A Practical Guide to Mastering the Mental/Physical Health Connection
Mental and physical health interact in self-strengthening spirals. It’s up to each of us to determine whether they spiral up or down.
Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to look after yourself when life feels good? It’s a powerful, self-strengthening effect: Enjoy life, do more healthy things, experience better health, enjoy life even more.
Of course, there’s a flip side too. Depression, frustration, and anxiety often trigger self-destructive behavior like binge eating, drinking, or watching. The resulting unhealthy body (and guilt) only make these unhelpful feelings worse, completing the vicious cycle.
This article takes a closer look at the interaction between mental and physical health. We’ll build an understanding of the most important connections and then distill this knowledge into a practical strategy for lifelong, holistic health.
Mental/Physical Health Connections
There are many fascinating bidirectional links between mental and physical health. Let’s take a brief tour of the most important ones.
