The Mind, Body, and Spirit Connection
“You can’t trust your emotions, they will lie to you. You can’t trust your mind, it can be deceived. Listen to your spirit, it will lead you where to go.” I heard this quote while watching a dramatic television show today and decided to write this blog post in response. Growing up, I felt my emotions so intensely that I got tired of consistently feeling overwhelmed. So, in high school, I shut my emotions down and decided to trust only my rational mind. Eventually, however, I noticed that I shut off my relationships with other people and felt more like a computer than a person. I had heard abut the “spirit” but had no clue how to pursue it. What I did find out, however, is that I needed to find a balance between my emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and vocational health in order to feel strong and centered. So, I would say it is not our emotions, rational mind, or spirit which we need to focus on, but the balance between all five aspects of our holistic health.
“Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit - the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of wellbeing.”
Our emotions are reactive and temporary. They are trying to tell us something, but cannot be used to navigate our lives by. For example, if someone feels hurt by a friend who said something harsh or in anger, it does not mean that all friendships should be avoided or even that the friendship needs to be over. However, this person cannot ignore the hurt or it will eat away at them and affect every friendship they have until it is dealt with. Our emotional health fuels our humanity and the connection we have to other people.
The rational mind has “truths” thrown at it constantly and can be difficult to know which to follow. If the rational mind is trusted implicitly, the heart will be ignored and a person becomes more like a computer than a person. However, there is strength in pursuing the rational truths we choose to follow. Our mind can be directed (or re-directed) and give us the framework for where we go.
The physical body is a conduit for the mind and the heart. This means that, not only is our diet, exercise, and sleep patterns important, but our body feels the stress and strain our emotions and rational mind communicate back and forth. There are studies which show that prolonged stress/anxiety (especially caused by traumatic life experiences) can be held in the body and cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, or even more serious health issues such as significant disruption to gastrointestinal functioning, the cardiovascular system, immunological functioning, the reproductive system, the musculoskeletal system, neuroendocrine functioning, and brain structure/functioning. This is why somatic therapy can be helpful in many ways, as well as exercises such as yoga and reiki.
Our spiritual health is equally important, no matter your spiritual beliefs or religion. In this context, spiritual health means our connection to the larger world around us. This can be our connection to a higher power, to creativity, or to nature which all ground us. Our stories are all connected to each other and the spirit allows us to be aware of the connection to the world around us or to our creator.
The vocational health of a person also has a role to play in holistic health. We were created to create and to provide for our families, no matter what that looks like. Having a purpose helps fuel the other parts of our health. Of course, each person’s vocational pursuit varies and does not even need to provide monetary value if they cannot provide in this way. The goal is to find a way to provide purpose, even if this is through a hobby or volunteer work.
At Maker Story Creative, we value all five of these aspects to health and strive to help facilitate growth and holistic health in all our clients and partnerships. If you need some help finding balance in your health, please reach out and we would be glad to help either through individual therapy, group therapy, or through our creative support systems.
- Kyle Ford MA, LPC Owner and Therapist