist only in the imagination.
Recently, scientists have begun to carefully study the impact of various kinds of emotions on human health. In small amounts, stress is even useful, as it helps the body to stay in good shape, not to sag and pushes to action. However, prolonged exposure to strong emotions is fraught with health problems.
Humanity has long known that emotions have a direct impact on health. Evidence of this is common sayings: “All diseases are from nerves”, “You can’t buy health: your mind gives you”, “Joy makes you young, grief makes you old”, “Rust eats iron, and sadness eats the heart”, etc ... Even in ancient times, doctors determined the connection of the soul (emotional component) with the physical component - the human body. The ancients knew that whatever affects the brain equally affects the body.
But at the time of Descartes, in the 17th century, this postulate was forgotten, and a person was “divided” into two components: the mind and the body, dividing diseases as either purely bodily or mental, which were shown to be treated in completely different ways.
Only recently have we again begun to look at human nature, as Hippocrates once did, in its entirety, realizing that in the study of diseases it is impossible to separate the soul and the body. Modern physicians recognize that the nature of almost all diseases is psychosomatic, that is, that the health of the body and spirit are interconnected and interdependent. Studying the influence of emotions on human health, scientists different countries came to some interesting conclusions. Thus, the Nobel Prize winner neurophysiologist Charles Sherrington established the following pattern in the appearance of various diseases: first, an emotional experience occurs, followed by vegetative and somatic changes in the body.
German scientists went further, establishing a connection between each organ and a specific part of the brain through nerve pathways. Today, scientists are developing the theory of diagnosing diseases according to a person's mood and express the possibility of preventing a disease before it develops. This is facilitated by preventive therapy to improve mood and the accumulation of positive emotions.
It is very important to understand here that repeated upsets provoke somatic diseases, and prolonged negative experiences entail stress. It is these experiences that weaken the immune system and make us defenseless. The feeling of unreasonable anxiety that has become chronic, depressive states and depressed mood are the basis for the development of many diseases. Unwanted, negative emotions include: anger, envy, fear, despondency, panic, anger, irritability. Orthodoxy classifies anger, envy, despondency as mortal sins not by chance, since each of these emotions leads to very serious illnesses with a sad outcome.
The meaning of emotions in oriental medicine
Oriental medicine also emphasizes that mood and certain emotions can cause diseases of certain organs. For example, kidney problems can be caused by fear, weak will and self-doubt. Because the kidneys are responsible for growth and development, them right job especially important in childhood. That is why children should grow up in an atmosphere of love and security. Chinese medicine encourages children to develop courage and self-confidence. Such a child physical development will always be age appropriate.
The main respiratory organ is the lungs. Irregularities in the functioning of the lungs can be caused by sadness and sadness. Violation of the respiratory function, in turn, can cause many concomitant diseases. Treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults, in terms of oriental medicine, should begin with an examination of all organs, including the lungs.
Lack of vitality and enthusiasm can negatively affect the work of the heart. His healthy work is hindered by: poor sleep, depression and despair. The heart regulates the function of blood vessels, so its condition can be easily determined by the complexion and tongue. Arrhythmia and palpitations are the main symptoms of heart failure. And this, in turn, can lead to mental disorders and disorders of long-term memory.
Irritation, anger and resentment affect the functioning of the liver. It is in this connection that people offended by someone say: “He is sitting in my liver!”. The consequences of a liver imbalance can be very severe. This is breast cancer in women, headaches and dizziness.
In connection with the foregoing, medicine calls for experiencing only positive emotions: this is the only way to maintain good health for many years! Of course, get rid of negative emotions immediately, as if by a wave magic wand, is unlikely to succeed. But here are a few helpful tips to help you:
- First of all, it is necessary to understand that we need emotions, since the internal environment of the body must exchange energy with the external environment. And such an energy exchange will not be harmful if natural emotional programs inherent in nature are involved in it: sadness or joy, surprise or disgust, a sense of shame or anger, interest, laughter, crying, anger, etc. The main thing is that emotions should be a reaction to what is happening, and not the result of "winding" oneself, so that they manifest themselves naturally, without anyone's coercion, and not exaggerate.
