The Connection Between Mental Health and Physical Health
Hello, Future Physicians!
This newsletter is about the connection between mental health and physical health. Maintaining a healthy mental and physical state is extremely important because it can help you be healthier overall. In addition to physical health, it is crucial to take care of your mental health as well. Both have a major impact on overall wellbeing. It is important to take care of both your mental health and physical health because one can affect the other. It is important to be aware of any physical and mental issues you may be experiencing. When you go to the doctor, it is important to clearly communicate your needs and feelings so that the doctor can properly evaluate the situation. For doctors, it is important to understand the connection between mental and physical health. A patient’s mental state may have an impact on their motivation to take care of themselves or how they live their life in general. Having a physical condition or disease will likely alter one’s mental state and general outlook on life. Physical conditions or diseases can affect the activities that someone is able to participate in. For some, this can be extremely disheartening, especially if they realize that they cannot do the things that they used to be able to do. This can lead to a decline in their mental health. On the other hand, having a mental illness or struggling mentally can impact the level to which someone is able to take care of themselves, leading to a decline in their physical health. These effects can impact other areas of someone’s life. It is important for patients to know that they are encouraged to ask for help with their mental health in addition to their physical health. Asking for help is a great step forward in having a healthy physical and mental state.
Stress: There are so many moments in life where we experience stress, and many people can relate to having this overwhelming feeling. Stress can have many effects on the body. Experiencing high amounts of stress can lead to trouble falling asleep. Having an insufficient amount of sleep can lead to issues focusing and weak performance in environments like work or school. Another effect of high stress is a weakened immune system. Being more susceptible to getting sick can cause issues in recovery and mental health. For someone with a chronic illness, being stressed about their condition can add another layer to their medical concerns. For the immunocompromised (those with a weakened immune system), stress can possibly worsen their condition. Experiencing stress is normal, but at the same time, it is very important to learn how to manage it before it heavily impacts other areas of your life. Finding a way to manage your stress, such as practicing self care and mindfulness, can help you be healthier overall.
Depression: According to the Mayo Clinic, depression can cause “persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest.” This can have a major impact on someone’s outlook on life, and it can be very isolating. Losing interest in doing this can have an impact on both mental and physical health. For example, someone who once was passionate about exercising regularly may not have the energy or interest in exercising anymore. This can possibly contribute to a decline in physical health. A lack of energy can also lead to a worsened performance and effort in work, school, relationships, and more. Depression can also lead to loss of appetite or overeating. Lack of appetite and eating infrequently can further contribute to a lack of energy and weight loss. On the other hand, overeating can possibly contribute to weight gain, diabetes, high cholesterol, and more. Depression can also lead to headaches or back pain. In addition to loss of interest, things like back pain can limit someone’s ability to exercise and get out and do things. If someone with depression needs to take prescription medication, they may forget to take it or take it infrequently. This can be detrimental to their health and treatment plan for any other illnesses they are experiencing. People with depression may need assistance with asking for help and finding resources and techniques to help treat it.
Anxiety: Anxiety can cause persistent feelings of worry, fear, and overthinking. This can heavily impact one’s outlook on the future since it can be unknown. It may limit their willingness or ability to try something new, and they may feel wary about entering a new season of life. Some physical effects that someone with anxiety may experience are trouble sleeping, nausea, and trembling. For someone with a medical condition or chronic disease, it may be very difficult for them to control their worrying about their situation, adding to any physical pain that they may already experience.
Here is a list of some things that can help both mental and physical health:
Seeking help from a mental health professional
Regularly visiting the doctor
Talking to family and friends about your emotions
Getting enough nutrients and having a balanced diet
Exercising regularly and getting enough physical activity
Getting enough sleep
Practicing self care
Figuring out what may be the cause of some of your emotions
Setting healthy boundaries
Managing your time well
While some of the things in the list above may seem small, they may contribute to something, such as reducing the amount of stress in someone’s life or improving their body’s ability to function. These things can allow for a better mental and physical state.
What does this mean for doctors?: For doctors, seeing the connection between mental and physical health can be important for the broader scope of a patient’s health. If they know that someone has a history of a mental disorder, it could possibly explain some of the things that they may struggle with physically, such as trouble sleeping or lack of motivation to do basic things. The mental-physical health connection allows doctors to look at a patient’s health holistically. Doctors can inquire about a patient’s mental health in order to determine whether or not it could be caused by a mental disorder or something else. For people with something like a chronic illness, doctors may be able to identify at least one area where feelings of stress, anxiety, sadness, and others may be coming from. If needed, doctors can utilize their network and knowledge to refer patients to a mental health professional. When doctors encourage their patients to ask for mental help or practice things to better their mental health, it can allow them to take a step forward in improving their overall health. Doctors can stress the fact that taking good care of both mental health and physical health is important. Patients need to be familiar with ways to take care of both their physical health and mental health. They also should know that their emotions and concerns should not be dismissed. In this, building trust with a doctor is important because a patient will be more likely to regularly come to the doctor if they are discussing these important issues with a doctor that they can trust.
About Future Physicians: Future Physicians is an organization that connects aspiring medical school students with medical internships, shadowing opportunities, and other opportunities for learning and professional development in the medical field. If this interests you, feel free to sign up for our newsletter below to receive more newsletters like this and other information that can help you take the next step in your journey in your medical career. We would love to help you reach your goals.
Keep learning!
The Future Physicians Newsletter Team
(Made with the help of the Mayo Clinic)