Want more proof that self-care is critical? How about the fact that your emotions affect everything.
What do I mean by that? Simple: your emotions control and influence everything from your health and your sense of wellbeing, to your motivation, focus, success, and even physical strength.
If this sounds like a whole lot of nonsense, then consider what emotions really are: they are neurotransmitters and hormones. Now, what many people don’t realize about neurotransmitters and hormones is, that they have a huge range of different roles in the body that go far beyond simply affecting our mood. That is to say that, when you change your mood, you also change many other things.
For example, did you know that norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter with much in common with the hormone adrenaline) can increase your physical strength? Hence, when you are “amped up” in the gym, you can lift more!
Did you know, that if you have high cortisol (the stress hormone), then you will be more likely to store fat, you will have more anxious thoughts, you will struggle to sleep, and you will even degrade your muscle? This can cause a snowball effect of sorts. Worse, cortisol can actually direct blood away from your immune system and digestive system, which is why chronic stress can lead to so many health issues over time. This same process is useful of course if you are in a life or death situation!
Hormones and neurotransmitters regulate our appetite, they control our sleep-wake cycle, and they impact on our ability to store memories. They can even increase or decrease our perception of pain! Did you know for instance, that serotonin is a natural painkiller? Whereas cortisol makes pain much higher?
There are no good and bad hormones or neurotransmitters. That is not the point here! All hormones and neurotransmitters have their perfect purpose.
The point though, is that if you can take control of your emotions, then you can take control of your entire body and system. As a result, you can be calmer, happier, stronger, healthier, and more resilient against illness. And that is all pretty amazing really when you think about it.
And this is why self-care really matters. Because if you don’t look after your well-being, it’s more than just your mood that is going to suffer. Learn to control your mood and you can perform your best, you can combat feelings of pain and lethargy, and you can feel amazing doing it.
Great resources on this topic include Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, The Little Book of Letting Go by Hugh Prather and The Power of Focusing by Ann Weiser Cornell, Ph.D.
For Today, Eat Well. Get Quality Sleep. Management Your Emotions.