If physical pain causes you to feel an emotion, how does it happen that emotions cause physical pain?
Many of you have heard me talk about muscles being more emotional than physical in regard to the pain you feel. In today’s newsletter, I will share with you an article about how your emotions can also affect your body organs. For example the heart, lungs, stomach, and intestines.
Like with your muscles, the fight or flight response affects organs as well. For example, when a person is running or fighting against something that scares them, the body will not stop eating, using the restroom, having sex, or any other physical thing except running or fighting back.
We have 27 different emotions. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on the 5 most common emotions:
Anger
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Worry
This article will further explain how these emotions can affect our major organs. Emotions definitely affect the heart and literally emotions cause pain in the heart, even if only heartache. A raised heart rate can lead to fatigue and sleeplessness. Anger and frustration can lead to the liver holding back bile. Worry and anxiety can affect the spleen which in turn can lead to exhaustion. Fear has a major impact on the kidneys. This can cause hot flashes and frequent urination.
Grief and sadness can affect the lungs which lead to shortness of breath. Negative emotions like nervousness, fear and rage can lead to stomach damage, like gastritis and ulcers. Emotions like fear and agitation can affect the small and large intestines which can lead to irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids.
As you can see, letting your emotions get out of control can lead to major physical problems. You can read the article at Do We Cause our Emotions?
Do Emotions Cause Pain in Our Muscles?
Anyone who has ever heard me speak knows that I believe our emotions affect our muscles. In fact, all the things discussed about the effects of emotions on our organs begin with the muscles. Think about how your muscle system changes just from shifting your emotions from happy to angry.
When we think of the fight or flight response, the muscles are the key to our response. Today more than ever, most people are living with chronic stress. Many people think of a stressed person as one on the edge of or near a nervous breakdown, but they would be wrong. Chronic stress comes from planning too many things to do each day, worrying about everything you see in the news, or worrying about not working out enough.
I meet people every day who cannot figure out why they’re in pain and then proceed to tell me how they are working out nearly all day doing several things to improve their bodies. What they are missing is that the stress of getting so many things into each day or week actually negates the hard work they are doing by creating chronic injuries.
Our healthcare system is designed to treat acute issues like heart attacks, broken bones, or a traumatic injury, for example, an auto accident. Today, most people are suffering from chronic issues, and we are not equipped to treat that. Chronic diseases and injuries are partially caused by the emotional temperament of the patient and it takes time to figure that out. Most health care practitioners do not have the time to spend with their patients to unravel the cause of their stress.
Most patients want something they can put on, a pill or injection they can take, or even surgery to solve a problem immediately, but the body does not work that way. Over a long period of time, specific emotions can affect how your body feels, and tend to ignore some diseases that can be deadly.
Keep in mind that it’s normal for everyone to feel each of these emotions and it is healthy if you do. However, if you find yourself angry, sad, or worrying most of the time, it can have a detrimental effect on the entire body.
What Can We Do to Improve?
Learn to be aware of your state of mind each day. Are you spending time watching the news during the day, then finding yourself worried about the future? Now we all are thinking about future events, but if you are constantly thinking about it, then you may want to reconsider what you watch.
If you are signing up for every workout class you can find, because you think you are not doing enough you are probably overdoing it. Unless you are an elite athlete, working out constantly is not necessary. Too many times people are using working out to overcome a bad diet, if you are one of those that use this method, you are destined to fail.
Begin by being aware of what you are feeling each day. Adjust habits to reduce your exposure to things that affect you negatively. If you need to improve your diet, talk to a nutritionist and read how to eat for your body. Meditation is a great way to start your day. I would suggest you learn how to meditate if you do not know how. Take a Tai Chi or Qigong class to calm your body while improving your balance and strength.
Of course, learn my Stretch n’ Release Technique to relax and release the tension in your body and improve your joints. Think about what it is you are training for. If you are not training for the Olympics or a pro sport, then there is no need to train that way.
In using my Stretch n’ Release Technique, you are allowing the brain to release the muscles versus brute force that you see in many gyms and physical therapy. It takes practice, but once you get it, and you will, your body will feel more energized and vibrant.
Want more information? Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and every Monday you will get a new video that is sure to help you improve your flexibility and pliability. Below is a sample of my videos.
Stretching is more about feeling the muscles letting go than forcing them to stretch. If you are forcing the muscle, you could be doing strength training, not stretching. Make sure you are feeling the intended muscle stretching. If not, the form could be wrong. Holding for 5 seconds allows the brain to release the muscle before it senses any danger. Repeating the stretches 10 times allows the brain to learn it is safe for the muscle to move that way.
Want to Talk with Me Directly? Start Here
We’re happy to offer you a complimentary 30-min virtual consultation so you can experience this for yourself. Schedule your introduction to Stretch n Release now.
About The Muscle Repair Shop
Drawing upon his personal experience as a former competitive athlete turned wheelchair, obese, and chronic pain sufferer, Muscle Repair Shop Founder Butch Phelps decided to take his health into his own hands when at the age of 36 he was told he might not make it to his 40th birthday. Applying balanced nutrition advice from his doctor along with a sound exercise program, he went from 315 lbs. to 180 lbs. Motivated by his experience, he then acquired degrees in advanced therapeutic massage and aging sciences to help people eliminate chronic pain. This included applying his expertise in how people age, including the effects of dementia, anatomy, psychology, and the day-to-day struggles of living as an older person to his practice and development of The Muscle Repair Shop’s one-of-a-kind Stretch n’ Release Technique.
Available through in-office and virtual coaching treatment sessions, this unique combination of stretching and breath work teaches the brain to release the emotional side of muscle tension and pain allowing clients to find lasting relief and healing from stiffness, aches, injuries, and chronic pain. The at-home exercises come with customized instructional videos and virtual or in-office support, allowing clients to enjoy and experience life and sports as they did before limitations slowed or curtailed activities.