- Natural emotional reactions should not be restrained, it is only important to learn how to express them correctly. Moreover: one should learn to respect the manifestation of emotions by other people and adequately perceive them. And in no case should one suppress emotions, no matter what color they may be.
On the dangers of suppressing emotions:
Suppressed emotions do not dissolve in the body without a trace, but form toxins in it, which accumulate in the tissues, poisoning the body. What are these emotions, and what is their effect on the human body? Let's consider in more detail.
Suppressed anger - completely changes the flora in the gallbladder, bile duct, small intestine, worsens pitta dosha, causes inflammation of the surface of the mucous membrane of the stomach and small intestine.
Suppressed fear and anxiety - change the flora in the colon. As a result, the stomach swells from the gas that accumulates in the folds of the colon, causing pain. Often this pain is mistakenly attributed to heart or liver problems.
Suppressed emotions are the cause of tridosha imbalance, which in turn affects the element of fire - agni, which is responsible for immunity in the body. The reaction to such a violation may be the occurrence of an allergy to such completely harmless phenomena as: pollen, dust and flower smell.
Suppressed fear will cause disturbances in the energy air currents - vata dosha.
Suppressing the emotions of fire - anger and hatred can cause food sensitivities that aggravate pitta in people with a pitta constitution from birth. Such a person will be sensitive to hot and spicy foods.
People with a kapha constitution (prone to fullness) who suppress the emotions of kapha dosha (attachment, greed) will have an allergic reaction to kapha food, i.e. will be sensitive to foods that aggravate kapha (dairy products). This can result in constipation and wheezing in the lungs.
Sometimes an imbalance that gives rise to a painful process may first arise in the body, and then manifest itself in the mind and consciousness - and, as a result, lead to a certain emotional background. Thus the circle is closed. The imbalance, which first manifested itself on the physical level, later affects the mind through disturbances in the three doshas. As we have shown above, vata disorder provokes fear, depression and nervousness. Excess Pitta in the body will cause anger, hatred and jealousy. The deterioration of kapha will create an exaggerated sense of possessiveness, pride and affection. Thus, there is a direct relationship between diet, habits, environment and emotional disturbances. These disorders can also be judged by indirect signs that appear in the body in the form of muscle blocks, clamps.
How to find the problem
The physical expression of emotional stress and emotional toxins accumulated in the body are muscle clamps, the causes of which can be both strong feelings and excessive strictness of upbringing, hostility of employees, self-doubt, the presence of complexes, etc. If a person has not learned to get rid of negative emotions and is constantly tormented by some difficult experiences, then sooner or later they manifest themselves in muscle clamps in the facial zone (forehead, eyes, mouth, back of the head), neck, chest region (shoulders and arms), in the lumbar region, as well as in the pelvis and lower extremities.
If all these states are temporary, and you manage to get rid of the negative emotions that provoke them, then there is no reason to worry. However, chronic muscle stiffness, in turn, can lead to the development of various somatic diseases.
Consider some emotional states that, being in a chronic form, can cause certain diseases.
depression - sluggish mood, not dependent on circumstances, for a long time. This emotion can cause quite serious problems with the throat, namely frequent sore throats and even loss of voice.
Samoyedism- Feeling guilty about everything you do. The result can be a chronic headache.
Irritation - the feeling when literally everything annoys you. In this case, do not be surprised by frequent bouts of nausea, from which medicines do not save.
Resentment- feeling humiliated and insulted. Be prepared for gastrointestinal upset, chronic gastritis, ulcers, constipation and diarrhea.
Anger- causes a surge of energy, which is rapidly growing and suddenly splashing out. An angry person is easily upset by failures and is unable to restrain his feelings. His behavior is wrong and impulsive. As a result, the liver suffers.
