The Mind-Body Connection

One of the wonderful capabilities of your brain is to produce natural substances that can improve your health. Your brain is capable of producing endorphins, which are natural painkillers.  These chemicals produced in the brain in response to a variety of stimuli may be nature's cure for high levels of stress.

Discovered in 1975, endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which send signals within the nervous system. Stress and pain are the two most common causes of the release of endorphins. Endorphins interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain, having a similar action to drugs such as morphine and codeine. Unlike drugs, however, the release of endorphins does not lead to addiction or dependence. 

In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. 

Another natural substance that is produced by your brain to improve your health is gamma globulin which is useful for strengthening your immune system.  Gamma Globulin are a group of globulin proteins in human blood plasma, including most antibodies. These antibody substances are produced as a protective reaction of the body's immune system to the invasion of disease-producing organisms.  

Another natural substance that is produced by your brain to improve your health is interferon which is useful for combating infections, viruses, and even cancer.  Interferon is a protein naturally produced in our bodies to fight viruses by boosting the immune system. 

Your brain can combine these and other substances into an amazing prescription for health. 

The substances that your brain produces depend in part on your thoughts, feelings, and expectations. If your attitude about life in general, or particular stressors or illnesses, is negative and you don't have expectations that your life or condition will get better, your brain may not produce enough of the substances your body needs to heal. On the other hand, if your attitude and expectations are more positive, your brain is likely to produce sufficient amounts of the substances that will boost your body's healing power.

Physical health also has an impact on your brain's ability to produce substances that affect your mental well-being. An illness or injury or major stressor that causes long-term physical stress can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain. These imbalances may lead to depression and other mental health problems. 

Your body responds to, and is directly related to your thoughts, emotions, and actions. In order to promote wellness of your mind and body you can work on the following skills.

Manage stress through positive coping skills such as including humor, friendship, and love in your life.  Positive emotions boost your emotional and physical health. Fortunately, almost anything that makes you feel good about yourself helps you stay healthy.  Laugh. Humor makes life richer and healthier.  Humor decreases stress.  Laughter increases creativity, reduces pain, and speeds healing. Keep an “emergency laughter kit” that contains funny tapes, DVD’s, CD’s, music, books, jokes, cartoons, and photographs.

Seek out friends. Friendships are vital to good health. Close social ties and interactions help you feel better about yourself, and recover more quickly from illness and reduce your risk of developing diseases. 

Volunteer. People who volunteer live longer and enjoy life more than those who do not volunteer. By helping others, we help ourselves. 

Plants and pets can be highly therapeutic. When you garden or pet an animal, your blood pressure goes down and your heart rate slows. Animals and plants help us feel needed.  NHPA Mind-Body Wellness offers the services of psychologists, social workers and/or hypnotherapists to assess your coping skills and design a program to boost your skills and allow you to limit stressors and respond in more productive ways to those stressors that cannot be eliminated.

Practice optimism.  People with positive attitudes generally enjoy life more and they are generally healthier.  Optimism allows the brain to produce the important chemicals that are essential to healing and health. Optimists are more likely to overcome pain and stress. Patients with health problems who are optimists generally recover more quickly and have fewer complications than do patients who are less hopeful.  Create positive expectations for health and healing.  Mental and emotional expectations can influence medical outcomes. The effectiveness of any medical treatment depends in part on how useful you expect it to be. The "placebo effect" proves this. A placebo is a drug or treatment that provides no medical benefit except for the patient's belief that it will help. Many patients who receive placebos report satisfactory relief from their medical problem, even though they received no actual medication.  This shows us the power of the mind, and of optimism.  Changing your expectations from negative to positive may enhance your physical health. NHPA Mind-Body Wellness offers counseling sessions focusing on positive self-talk, positive affirmations, visualizations of health and healing, and discarding guilt.

Appeal to a higher power.  Whether this involves a belief in a higher power, meditation or relaxation, these types of activities can help with your emotional and physical well being.  NHPA Mind-Body Wellness offers relaxation and meditation training.