A cancer may be the response to a persistent emotional state. Because the cells, those “microuniverses”, so sensitive, succumb to a state of extreme stress and go into ‘shock’: an alteration occurs, an abnormal multiplication of these cells, which gives rise to a tumor.
Some studies affirm that around 50% of diseases have an emotional origin. Other investigations assert that it may be above 80%, since the same stress classified as the scourge of the modern world, is responsible for around fifty pathologies.
“The body manifests itself through diseases. Every pain is a call from the body because something is wrong.says Dr. María Amelia Bueno, an Ayurvedic doctor, from the Department of Medicine, Mind and Body, of the Medical Center.
According to the specialist, this body-mind relationship is reflected in how conflicting attitudes, fears, fears or repressed feelings have the ability to alter the organism and its functioning. For this reason, it is essential to discover the psychological origin of your ailments and to work, especially, on negative emotions, in order to make your life healthier.
There is always an emotional charge in illnesses. Depending on how big it is, it can aggravate the process. The body is prepared for stress, but not for chronic stress, it ends up violating the most sensitive parts of the body.
To exemplify, Dr. María Amelia, quotes the “Buddhist Parable of the 2 arrows”. If someone shoots an arrow at us, the pain we will feel will be as if two arrows had been shot at us instead of one.
“The first arrow, the one that comes from outside, represents the pain, the problems or the disease that is suffered. The second arrow is the emotions and thoughts that come associated with that first arrow”, says the Ayurvedic doctor.
According to the specialist, many times that second arrow is bigger than the first and this emotional charge can cause anxiety or depression. “It also begins to manifest itself on a physical level, activating inflammatory processes, lowering defenses or the immune system, alterations in the colon, muscle tension, and pain in the back or head, among other symptoms,” says Dr. Bueno.
Gastric problems are also associated with acute stress processes, negative emotions such as irritability or a bad mood, and impatience. Problems such as dermatitis, headaches and lower back pain, anxiety and dissatisfaction.
In the book “The mind-body connection”, its author, Debbie Shapiro, explains how our emotional states can favor all kinds of diseases: hypertension, cardiac dysfunctions or nervous disorders of different types. Different ailments can contribute not only to transforming our physical health, but also to facilitate healing at a deeper level. The secret is to discover and understand the messages that physical disorders contain in order to know ourselves and live better.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are emotions that can affect certain organs or functions. For example, sadness decreases the immune system and predisposes to respiratory and digestive diseases. Anger and frustration affect the liver and gallbladder and also generate muscle tension.
“Obsession affects metabolic processes and can facilitate and worsen diabetes and obesity, and fear can affect the kidneys and cause bone and joint conditions”says the Ayurvedic doctor.
“For this reason – says Dr. María Amelia – it is important to learn to identify these arrows, since the second one can learn to modulate it and even disappear. I eat? The first thing is to become aware of our body, our emotions and our thoughts, and this is achieved through meditation..
Studies have confirmed that happy people own not only good thoughts and, therefore, good energy, but are also able to better manage their emotions. Thus they maintain good health.
On the contrary, sad people are negative, pessimistic, and more prone to attracting diseases. I am more prone to stress and more vulnerable to bouts of anxiety and depression.
For the specialist of the Medicine, Mind and Body service, meditation is a technique that leads us to become aware of who we are and what happens to us and activate a continuous process of self-observation.
“It has been shown that when people meditate there is an improvement in the immune system, the cardiovascular system, among others, in addition to improvement on an emotional level”emphasizes the specialist.