“The mind must be cured as well as the body, as the mind so is the body”

Daniel D. Palmer

Your mind and your body are connected and not just by skin and bones. A fascinating, emerging body of research aims to understand this amazing connection and its implications. So far it’s pretty impressive.

This connection, among other things, implies that some bodily ailments are actually unresolved psychological issues. In other words, your stomach might stop spinning if you would calm down. On a more serious note, pain that doesn’t have a medical explanation, may be the symptom of untreated childhood trauma.

How the Mind Impacts the Gut

One specific region of the connection in the body is our gut.

“The gut and the brain are closely linked through bidirectional signaling pathways that include nerves, hormones, and inflammatory molecules,” says Emeran Mayer, author of The Mind-Gut Connection. “The close interactions of these pathways play a crucial role in the generation of emotions and in optimal gut function.”

This means that they aren’t just connected, but that they rely on each other for optimal performance.

This connection can explain “why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress,” says Anthony L. Komaroff, Editor in Chief of the Harvard Health Letter.

He notes, however, that the mind-body connection doesn’t mean that you’re imagining things. We are, in-fact, talking about real gastrointestinal physical factors that you may be experiencing. Nevertheless, “psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms.”

Now What?

Fortunately, there are things you can do about the effects of you mind on your body, starting with the food you eat (more on that in a later post). For now, just try to notice what’s going on in your body as you read these words.

Have you ever noticed a connection between your bodily states and what’s on your mind?

Please share in the comments below.