Every year World Mental Health Day is observed on 10th October. Nowadays mental health disorders are becoming more common. Mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and stress not only affect your mental health but also your physical strength. Poor mental health can have a major impact on physical health, as it directly affects heart health, and increases the risk of stroke, and other conditions. Negative psychological factors and mental health disorders can negatively impact Cardiovascular health. Depression, stress, and anxiety are rising faster than ever. Mental health and strength play a huge role in the ability to compete and succeed in any physical activity or performance. Only when a person is mentally strong his /her body will also be physically strong. This blog discusses how good mental health leads to good physical health or vice versa.
As the brain and body are connected, good mental health can lead to good physical health.
Positive psychological attributes are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality rate but negative psychological health conditions such as depression, pessimism, anger, chronic stress, anxiety, and pessimism are associated with potentially harmful biological responses such as increased blood pressure, heartbeat irregularities, reduced blood flow to heart, inflammation, and digestive complaints.
Depression:
Depression is the most common mental disorder; it doesn't just impact mood and motivation. but also, directly affects the immune system by suppressing the T- cells' response to viruses and bacteria, making the person prone to sickness. A weak immune system can also lead to a jump in the severity of allergies or asthma. Stress triggers an immune response within the brain, and this inflammatory response may cause depression.
Mental illness and Fatigue:
Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders cause persistent feelings of exhaustion and tiredness. Exhaustion is the inability to keep up with a pace of 60 revolutions per minute for 5 or more seconds.
Persistent tiredness can easily lead to a decrease in physical health. When someone is depressed, they are less likely to engage in exercise. Fatigue from mental illness can also interfere with hygiene, thus increasing vulnerability to disease.
Stress:
Repeated stress, causes the brain to release cytokines. Cytokines are a type of protein associated with inflammation, and the release of cytokines leads to damage in the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that plays a critical role in depression. As a result of the immune system's response to stress, depression symptoms are triggered.
A strong immune system leads to strong physical health, but stress increases the chances of depression which may further weaken the immune system, resulting in a discouraging cycle.
Anger and Anxiety:
Angry and anxiety are bad for heart health. Intense anger episodes can act as a trigger for a heart attack. Tense body language and clenched fists or teeth increase a person's risk of heart attack 8.5 times higher.
Anxiety increases the risk of heart attack by 9.5-fold in the following two hours. Anger and anxiety involved in impulse control disorders can negatively affect the heart.
One of the most inexpensive and beneficial ways of boosting your mental health is exercising. Regular exercise can have an impact on the symptoms of mental disorders. An increase in activity levels such as 3 exercise sessions a week reduces the risk of depression by around 20 percent. Exercising is very effective, produces immediate benefits, and has no side effects if done appropriately. So, it is important to train the mind in addition to training the body. And exercise is one of the most natural and reliable ways to improve mental health. Routine workout or physical activity has numerous physical health benefits, such as stronger muscles, bones, heart, and lungs. And has a significant impact on your mental health too.
