Thoughts,
Emotions and Your Health
Proverbs 17:22
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken
spirit drieth the bones."
Being
happy is good medicine and unhappiness results in poor health. Negative thought
have been shown to stimulate the release of hormones such as cortisol, which
over time will harm your health and well being. In fact, high levels of
cortisol, which is an adrenal hormone, will suppress specific immune cells
resulting in the decreased production of antibodies leading you to be more
vulnerable to bacteria, viruses and illness. Prolonged stress, fear and anxiety
over time suppresses the immune system and effects the very marrow of the bones
(where the white blood cells of the immune system are produced) resulting in
the "drying of the bones".
Everything
that goes on in our thoughts is converted into a physical or biologic response.
It is not so much what enters our mind but how long we choose to dwell on it.
We live in a world that is often more negative than positive. We get hurt,
offended, abused and taken advantage of. We make mistakes and often let our own
selfish interest determine our actions, resulting in hurt for ourselves and
others.
I
remember reading the results of a scientific study, which concluded that the
major cause of stress in peoples lives came from making bad decisions. Duh!!
Certainly the consequences of our poor choices impact our lives, but dwelling,
contemplating and ruminating (that is what cows do - regurgitate what they've
eaten to chew on it some more) make matters much worse. As we entertain and
recount the negative in our lives (often by sharing again and again with
others), it impacts which hormones and chemicals are secreted in our bodies.
Positive thoughts bring us toward healing, health and happiness. Negative
thought toward illness, pain and disease. Not to mention being unhappy.
The
glorious thing about thoughts is we can choose which ones dominate our minds
stage. We can choose which thoughts are allowed to be principle characters and
which darker more sinister thoughts get driven from the stage to be relegated
to minor roles. Even horrific life events can be transformed to much less
dominate players.
The
scriptures are loaded with advice, guidance and direction that affirm the
benefits of dwelling on good or happy thoughts. We are taught to "let
virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly" and that "as a man thinketh
in his heart, so does he become". Thoughts are powerful. So powerful that
your health and even your life will not be sorted out and healed until your
mind and thoughts are sorted out. You cannot have a positive life and a
negative mind. What you think and dwell upon is what you get, for better or for
worse. It is entirely up to you. Many of us are so nice and pleasant with
others, but within the protected walls of our minds, we are not so nice to
ourselves.
Therefore
if you want to change your life, if you are not happy with your state of
health, you've got to change your thinking. This will take some effort and
practice but if you truly desire happiness, you can do it.
Here
are a few examples of how negative thoughts can result in specific illness or
disease. These are general observations not hard fast rules.
Fear and Anxiety = Heart Disease, High Blood
Pressure, Allergies and Asthma
Anger/Rage/Resentment = Stroke, aneurism, Varicose
veins
Perfectionism/Drivenness = Fibromyalgia, Chronic
Fatigue
Jealousy/Envy = Osteoporosis
Bitterness/Unforgiveness = Cancer, Arthritis
Low Self Esteem/ Guilt/Self-Hatred =
Depression, Addictions, Weight Gain, Auto-immune disease, Migraines and Crohn's
Disease.
Understand
that much of what we experience emotionally can be genetically passed down to
us from parents, grandparent and great grandparents. So if you have a
predisposition towards depression, for example, due to a long family history of
depressed people, it may not be your fault, BUT it is your responsibility. Even
though you may have spent 40, 50 or even 60 years of dwelling on toxic
thoughts, you can change and heal your brain relatively quickly.
We
will discuss this in more detail later, but to begin with, become aware of your
thoughts. Imagine your mind as a stage. When a dark or unwanted negative
character walks on, you must drive them off. For many this is best done with a
song. But playing or singing an inspirational song in your heart and mind, the
light produced by uplifting music will chase the darkness away. Many use
spirituals, hymns or even children gospel songs. Others can quote scripture and
still others will cast these demons out in the name of Christ. The point,
with controlling our thoughts, is the hurt, the anger, the fear, the anxiety
cannot be given stage time. It is normal and even okay that darkness
crosses the threshold, but you and you alone determine whether it stays or not.
As you begin a serious work of this, you will observe your spirits rising and
with that less pain and discomfort.
Much
of this information is from Dr. Michelle Strydom's book: Healing begins
with Sanctification of the Heart. She is a medical doctor in Zimbabwe
and offers it as a free download, which I highly recommend.
Interested? Click on this image for a free download of this book.
Interested? Click on this image for a free download of this book.
