Mental Health & Natural Immunity
This time of year, it’s inevitable that many people become sick. Winter is ‘cold and flu’ season, afterall. Much of our time is spent indoors during months when germs naturally thrive.
But what if there’s more to the phenomenon of ‘getting sick?’ Why do some people rarely seem to get ill or catch germs? And why is it that illness is exacerbated by other stressors? Have you ever thought about the emotional and spiritual implications of dis-ease, individually and collectively?
Winter is much more than just a season of cold. Many cultures and systems of philosophy view winter as a quiet, slow time meant for introspection, rest and restorative practices. Animals hibernate, plants go dormant and nature receives the intermission that is a necessary part of the growth cycle. When we look to nature, we can easily arrive at the logical conclusion that we as humans are also meant to hibernate in some way. Although our culture would have you believe otherwise, our divine design includes seasons to pause.
Many of us are full of excuses to resist slowing down. We look for any reason to avoid rest and quiet time with our thoughts because it can feel boring, unproductive or unpleasant at times. You could be a busy caretaker, a hustling entrepreneur, or a multi-tasking student…it’s easier to just stick to our routine and keep up a fast-paced lifestyle.
At some point, lack of deep attention and an innate connection to nature (i.e. balancing seasons of activity with seasons of limited inactivity) leaves us lacking.
When we do not pay attention to our body or instincts, illness is the simplest way our body has to ensure that we receive rest. This is why someone could appear well, eat healthy, take natural supplements and exercise, but still have a severely compromised immune system. The chemical processes that most support and build immunity are happening on a subatomic and spiritual level. Ignoring the mind-body-spirit connection is also a contributing factor to a slew of other ailments, such as chronic pain or anxiety, depression, insomnia, and high blood pressure. Our body is sending out red flags in the only way it knows how to communicate and we are often not listening.
Longterm, it’s never just the physical body that suffers. Our mind and soul also must regularly receive nourishment through intentional rest. Think about the physical sensations that occur when you don’t get restful sleep. Now, consider that your mind responds similarly when there is no space to slow down (trouble concentrating, irritability, depression, fear…etc). Your soul also experiences a very real type of fatigue (often described as ‘burnout’) when not refueled properly or pushed beyond natural limits. The great news is that we control all of these functions with our mind and the choices we make each day.
A calm mental state is pivotal in terms of overall wellness and nervous system resilience.
So if you find yourself or a loved one getting sick every year or suffering from other chronic illnesses or dis-ease, what can we do with that? How can we actually break the cycle? Taking medication is usually only helpful for short term relief, and is not designed to heal the root cause of the imbalance. As they say: if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will keep getting the same results. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help create shifts in your health and wellbeing:
In what ways can you rest and reset your mind? How does this differ from rest in your body?
What fuels and nourishes your soul? (Hobbies, activities, places, people…etc)
What types of practices allow you to process difficult situations or big emotions?
How might you make space and time for what your body needs each day?
What types of nourishment or depletion are you allowing in each day? (i.e. food, energy, conversations, media, music…etc)
Can you offer yourself permission to consciously listen to areas of pain or discomfort in your body? Ask what your body is trying to communicate.
If you do become ill, challenge yourself to view it as an opportunity to receive rest. Disease is not something to be feared or actively avoided. Colds and flus arrive when we need them on some level.
When excess stress or negative energy needs to move out, colds are an efficient (albeit unpleasant) way to facilitate that process.
If you struggled with this concept or answering the questions above, I would love to help you process these ideas and make shifts in the ways you manage stress in your mind and body. Mental health is not an island.
