Emotional health obviously pertains to the kinds of feelings that you have. The circumstances of life can sometimes cause you to become stuck in an emotional rut. Depression, anger, guilt, and fear are a few examples of emotions that can disrupt emotional harmony.
Looking back at my life, there have been times when my emotional health was certainly very poor. During these periods, anger was the emotion that seemed to prevail within me. My anger wasn’t of a violent nature. The kind of anger I experienced was an extreme lack of patience with other people and their faults. I also had a tendency to be short tempered and yell at others over stupid things.
Choosing to have a positive outlook goes a long way in surviving life’s adversities and helps keep you out of the rut of negative emotions. Laughing, after all, feels so much better than anger. I know it seems like you have many valid reasons to be unhappy. Trust me when I say, it doesn’t help one bit to dwell on those reasons. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, and negative feelings, in your case, will lead to poorer health. I’ve learned this first hand time and time again.
When I’ve allowed myself to remain upset or unhappy for long periods of time, it didn’t take long before my health deteriorated. The opposite has also been true. When I’ve been ill for extended periods and made the choice to be cheerful rather than gloomy, I’ve been able to endure my pain much better.
Staying positive doesn’t mean you ignore your hardships. It means you accept them and deal with them as best you can while hoping for a positive outcome. Laughing and having a sense of humor can help relieve stress. Why lug around heavy handbags of anxiety when you can lighten your load with laughter?
To take an example from my life, I’ll share something with you that I recently endured. In September of 2011, my third battle with foot ulcers reared its ugly head; or in my case, its ugly foot. Over a period of many weeks, one ulcer on my left foot turned into three very large and painful ulcers that, together, covered nearly half of my foot. The discomfort, needless to say, was great.
For a period of nearly six months, I struggled with these ulcers; and for most of that time I was unable to be socially active in the way I was use to. Having to be isolated for so long was difficult. For a time, I found myself battling depression as well as my foot ulcers. With the pain and discomfort the wounds brought, it would have been easy to have thrown a self-pity party for myself; but honestly, who would show up for a pity part? I knew, however, that entertaining such thoughts would fill me with a negative energy; and I didn’t need that.
It’s been fourteen months and some of those ulcers still haven’t healed. It would be a lie to tell you that I never get discouraged. There are days when I feel frustrated and a little depressed. Meditation helps; talking with friends and family is useful; reading the struggles of other Sickle Cell patients on the Internet also helps me keep things in perspective.
I remind myself that things could be worse. My ulcers could be on my right foot, which would have made driving impossible (my car is an automatic, so I don’t have to press any petals with my left foot). I could have ulcers on both feet. Or the ulcers could have covered my entire foot rather than nearly half. I’m fortunate that I’m recently having problems with ulcers; some patients struggle with them for years. Things could always be worse.
If you don’t believe that I’m correct when I say that your physical health is closely tied to your emotions, do this: access the memory banks of the supercomputer that is your brain. Has there ever been a time when you physically felt just fine, then somebody said or did something that was so upsetting to you that it triggered a pain crisis right then? I would be surprised if the answer is no. Now imagine being angry or depressed for months or years. If one emotionally upsetting event can trigger a crisis on the spot, how much worse is your health going to be if you keep a negative outlook for a long period of time? The impact your emotions have upon your physical body is profound. Do your best to always have a positive perspective.
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