As early as the 17th century, the scientific concept of Dualism gained popularity in the research world. Dualism stated that the mind and the body are two different entities and are not connected to each other. Researchers mentioned that the only physical interaction they had was through a gland in the brain. This was the prevalent thought until the 1800s.

Modern researchers then analysed the idea of the mind definitely being connected to the brain and other bodily functions – which led to establishing that neither the mind nor the body work in complete isolation. The brain uses physical sensations as cues to determine internal feelings and emotions.

It’s a cool summer evening; you walk down the street sipping on a warm oat milk latte, soaking in the majestic pink sunset. ‘What a perfect end to a busy day’, you think to yourself. As you walk the cobblestone trails, you trip and land on the ground, spilling your favourite coffee and the contents of your bag. And before you know it, the sunset doesn’t excite you anymore, nor does the weather, nor does the eventful day that passed.

This is an example of how your bodily reactions in the physical environment dictate your emotional and cognitive states. As long as the scene around you cushions your comfort, your mind naturally tends to be in a state of rest and calm. An unrest of any kind may cause the mind to drastically evaluate even the smallest factors of discomfort.

The brain constantly assesses your environment in search of signals to cue to the mind how to react. However, this can also work vice versa – where the state of mind determines how the body must react. For example, you’re spending quality time with family at home and you receive a call informing you that one of your friends had met with a terrible accident. The phone call acts as a trigger to change your current mental state from calm and relaxed to shocked and panicky.

Physical stressors may also include an injury on the body, lack of sleep, excessive workload or even a family function you didn’t want to be at. These factors communicate with the mind causing you to feel fatigued, irritated, upset or just moody.

In order to help the mind and the body stay grounded in times of distress, it is important to value one’s physical and mental health. Prioritise whole foods, timely meals, and hydration. Exercise regularly and move the body often. Make sure to get sound sleep and minimise screen time before bed. Lifestyle changes need not be drastic, but just noticeable enough.

Your mind is where you spend most of your time, so make sure it is a nice place to live in. Meditate, engage in new hobbies as often as you can, feed the mind with new information by educating yourself on a topic, or even learn a new skill in your free time.

Keeping the mind-body connection active and at peace reduces the impact of stressors in the physical environment, and improves overall quality of life – because the care you give yourself when you feel good, is the care your body would give you during distress. By taking care of our physical selves, we nurture our mental and emotional selves as well. And that’s the beauty of life. – Image credit: Freepik– editor@nrifocus.com

– Judith is a counselling psychologist, specialising in mindfulness therapy and researching the quirks of life.