Joy- dissipates energy, it is sprayed and lost. When the main thing in a person's life is getting pleasure, he is not able to retain energy, he is always looking for satisfaction and ever stronger stimulation. As a result, such a person is prone to uncontrollable anxiety, insomnia and despair. In this case, the heart is often affected.
sadness- stops the action of energy. A person who has gone into the experience of sadness breaks away from the world, his feelings dry up, and his motivation fades. Protecting himself from the joys of attachment and the pain of loss, he arranges his life in such a way as to avoid the risk and vagaries of passion, becomes inaccessible to true intimacy. Such people have asthma, constipation and frigidity.
Fear- reveals itself when survival is in question. From fear, energy falls, a person turns to stone and loses control over himself. In the life of a person seized with fear, the expectation of danger prevails, he becomes suspicious, withdraws from the world and prefers loneliness. He is critical, cynical, confident in the hostility of the world.
Isolation can cut him off from life, making him cold, hard and soulless. In the body, this is manifested by arthritis, deafness, and senile dementia.
Thus, along with the correction of nutrition and lifestyle, selected by an Ayurvedic doctor in accordance with your constitutional type, it is very important to learn how to manage your emotions, take them under control.
How to work with emotions?
To this question, Ayurveda gives advice: emotions should be observed from a distance, with full awareness of how they unfold, comprehending their nature, and then allow them to dissipate. When emotions are suppressed, it can cause disturbances in the mind and ultimately in bodily functions.
Here are some tips that you can follow steadily to improve your emotional situation.
A tried and true method that requires constant effort from you is to be kind to others. Try to think positively, be kind to others, so that a positive emotional attitude contributes to health promotion.
Practice the so-called spiritual gymnastics. In ordinary life, we do it every day, scrolling through the usual thoughts in our heads, empathizing with everything around us - the sounds from the TV, tape recorder, radio, beautiful views nature, etc. However, you need to do this purposefully, understanding which impressions harm your emotional health, and which ones contribute to maintaining the desired emotional background. Proper spiritual gymnastics causes corresponding physiological changes in the body. Remembering this or that event of our life, we evoke and fix in the body the physiology and nervous interconnections corresponding to that event. If the remembered event was joyful and accompanied by pleasant sensations, this is beneficial. And if we turn to unpleasant memories and re-experience negative emotions, then in the body the stress reaction is fixed on the physical and spiritual planes. Therefore, it is very important to learn to recognize and practice positive reactions.
An effective way to “remove” stress from the body is proper (not excessive) physical activity, which requires fairly high energy costs, such as swimming, exercising in the gym, running, etc. Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises help to get back to normal very well.
A means of getting rid of mental anxiety as a consequence of stress is a confidential conversation with a loved one (good friend, relative).
Create the right thought forms. First of all, go to the mirror and look at yourself. Pay attention to the corners of your lips. Where are they directed: down or up? If the lip pattern has a downward slope, it means that something constantly worries you, saddens you. You have a very developed sense of forcing the situation. As soon as an unpleasant event happened, you already painted a terrible picture for yourself. This is wrong and even dangerous to health. You just have to pull yourself together right here and now, looking in the mirror. Tell yourself it's over! From now on - only positive emotions. Any situation is a test of Fate for endurance, for health, for prolonging life. Desperate situations it doesn't happen - you should always remember this. No wonder people say that time is our best healer, that the morning is wiser than the evening. Do not make hasty decisions, let go of the situation for a while, and the decision will come, and with it a good mood and positive emotions.
Wake up every day with a smile, listen to good pleasant music more often, communicate only with cheerful people who add a good mood, and do not take away your energy.
Thus, each person himself is responsible for the diseases from which he suffers, and for recovery from them. Remember that our health, like emotions and thoughts, is in our hands!
