Mind-Body Connections: How the Physical Body Is Affected By Stress

There is much talk in the news about the mind-body connection, specifically about how our emotions impact our physical health. This mind-body connection can be detrimental when long term stress leads to negative physical symptoms such as heart disease. But the mind-body connection can also be a positive thing – like when a cancer patient is able to reduce pain significantly through meditation.

Emotional stress causes physiological responses in the body via the nervous and hormonal systems, kicking off a cascade of reactions that can eventually lead to “disease” ranging from mild digestive problems to cancer. As massage therapists, it is important to understand that clients undergoing long term, chronic stress or who are going through periods of acute, severe stress may be experiencing physiological symptoms as well as emotional upset.

You can read the entire article here.