The Mind/Body Connection

It is finally becoming more universally recognised that the mind and body are interconnected and that when looking at health and well being, we need to address the person as a whole. Healing is a complex and dynamic process that is dependant on many factors including: lifestyle, mind set, genetics, socioeconomics, personal resources, connections to others and environment.

Our body physiology reacts and adapts to our thought processes, beliefs and emotions

Our thinking brain, our mind, processes all kinds of thoughts, beliefs and emotions some of which we deem positive, some negative. These thought processes actually effect our body physiology by triggering the release of chemical messengers like neurotransmitters or hormones, which in turn control autonomic functions in the body such as heart rate, sweating and blood pressure. Next time you experience a strong emotion: fear, excitement, joy or anger notice what happens in your body physically. The reverse situation can also occur when felt sensations in your body can trigger an emotional response or thought process for example - ‘My chest hurts… What if i’m having a heart attack?!…. FEAR’

As a patient recovering from an injury or trauma it is useful to know how powerful this connection is as it can either help us or hinder us when we are trying to get better. If we are worried that our back is damaged and weak we might start to become fearful about moving normally. Postural adaptations used to off load the painful area, may have been useful in the first onset of pain, but will cause problems in the long term. Most patients don’t even realise that they are still functioning physically around adaptation patterns (weight bearing on the other leg) or mentally from beliefs formed from the fear response - “I am broken, I am damaged”.

During my treatment sessions with patients I like to consider your situation from this mind/body perspective to give you the best possible chance to recover.