Emotions are an integral part of the reaction of man and other higher animals to factors environment. They appear constantly and affect the behavior and actions of any thinking being all his life, so it is obvious that not only the spiritual state of a person, but also his physical health depends on the emotional background to a certain extent.
The word “emotion” itself comes from the Latin “emoveo”, which means excitement, shock, experience. That is, it is logical to perceive the emotions that arise in us as fluctuations passing through the whole body, affecting all organs and systems, linking them together.
Since ancient times, scientists interested in medicine have observed a correlation between the prevailing emotional state and human health. This is written in the treatises of oriental medicine, the works of Hippocrates and other ancient Greek scientists. We can also trace the understanding of the relationship between emotional and physical health among the people thanks to well-known sayings: “joy makes you young, and grief makes you old”, “like rust eats iron, sadness corrodes the heart”, “you can’t buy health - it gives the mind”, “all diseases from nerves." These statements call for attention to the detrimental effect of severe emotional stress on the nervous system, which negatively affects the health of other organs and systems.
In modern science, the connection between physical health and emotions was confirmed by neurophysiologist Charles Sherington, Nobel Prize winner. He deduced a pattern: the resulting emotional experiences flow into somatic and vegetative changes.
- Physiology of the influence of emotions on the body.
The reaction to the world around us, first of all, occurs in the central nervous system. Receptors from the sense organs send signals to the brain, and it responds to emerging stimuli, forming a set of commands to help overcome the obstacle that arises or consolidate the correct action.
- Scheme of the impact of negative emotions.
With negative emotions, for example, in response to resentment, aggression occurs, reinforced by the adrenal hormone norepinephrine; when you feel danger, fear arises, reinforced by adrenaline; the appearance of a rival or competitor for resources becomes a cause of jealousy and envy. Regular irritation appropriately transforms ordinary, controlled emotions into something more: in the first case, aggression develops into hatred, in the second - fear into anxiety (the state of the victim), in the third - into irritability and discontent.
- Scheme of action of positive emotions.
Positive emotions are accompanied by the release of happiness hormones (endorphins, dopamine), they give a euphoric effect that makes a person try harder to get joy and peace again. Similarly, serotonin works, the level of which in the blood determines sensitivity to pain and physical factors (it is thanks to it that children so easily forget about injuries and are able to ignore obvious injuries such as cuts, tears, etc. for a long time).
- Physiological manifestations of emotions.
Hormones prepare the body to respond to irritation: the heart rate accelerates, blood vessels dilate, characteristic facial expressions occur, abdominal muscles contract, breathing quickens, the evacuation function of the gastrointestinal tract is stimulated, “goosebumps” appear (adaptation to air temperature), fever, nervous excitement.
When the boundary of regular influence is overcome, this means that the person did not cope with the problem on his own, which constantly caused the corresponding emotions. Upon reaching a certain limit, individual for each, the body itself takes the levers to control the body. Thus, with the new appearance of the stimulus, the conscious part of the personality loses control. In this case, a person begins to behave like an animal, is able to harm himself or others, that is, emotions can not only harm the physical body, but also seriously undermine spiritual health.
In the case of constant emotional influence, be it positive or negative, the body self-destructs, as a person ceases to pay attention to his primary needs. A constant strong reaction (excitement, concern, fear, euphoria) exhausts the body, which becomes the cause of the disease.
Each of us knows that emotions that arise as a result of any events are an aid to the formation of mood. And the mood, in turn, depends on the ability to cope with certain problems. Cheerfulness of spirit is always accompanied by success and joy, and depression and fatigue are always accompanied by illnesses and misfortunes.
Oriental medicine has an extensive knowledge base to find the relationship between individual internal organs and external manifestations of their condition. For example, it was Eastern doctors who created maps of bioactive points, a urinalysis system, schemes for the values of the type and color of plaque on the tongue, and it was determined by what changes in facial features one or another disease can be detected.
