Last update: 10 September, 2016
To face the world, we need to explore our most emotional and creative side. Our body communicates and reflects the way we feel, so it gives us information about our state of mind. For this reason it is vital to understand the messages hidden behind our emotions, because our health will benefit from them, as well as the way we relate to other people.
It is essential to distinguish between hearing and listening. Hearing means only using the sense of hearing that allows us to orient ourselves in the world around us. Listening, on the other hand, has a particular meaning, namely that of paying attention. Maybe we hear, but it doesn't mean we're also listening. Listening implies making an effort, it means being there, perceiving what our body and our emotions tell us and what they want to convey to us.
Everything that exists begins with language. And language begins with listening.
Jeanette Winterson
You have to listen to your body, talk about our emotions
The most common causes of illness are negative attitudes and emotions. Seeking attention and avoiding unpleasant situations are circumstances in which our body speaks, usually showing symptoms as signs that something is wrong.
People who do not understand that these reactions depend on the negative emotions they experience often suffer from physical illness as a result of an emotional block.
There is a number of researches that corroborate the power of emotions on the human body. Scholars have found a more than evident relationship between pain and stress. Emotional stress, or emotional problems that have repercussions on a physical level as we cannot manage them properly, can leave a permanent mark on our body.
The most frequent symptoms of emotional stress are:
- emotions: depression or anxiety, irritability, fear, nervousness.
- thoughts: excessive fear of failure, too much self-criticism, difficulty concentrating, difficult decisions to make, distorted thoughts.
- Behaviors: Abrupt attitude towards others, increased consumption of alcohol, drugs or smoking, increased or decreased appetite, grinding of teeth.
- Physical changes: muscle tension, cold or sweaty hands, insomnia, headache, fatigue, back or neck problems, labored breathing, sleep patterns, sexual dysfunction.
As we said earlier, the mental attitude can block us to the point of triggering physical problems. This mental block originates when emotions emerge from within that make us lose attention or connection to what we are doing. Negative emotions are a cause of distraction, we stop being focused on the activity we are doing and begin to mull over these emotions.
