You may have noticed that I’ve been discussing mental health more than physical health. Although this wasn’t planned, as I’m just talking about what I feel like on the day, it made me think about my own health and my attitude towards it.
I firstly need to say that I don’t think it’s possible, or beneficial to separate physical and mental health when looking at possible treatments, the two are intertwined. When we are in pain it doesn’t just affect us physically but also affects our mental ability to cope with life. Mental stress can also cause physical pain. I think about the deterioration in my physical health when I suffered from Anorexia and the mental toll physical pain has on my body daily, or the physical symptoms I experience when having a panic attack.
I believe that an holistic approach is vital when discussing health. Having said that, I believe the stronger your mental health is, the more prepared and equipped you are to deal with physical symptoms like pain.
When you have a complex list of medical conditions it’s unlikely that you will find one remedy for them all. Therefore, you need to decide which symptom is having the biggest detrimental affect on your health, and tackle that first. For me, that was anxiety. Anxiety affects my ability to cope with everything in life including pain, fatigue and stress. I started taking CBD oil and practicing mindfulness meditation in an attempt to reduce my anxiety levels but along the way I also noticed improvements in many of my other symptoms too.
I guess what I am saying is, when you suffer from a multitude of symptoms, it’s easy to feel like there is no way out. You feel like you have no control and often want to give up. But rather than feeling overwhelmed at the impossible task of relieving all your symptoms, pick the one you feel most able to change and tackle that first.
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