How negative emotions affect health:
Anxiety, anxiety, depression - these emotions extinguish the manifestations of energy in a person, make them fear the world around them. The consequence of constant restraint is problems with the tonsils (tonsillitis) and throat (bronchitis, laryngitis), up to loss of voice;
Jealousy - unrest caused by the desire to limit the freedom of a nearby person and greed, provoke insomnia and frequent migraines;
Hatred - sudden surges of energy that overwhelm the body, splash out to no avail, shaking the human psyche. He often and greatly suffers from the slightest setbacks, and improper impulsive behavior leads to problems with the gallbladder, stomach and liver.
Irritation - when every little thing irritates a person, we can talk about sensitization of the body caused by a weakening protective functions. It is not surprising that such people suffer from frequent bouts of nausea (a physiological reaction to poisoning), which no medication can cope with;
Arrogance and snobbery - arrogance provokes constant dissatisfaction with the things and people around a person, which causes problems with the joints, intestines and pancreas;
Fear - appears in people for whom the main goal is survival. Fear absorbs energy, makes a person cynical, withdrawn, dry and cold. Suspicion and confidence in the hostility of the world provoke arthritis, deafness and senile dementia in such a person;
Self-doubt - guilt for every oversight and mistake overloads thoughts and causes chronic headaches;
Despondency, boredom, sadness - such emotions stop the flow of energy in the body, provoke stagnation, loss of motivation. In an effort to protect himself from risks and new attachments, a person goes into his own sadness and loses the opportunity to get bright positive emotions. As a result, he is overtaken by constipation, asthma, immunodeficiency, impotence, frigidity.
Excessive joy is also referred to negative manifestations of emotions, because because of it, a person’s energy dissipates without a trace, getting lost and wasted in vain. Due to constant loss, a person is forced to look for new pleasures, which he is again unable to keep. The cycle closes, and life turns into a constant search for entertainment, which leads to anxiety (fear of losing access to what you want), despair and insomnia.
Of course, it should be borne in mind that one-time, rare manifestations of negative emotions are a completely normal reaction to the problems that every person has. To a certain extent, they even turn out to be useful, because, firstly, they are able to push a person to an important decision and stimulate the desire to correct the problem situation in the right direction, and secondly, they are a contrast against which positive emotions become more desirable and better tangible. .
Problems bring long-term emotional impacts that become pathological over time. It is they that undermine the body from the inside and are able to make a person defenseless against the surrounding harmful factors, creating the basis for the development of all kinds of diseases.
emotions feeling upbringing
Emotional education of a person is not only one of the significant goals of education, but also an equally important component of its content. P. K. Anokhin Anokhin Pyotr Konstantinovich - Soviet physiologist, creator of the theory of functional systems, academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences (1945) and the USSR Academy of Sciences (1966), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1972). wrote: "Producing almost instantaneous integration (combining into a single whole) of all functions of the body, emotions in themselves and in the first place can be an absolute signal of a beneficial or harmful effect on the body, often even before the localization of effects and the specific mechanism of the body's response are determined. ". Thanks to the emotion that has arisen in time, the body has the opportunity to adapt extremely favorably to the surrounding conditions. He is able to quickly respond to external influence, without yet defining its type, form, and other particular specific parameters. Positive emotions and feelings (joy, bliss, sympathy) create an optimistic mood in a person, contribute to the development of his volitional sphere. Positive emotional arousal improves the performance of easier tasks and makes it more difficult for more difficult ones. But at the same time, positive emotions associated with achieving success contribute to an increase, and negative emotions associated with failure - to a decrease in the level of performance of activities and exercises. Positive emotions have a significant impact on the course of any activity, including educational. The regulatory role of emotions and feelings increases if they not only accompany this or that activity, but also precede it, anticipate it, which prepares a person for inclusion in this activity. Thus, emotions themselves depend on activity and exert their influence on it.
In physiological terms, positive emotions and feelings, acting on the human nervous system, contribute to the improvement of the body, while negative ones destroy it and lead to various diseases. Positive emotions and feelings have a powerful effect on behavioral processes and thinking.
