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I have no trouble believing that your mental state can influence your physical health. It's happened to me repeatedly. Prolonged stress (usually at work) seems

by mathw 10y ago

I have no trouble believing that your mental state can influence your physical health. It's happened to me repeatedly. Prolonged stress (usually at work) seems to result in my immune system becoming less effective, and I start getting colds, coughs, mild flu-likes and so forth, plus whirly stomach and lots of toilet time. Sure it's all in my head, but the thermometer says it's in my bloodstream too!

ddmf 10y ago
Exactly what I've seen after a year implementing software that ultimately failed - probably the worst professional period of my life. During that period I was ok, probably surviving on fight and flight, but since I've had episodes as you describe, although one case with a super high temperature that left me unable to work for 3 days.
Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago
I have had frequent belching and heartburn problems for many years, often causing insomnia. After a lot of time trying to determine which foods were the cause, I ended up noticing the elephant in the room: food actually matters very little, my (subjective) stress level explains like 90% of the problem... if I'm relaxed (e.g. on vacation) I can eat practically whatever I want without getting problems, if I'm really stressed I'll get them even if I eat like a Spartan. In fact, having a partner is the single best thing that has happened to my stomach and my insomnia. She reduces my stress levels and alleviates the symptoms very noticeably just by being by my side. Sorry if it sounds corny, but for me this is an observable reality. The problem with all this is that, of course, stress is often something outside our control. Knowing what I know I try to keep it at bay as much as possible and take things easier than when I thought it was a food problem, but if there's lots of work and deadlines it's not like you can just wave stress away like you can avoid a given food...
brbrodude 10y ago
The brain feels the body and both are affected by the environment(e.g.: if your body is bad and you can't feel pleasure anymore, or it's lowered, how are you gonna have happy thoughts? Same applies to the environment, which is something that seems to be frequently ignored), not only that, stress is a chemical and it acts on both your body and your brain.. is this conclusion a surprise to anyone? Most of the comments here, people seem only capable of introjecting stuff as if the sole reason for stuff has gotta be personal issues(not saying this in a derrogatory manner) or a square diagnosis, this is absurd to me. Maybe it's cause I already came to the conclusion that I'm an ok mostly healthy animal plus gave up trying to fit the artificial into the natural(i.e.: I think our society is rotten. Also, how convenient it is that all problems must be seen as purely individual, huh?). History, classical thought -> good for the brain and body, maybe.

by mathw 10y ago

ddmf 10y ago

Exactly what I've seen after a year implementing software that ultimately failed - probably the worst professional period of my life. During that period I was ok, probably surviving on fight and flight, but since I've had episodes as you describe, although one case with a super high temperature that left me unable to work for 3 days.

Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago

I have had frequent belching and heartburn problems for many years, often causing insomnia. After a lot of time trying to determine which foods were the cause, I ended up noticing the elephant in the room: food actually matters very little, my (subjective) stress level explains like 90% of the problem... if I'm relaxed (e.g. on vacation) I can eat practically whatever I want without getting problems, if I'm really stressed I'll get them even if I eat like a Spartan. In fact, having a partner is the single best thing that has happened to my stomach and my insomnia. She reduces my stress levels and alleviates the symptoms very noticeably just by being by my side. Sorry if it sounds corny, but for me this is an observable reality. The problem with all this is that, of course, stress is often something outside our control. Knowing what I know I try to keep it at bay as much as possible and take things easier than when I thought it was a food problem, but if there's lots of work and deadlines it's not like you can just wave stress away like you can avoid a given food...

brbrodude 10y ago

The brain feels the body and both are affected by the environment(e.g.: if your body is bad and you can't feel pleasure anymore, or it's lowered, how are you gonna have happy thoughts? Same applies to the environment, which is something that seems to be frequently ignored), not only that, stress is a chemical and it acts on both your body and your brain.. is this conclusion a surprise to anyone? Most of the comments here, people seem only capable of introjecting stuff as if the sole reason for stuff has gotta be personal issues(not saying this in a derrogatory manner) or a square diagnosis, this is absurd to me. Maybe it's cause I already came to the conclusion that I'm an ok mostly healthy animal plus gave up trying to fit the artificial into the natural(i.e.: I think our society is rotten. Also, how convenient it is that all problems must be seen as purely individual, huh?). History, classical thought -> good for the brain and body, maybe.