Derry O’Malley on Step 7

What I would like to look at is the physical care of our bodies, because part of the process of mental health is how we mind our physical health. If you think about it physical and mental health goes hand in hand.

Many people show up at their doctors worried about physical symptoms like low back pain, or stomach pain, or headaches, “and by the way I’m not sleeping very well either”. They then have all the appropriate tests done only to be told that nothing significant has showed up. Yet the symptoms are real and the discomfort is genuine. So then the doctor may go down the stress anxiety route, and for the patient it may be the first time that they consider that there may be a mental component to their “unwellness”.

There is one constant that can be guaranteed that is under pinning all mental and emotional distress and that is a hyper aroused Central Nervous System (CNS). Specifically the Sympathetic Nervous System, when this system is activated it produces stress hormones. The more hyper activated it is the more stress hormones it produces. Historically stress hormones were produced to deal with acute stress so if we were in mortal danger of some kind we got a burst of energy that enabled us to fight for our lives or run away very quickly. The normal scenario would have gone something like this, we mistakenly might get too close to a rival clan, or a bear or a wolf or some other carnivorous predator, our fight or flight reaction kicks in and we run as fast as our little legs could carry us, and if we could not get away we fight to defend ourselves. If we were lucky in five to ten minutes we would be safe, and the stress hormones would switch off, and we would eventually calm down and carry on as normal. In the other scenario we cannot get away or defend ourselves and that would be where the story ends. Either way we stopped producing stress hormones.

In our modern world unfortunately we are using the same primitive response to accumulated stressors in everyday life. If we can’t change this hard wired response to stress how we can use it to our advantage? Along with developing robust solution orientated life skills that help to reframe genuinely negative life experiences we would also greatly gain from the stress relief benefits of bodily movement, physical movement; and the reason is, the human body is designed to move away from danger. The human body is designed to take action in the real world.

The stress hormones in a sense are the fuel for the fighting and the flighting in the flight or fight response. So if a person is stressed and is not moving sufficiently those chemicals cannot be released quickly and builds up in the system, and over time this accumulation of very powerful high energy chemicals becomes toxic and form the basis of both mental and physical “disease”. It is important to realise that the primary release of these hormones is brought about by a combination of mental problem solving and taking actions in the world around us. The under lying purpose of this brain and brawn approach is to solve/address those situations in life that are deemed to be hindering us from being or feeling safe and from getting our needs met. In today’s western society that we are lucky enough to live in the solving of those problems to a large degree is very much a mental/attitudinal approach, which happens over time, be that in days, months or even years. Unlike the dangers for primitive man which were resolved almost instantly, the bear got you or he did’ent.

So it is important to release the pent up need for physical movement that is hard wired into the human body. And the good news is you can do that any way you choose. Almost any physical activity is good. Whether that’s gardening, or house work, walking or swimming, ti chi or Sumba, high intensity activities or low intensity activities. Once you have found something that suits you regularity and consistency are the order of the day. And if you can put a social aspect into it even better. Isn’t great to do enjoyable things with friends? If you are not used to physical activities start slowly and build as you go along, you may have to try a few activities before you find the right one for you. If you are outside the full blush of youth check with your health professional before commencing any exercise regime.

We all know that if we are anxious or stressed or depressed it can be hard to do regular and ordinary things. The hardest thing when it comes to regular daily activities is taking that first step. But also many of us have had the experience of putting off a chore like gardening or car washing or a walk, or a swim and then being half way through it and suddenly realising that we are enjoying it and wondering why we were putting it off. The reason that we are enjoying it is partly because consistent physical movement over time releases endorphins and other neuro chemicals that have been proven to both lift mood and at the same time act as pain killers, and that includes the pain of mental distress. Two hours exercise spread over a week has been proven to lift mild to moderate depression.

So as we say in Grow “The easiest way to make a task seem impossible is to keep putting it off”. (Blue book P66) So why not give it a go? You may be pleasantly surprised primarily with yourself and secondly with the results.

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 Derry O’Malley is a Human Givens Therapist with many years of practice, especially in the fields of stress, anxiety & depression. He is well versed in acupuncture and hypnotherapy and is located at 3 Catherine Place, Limerick City, Limerick,  Tel: 061 31767. Derry has done many workshops for GROW and you can listen to him weekly at 4pm on Sundays (on-line) on the Headspace Programme on Limerick City Community Radio.