MIND AND BODY RELATION

 The subject of mind to body relation is vast which involves diverse streams like philosophy, psychology, physiology and neurology.

Psychologists have time and again stated with reasons why the body-mind concept is crucial to our understanding of the relation between the two. And this had begun even before the psychoanalysis movement of Sigmund Freud had started. The reason for this originates from the idea that physical conditions affect the mental state and thereby the mental health too. And the converse is also equally true. So the physical condition and the mental state together account for our health and wellbeing.

  Our desires or dreams exist in the mind only, but that is not true with our thoughts and emotions. These are actual and that is why they physically affect us. It is the nature of our thought that affects the quality of our feeling and emotions which reflects the state of mind at any point in time. An example of this mind-body connection is, the way the body responds to stress that originates from the mind. Constant worry and stress over various aspects of life like job, finances and other problem causes physical and consequent mental health issues. This impacts the corresponding physiological system of the body. These can be, tense muscles, pain, headaches and stomach problems. It can also lead to hypertension. Conversely, constant pain or health problems related to the heart can affect emotions that adversely impact mental health. The contrary to this is, holding on to a positive and stress-free outlook on life that could help in better handling of pain or stress thereby stay healthier than somebody who is less hopeful. And that is why positive thoughts generate healthy emotions that directly enhance the state of mind in a positive direction.  Being in a state of mental elation or depression acts as a physical motivation or pain respectively, at the neurological level. Bodies hold our physical health whereas the mind holds the spirit that generates the motivation to function. And this is what makes the study of mind-body interrelation in psychology particularly important. This is also true that the mind is a non-physical or subtle domain inside the physical body. And in this concept, the mind and body are not seen as separate or independent entities. The two are interdependent, thus behaving as one integrated functioning unit. The emotions, thru the mind, impacts the body and converse is also true where emotion being the common factor.

  During the waking moments of life, a human mind is in a continuous state of flux, passing thru a variety of mental states throughout the day. These are typically named in common sense terms such as Emotions (e.g. fear, anger, envy, greed, contempt, anxiety,  disgust shame, depression, love, pride, compassion, equanimity etc.); Cognition (e.g. recalling a memory, planning the task in the present or future, focussing intensely on a task); Perceptions (e.g. perception of face,  colour,  sound perception or of the situation in that moment etc.) and so on.

An emotion, as we all know by experience is a thought that is linked to a sensation. And it acts as a mediator between the body and the state of the mind in a particular situation. So, it would be necessary for us to know in some detail the impact, nature of emotion (both positive and negative) would make on the body. For this, we need to unpack each of them and their corresponding physical responses by the body. The different types of emotions and their effect on physiology, by activating the associated different parts in the body are explained as under.

1.      Love.

2.      Happiness.

3.      Surprise.

4.      Pride.

5.      Fear.

6.      Anger.

7.      Jealousy.

8.      Anxiety.

9.      Disgust.

10.  Shame and contempt

11.  Depression

12.  Sadness.

1. Happiness.: Happiness is a unique healthy emotion that fills the whole body with activity and a sense of positivism. This is because the person feels more secure in this mental state. And so, he is in a position to devote and focus attention by experiencing himself as a part of a pleasure rich world around him.

2. Love: This is another standout emotion that fills the entire body with activation and a sense of feel good. Love is often intimately associated with physical desire. This emotional focus of love is both the object of affection (which could be a person, things, an event or an idea) and the intensity of emotions in the subjective self. This causes an intense activation around the head and chest.

3. Pride: This too is a  positive emotion that fills with an intense sensation of joy in the chest region. The activation in this case is related to focus on the self with a sense of awareness that is turned inwards.

4. Surprise: In this emotion, the strength of activation is less intense. And in this situation, the nature of surprise is unknown. It could be either a positive, negative or neutral one. And that is why in this case, resources are drawn inward for preparing the body to face the triggering event that reflects the uncertainty of the nature of the event

5. Anger: This is a standalone negative emotion that causes intense activation particularly in the head, chest and hands. An angry person prepares himself for a confrontation with the focus of attention on the deployment of his internal resources on those parts of the body that might have to act. In this state of anger, he may be enraged with an urge to give vent to his overwhelming desire to hit the other person with some object. 

6. Fear: This too is a negative emotion in which there is more of a defensive pattern of activation. As the person may even prepare for either a ‘flight or fight’ response. But being with a defensive stand, he is not necessarily seeking an outright conflict with the other person. Because his fear also leads to a subservient attitude besides defensiveness. And this happens particularly if he has to face a formidable opponent.

 7. Disgust: When a person experience disgust towards other humans, he feels a concentration of repulsion from a sense of natural protective response from inside. Disgust causes the pulling of inner resources more tightly to the core of the body. In this situation,  emotion causes the body to prepare to spew noxious verbal material in response to what he has ingested from the other person. Hence the focus of activation is along the digestive tract.

8. Shame and contempt: Shame and contempt are both negative emotions with patterns of physical activation that are alike. In case of contempt, the focus is outside the self, involving a judgement of some other person. So physically it induces less activation in the chest. In shame, the focus is on the self. And that is why this induces a sense of personal failure or a judgemental error that caused the undesirable event to happen. In this case, depression of activity in the self occurs out of a sense of guilt feeling which is more pronounced. The person withdraws his resources inward into the self. And a corresponding response is triggered which could even be a ‘flight or fight’. 

9. Anxiety:  This is a form of stress classified as a long term grade. It causes activation in the chest intensely which leads to a sense of despair, doom or alarm. And this could cause an experience of a panic attack. Persons under this condition experience tightness and pain in the chest causing incapacitation to think beyond the pressing fear of that moment or for the uncertainty in the immediate near future. This can lead the person to a feeling that causes strain in the heart and lungs with pangs of struggle to deliver oxygen to the body. And this

 causes an increase in blood pressure if the person is under a condition of extended fear that lasts for a longer period.

10. Depression: This is a form of negative emotion with the most noticeable external manifestation in the person.  It lowers the state of mind to the extreme, which causes no activation in any part of the body. And in this mental state, the individual finds it very difficult to connect with both self and the outside world.

11 Sadness: This is also a negative emotion but does not suppress feelings in the head and chest but often leads to a general lack of activity. In certain circumstances, it induces a sense of helplessness, when the person has not been able to prevent the failure or do something that could have averted the source event that caused it. Another type of situation is the event is the loss of a near and dear person which could be parents, close relation or friend. And such events often lead to a level of sadness that is most severe which leads to even mental shock. This situation can also cause heart problems if the state of shock continues for an extended period.

12 Jealousy: This too is a negative emotion but carries a different mental tone and tenor. This accompanies an intense activity in the chest, carrying a feeling of hate with even obnoxious outpouring for the other person. Comparison of self with others who are superior in any way can also cause the initiation of such an emotion. In this situation, the individual is unable to accept anything good that happens to that person.

    We can see from the above that, emotions manifest as physical sensations in the body. They impact not only our mental but also physiological aspects of the body. And in this way, they prepare the individual to react appropriately to the dangers and also opportunities that are right in front of him. Awareness of the corresponding bodily changes that occur, consequently triggers emotional sensations, such as a feeling of happiness or sadness or even a sense of shock or disappointment. The connection between the mind and our body is something we instinctively feel. But how much attention we pay to our bodily sensations every moment, differs from one individual to another.

Furthermore, we also need to go into some detail about the different constituents, both physical and subtle realms that together make up the mind-body complex as an integrated entity. 

FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS TOPIC PLEASE PURCHASE MY E-BOOK TITLED  " AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN MIND" FROM WHICH THE ABOVE HAS BEEN TAKEN.  

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