Emotions and Health: Part 3

The last two blog post talked about how different emotions are able to affect us both mentally and physically. This blog post will overview methods a person can use to prevent, combat, and overcome harmful negative emotions so that we can stay in a healthy positive mindset.

There are different methods that a person can utilize to remove harmful stress or negative emotions from our system. Keeping them suppressed or trapped inside will only make it worse. Telling someone such as a loved one, family member, or friend, about the situation even if they are unable to help directly will help prevent emotions from building up and harming us. If unable to discuss the issue with those close to us, talking to an outside source such as a doctor, counsellor, or religious advisor will help with getting the feelings out. Discussing your negative emotions with a doctor will allow them to determine whether these negative feelings are just personal or are the result of other problems. Letting doctors know about strong persistent negative emotions will allow them to determine if these negative emotions are feelings of major depression, in which case they might diagnose deficiencies in your diet, prescribe medication, give a referral to see a counsellor, or a combination of these to help relieve the body of major symptoms and help reverse the condition.

Medication is commonly used to treat depression or severe anxiety. It is important to be aware that this medication does not provide a cure. It can cover up some symptoms and mask the problem, especially since these medications cause serious side-effects that negatively affect our mental and physical health. Antidepressant drugs have many complications. Common ones include nausea, anxiety, restlessness, headaches, weight gain, constipation, sleepiness, fatigue, dry mouth, diarrhea, blurred vision, tremors, sweating, nightmares, sleepwalking, and dizziness. These drugs are also known to have other harmful effects including insomnia, feelings of panic, and, as a study has shown, an increase in violent behavior such as hostility, anger, and aggression. It was shown that people taking antidepressants are more likely to have bone fractures than those that do not. Studies show that the drugs double the amount of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children under 18. It is actually recommended that children should not take antidepressant drugs due to this, although they are still commonly prescribed to them.

The complications are very common. Many individuals who have taken antidepressants have experienced nausea or headaches as side effects. These two symptoms would appear to almost disappear over time, but the person just stops noticing the symptoms and builds up resistance. The problem, however, is still there. 50% of people taking antidepressants have been found to have sex related issues and 22% of people have been found to have sleeping problems, with many of them having more than just one sleeping complication. Finding other methods than medication for relieving major depression is optimal as while they might mask the problem of depression many of their side effects can increase or cause other negative mental issues. Talk therapy is shown to provide the same or more benefits than taking medication and avoids the medication’s harmful side effects. These types of medication do not provide an instant cure or answer for the issue. It is best to first focus on improving or changing your diet, lifestyle, and mindset through other means such as diagnosing any possible allergies, such as those to gluten or dairy, or possible nutrient deficiencies; eating more antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables; getting more exercise or activity; engaging in a fun or relaxing hobby; volunteering or helping others; seeking professional counseling or therapy; or changing the situation you are in to reduce stress. If you feel you are unable to change the situation you are in, such as if you are working a job you hate, then you might want to change how you are dealing with the stress. You help deal with stress or work out your thoughts and emotions through journal writing, yoga, meditation, drawing, painting, playing an instrument, etc.

Creating a positive outlook and purpose in life provides us with a mental fortitude that can combat and prevent negative emotions and feeling from harming us. A positive state of mind can be created by finding aspects of life to be grateful about. This can be done by taking time to reflect on all good things that happened during the day and thinking about what makes us happy. Writing these events down in a journal helps to reaffirm them into our mind and allows us to read them again if we are feeling down and have negative feelings.

It is important to keep a positive image of ourselves to combat negative thoughts. Using techniques such as affirmations or hypnotherapy provide us ways to enter and keep our mindset in a healthy state by affirming positive aspects about ourselves. Repeating positive statements to ourselves with affirmations helps to remove buildup of negative feelings, lifting our spirits, energy levels, and improve our health. Exercising and eating a healthy balanced diet makes the body feel good which in turn gives us a positive mindset about ourselves.

Exercising is shown to help remove built up negative emotions, making it a form of activity to use if negative thoughts or emotions are affecting us. It is able to accomplish this in multiple ways. Exercising helps open up the blood vessels, increasing heart rate and blood flow, which in turn reduces blood pressure. It is able to regulate the heart rate and relax muscles; all of which help in reducing built up stress. The levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the brain increase. These are “feel good” transmitters that not only help in increasing our positive feelings, but also help in improving focus and attention levels. Exercise causes the release of endorphins which help with pain and interact with the brain, helping us feel good, lowering feeling of depression and anxiety, and boosting self-esteem.

Time spent exercising can be considered a form of quiet time as it allows our focus to be on the activity instead of our distracting or negative thoughts. An awareness of the physical sensations and benefits of exercising helps us realize the purpose of doing it and helps improve our body image by making us aware of what bodies are capable of. There is the notion that exercise will make us feel tired or fatigued after. It can, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise, but it actually helps increase our energy levels, particularly long-term, giving a boost on our daily performance. Exercise can help to socialize with people as many can be done with family, friends, or other individuals in an exercise group. A consistent exercise regimen is shown to be a useful substitute for antidepressant drugs and lowers the risk of relapse into depression. Many view exercise as another chore to add to their day but another way of viewing it is as a tool that can be utilized to help better ourselves both physically and mentally.

Food should be avoided for use as a way of comfort. It does not solve the problem nor does eating for comfort give the ability to remove the negative emotions. Comfort foods only make it easy to overeat, creating even more problems not only physically but mentally as well. In regard to food, a well balanced and nutritional meal plan will help in creating and maintaining a positive mindset. Having proper nutrition makes the body feel good. This improved mood helps create a more positive self image, which in turn helps create a more positive mindset regarding our perception of our environment. A lack of nutrients can be a major cause for negative thought patterns as many nutritional deficiencies are linked with negative thoughts. Deficiencies in omega 3 and vitamin D are linked with depression. Amino acids are also required for proper brain function, which affects mood. A well balanced meal helps keep the body functioning properly. This helps prevent negative thoughts and feelings from affecting us and keeps the brain in a positive and calm mindset.

There are many method that a person can use to combat and overcome negative emotions that plague the mind. These method are important to know and utilized in today’s work with the constant bombardment of negative. In the next blog post we will discuss methods to prevent negative emotions from infecting our mind and to learn how to utilize these emotions to learn what is truly bothering us so that we can push forward in life.