- Recently, celebrities have highlighted the mental health issues associated with illness.
- Research backs the claim that physical health affects mental health, triggering severe mental health disorders like depression, anxiety disorders, etc.
Recently, a number of Hollywood celebrities took to social media to raise awareness about the connection between mental and physical health.
Singer Selena Gomez’s stint with lupus, actresses Selma Blair’s and Christina Applegate’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), reality TV star Khloe Kardashian’s surgery of a face tumor, and actress Jennifer Anniston’s life-long struggle with infertility included accounts of both physical and mental health struggles.
Such famous accounts have served to remind us that our physical health and mental health are significant along the same lines as well as that they should be protected and treated equally.
How Physical Health Affects Mental Health
Research reveals that certain long bouts of illness and certain life-long physical conditions can cause mental illness. A 2017 study affirmed that mental health impacts physical health in 10% of the global population and vice versa in 8% of the population worldwide.
In fact, long-term struggles with diseases like cancer, AIDS, COVID-19 infection, cardiovascular diseases, chronic body pain, etc. and surgery can trigger mental health disorders.
How Mental Health Affects Physical Health
While physical illness can trigger risks of developing mental health problems, certain mental health conditions can induce symptoms of physical ailment.
Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety disorders, eating and sleep disorders, memory disorders, stress disorders, untreated trauma, etc. can lead to physical health concerns linked to:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Chronic disability
- Fluctuating weight
- Sleeping problems
- Fertility problems, etc.
Caring For Physical And Mental Well-being
The link between physical and mental health is precarious and irrefutable. Neglecting one for the other reinstates a never-ending cycle of negative consequences that impact our personal and professional selves and our social relationships. Therefore, we should take good care of both our mental and physical well-being.
Just as we carry out physical health practices (like a good diet and plenty of sleep and exercise) in a bid to enjoy sound physical health, we should make similar attempts when it comes to mental health.
We should engage in activities that keep us emotionally and mentally sound. If we experience mental health challenges, just as we seek out a doctor’s appointment to treat our physical illness, we should seek mental health care. We should always remember that both sound mental and physical health is indispensable to a happy, fulfilling life.
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