1) Positive thinking. Being in a good mood, a person argues in a completely different way than when he is in a bad mood. Studies have shown that good mood is manifested in positive free associations, in writing funny stories when asked on the TAT (thematic apperception test). The TAT includes a set of cards with pictures that are indeterminate in content, allowing for arbitrary interpretation by the subjects, who are instructed to compose a story for each picture. Interpretation of the answers allows you to judge personality traits, as well as temporary, current state subject, his mood.), favorable descriptions of social situations, self-perception as a socially competent person, a sense of self-confidence and self-esteem.
2) Memory. In a good mood, it is easier to remember joyful events in life or words filled with positive meaning. The generally accepted explanation for this phenomenon is that memory is based on a network of associative links between events and representations. They interact with emotions, and at the moment when the individual is in a certain emotional state, his memory is tuned to the events associated with this particular state.
3) Problem solving. People who are in a good mood approach problems differently than those in a neutral or sad mood. The former are characterized by increased reaction, the ability to develop the simplest solution strategy and make the first solution found. Experiments have shown that stimulating good mood (positive emotions) leads to original and varied word associations, suggesting a potentially wider creative range. All this contributes to an increase in creative returns and favorably affects the process of solving problems.
4) Help, altruism and sympathy. Many studies have shown that happy people are characterized by such qualities as generosity and willingness to help others. The same qualities are also characteristic of people whose good mood was caused by artificial stimulation of positive experiences (receiving small gifts, recalling pleasant events, etc.). People who are in a good mood believe that helping others is a compensatory and beneficial action that contributes to maintaining a positive emotional state. Observations show that people who are in a good mood and notice a discrepancy between their own state and the state of others, try to somehow balance this inequality. It has been established that the environment also has a significant impact on the relationship of people.
Negative emotion disorganizes the activity that leads to its occurrence, but organizes actions aimed at reducing or eliminating harmful effects. There is emotional tension. It is characterized by a temporary decrease in the stability of mental and psychomotor processes, which, in turn, is accompanied by various rather pronounced vegetative reactions and external manifestations of emotions.
The emotional factor can have a very strong influence on a person and even lead to much deeper pathological changes in organs and tissues than any strong physical effect. Cases of death are known not only from great grief, but also from too much joy. So, the famous philosopher Sophocles died at the moment when the crowd gave him a stormy ovation on the occasion of the presentation of his brilliant tragedy.
Mental stress, especially the so-called negative emotions - fear, envy, hatred, longing, grief, sadness, despondency, anger - weaken the normal activity of the central nervous system and the whole organism. They can be not only the cause of serious diseases, but also cause the onset of premature old age. Studies show that a person who is constantly anxious experiences visual impairment over time. Practice also speaks of this: people who have cried a lot and experienced great anxieties have weak eyes. An aggressive feeling also has a negative effect on a person. In the structure of aggressive behavior, feelings are the force (expression) that activates and to some extent accompanies aggression, ensuring the unity and interpenetration of its sides: internal (aggression) and external (aggressive action). An aggressive feeling is, first of all, a person's ability to experience such emotional states as anger, anger, hostility, revenge, resentment, pleasure, and others. People can be plunged into such states both by unconscious (for example, heat, noise, tightness) and conscious (jealousy, competition, and others) reasons. The formation and development of aggression is carried out on the interweaving of feelings and thoughts. And the more thoughts dominate, the stronger and more sophisticated aggressive actions will be, because only thought can conflict, direct and plan aggression.
Many are accustomed to thinking that negative emotions and feelings (grief, contempt, envy, fear, anxiety, hatred, shame) form weak will and weakness. However, such an alternative division is not always justified: negative emotions also contain a "rational" grain. One who is devoid of the feeling of sadness is just as pathetic as the person who does not know what joy is or who has lost the sense of humor. If there are not too many negative emotions, they stimulate, make you look for new solutions, approaches, methods.