How emotional stress can cause sickness?

"Stress impacts the way we think, feel, and behave. It often leads to a negative, self-perpetuating cycle that is hard to escape." Amy Morin

Did you know 85% of illnesses is stress-induced?

Chronic as well as unconscious stress upsets the natural balance of the nervous system, which disturbs the body’s natural ability to maintain and repair itself (1).

This renders the body vulnerable to the effects of a poor diet, environmental toxins,and microbes.

Such a breakdown of a body’s natural abilities may result in disease and illness.

A study by Kaiser Permanente involving over 70,000 individuals found that childhood emotional trauma was a significant enablerof certain chronic diseases and problematic behaviours in adults (2), namely:

  • Substance abuse - alcoholism, drug addiction, and smoking;
  • Depression;
  • Violent tendencies amounting to domestic abuse;
  • Suicidal tendencies;
  • Impulsive promiscuity;
  • Health hazards – liver disease, chronicobstructive pulmonary disease, ischemicheart disease, and sexually transmitted diseases.

In addition, over seventy published studies, two of which tracked 11,000 people for twenty years, involving nearly 70,000 individuals found a tenfold increase in depression susceptibility amongst those who’d faced childhood trauma as opposed to those who hadn’t (2).

Moreover, childhood trauma has also been found to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in women and of depression in all adults (3). 

Triggers to emotional injury and trauma vary from person to person.

For some, trauma may be sparked by seemingly benign words of reproach; for others, it may take verbal or even physical abuse.

Irrespective, trauma is difficult regardless of the severity.

Negative experiences can happen at school, home, and the workplace.

These can manifest in as a tendency to bully, an angry temper, a feeling of being overwhelmed, and a lack of a sense of control.

I wonder which of these tendencies you can relate to? What events have occurred that have caused you emotional pain? What triggers you to feel stressed? 

So what can you do about it? How can you lower stress and welcome wellness?

These are my top 6 tips to reduce stress:

1. EFT Tapping Therapy - This is a self help technique that involves tapping on acupressure points while saying relaxing statements out loud.

You can learn EFT Tapping therapy during a 4-day training. 

Clinical studies show EFT can reduce stress in seconds.

 What's more is EFT Tapping combined with Inner Child work can resolve childhood trauma even as an adult and reverse symptoms of stress.

​There is a technique known as tantrum tapping which you can try out straight away:

1. Best to do this standing up. So stand up.

2. Find the collar bone and tap underneath the collar bone

3. Make an "Ahhhh" sound

4. Stamp the feet together with tapping on collar bone and making an "Ahh sound" as if having a tantrum

Are you NEW to EFT? Click here to Download Free Booklet

Emotional Freedom Techniques is clinically proven to lower stress, tension, anxiety, past-trauma to enable health, happiness and vitality.

It can reduce stress in seconds.

2. Sleep - There is more and more evidence to show sleep lowers the stress hormone cortisol, reduces weight and increases happiness.

3. Talking about it - Talk to a friend about what is stressing you out. Let them know before you begin you need them to listen to you. Sometimes when a friend buts in with advice it can cause even more stress. If not find a professional to talk to. 

4. Exercise - Physical activity reduces stress, whether its walk, yoga, swimming our more rigorous activity. Even fun movement like dancing can get those happy chemicals chasing through your body. 

5. Breathing - A simple breathi9ng exercises is to breathe in for 6 counts and out for 6 counts. The act of breathing relaxes the nervous system and calms the mind.

6. Meditation - This is my favourite. Sitting quietly with the eyes closed and breathing

So in summary, emotional stress is the biggest cause of illness. To keep sickness at bay lower stress levels. 

Love Rangana

Learn Emotional Freedom Techniques for self healing or to become professionally qualified - More

Our other seminars:

  • The Journey Healing Method - More
  • Breakthrough Coaching with NLP Practitioner - More

For the full calendar of events. 

References

  1. Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Segerstrom Suzanne , Miller Gregory. Psychological Bulletin, Jul 2004.
  2. Trauma in the Addiction Family. Claudia Black, Dec 2010. www.addictioninfamily.com.
  3. Childhood Maltreatment as a Risk Factor for Adult Cardiovascular Disease and Depression. Batten Sonja, Aslan Mihaela, Maciejewski Paul and Mazure Carolyn, Journal of Clin Psychiatry, Feb 2004.

Other articles you may be interested in: