Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health

In life we typically think of our physical, mental and spiritual health as three distinct types of health. The truth is that all three are part of the same thing, our health. When our body becomes physically sick it makes us more vulnerable to psychological and spiritual problems.  This is even more pronounced when you already face mental challenges.

Can you remember a time when you were sick AND happy? I know I cannot think of any.  For example, the last two weeks I have been fighting bronchitis and along with the feeling physically miserable, I have felt emotionally miserable as well. It has left me more prone stress, depression and anger problems.

The more run down your body and spirit are, the harder it is to find mental balance in your life. It is also true that the more out of balance you are mentally and emotionally, the more likely you are to have your physical or spiritual health suffer.

When you suffer from poor mental health, it becomes increasingly likely that you will start to lose interest in and neglect your physical and spiritual well-being.

For example, conditions like depression, bi-polar disorder and borderline personality disorder may leave you feeling like there is no point in eating or exercising right because you feel there is no hope in life or that no one else cares, so why try. When you neglect these things, like I do, it lowers your resistence to germs and increases your chance of getting sick. At the same time you may begin to neglect your spiritual well-being because you feel that even God has abandoned you or simply does not care.

The only way to truly be healthy is to address and pay attention to all parts of your health. It is why mental health professionals remind you to eat right and get enough sleep. Just like all the systems out the body (nervous, respritory, etc) are connected, so are the different components of our health.

Comments

Comment from Sheri - 2012/08/10 at 08:11

Good point. I’ve been under a great deal of stress, dealing with things that have pushed all my coping skills to their limit. This past week I’ve seen the physical results.