Читать книгу Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace - Gill Hasson - Страница 11

Distinctions are often made between mind and body but when it comes to mental health and wellbeing and physical health and wellbeing, we can't think of them as separate entities. Poor physical health can lead to a person developing mental health problems. And poor mental health can have a negative impact on our physical health and wellbeing.

A physical health problem can impact on our cognitive and emotional abilities; adversely affecting our daily lives, our work, and our relationships. Conversely, if our mental health is suffering as a result of, for example, stress, depression, or anxiety, we are less likely to eat and sleep well and may be less physically active which, in turn, can impact our immune system and so our ability to resist infections and illness can be depleted.

Just as when we neglect and ignore our physical health we can become physically unwell, it's also the case that if we ignore or suppress difficult feelings we can become physically unwell.

When we are exposed to stressful experiences or trauma, we can, without realizing it, banish the experience to the unconscious; it's too much to deal with and it's pushed down to the basement of our minds. Eventually – sometimes years later – the stressful/traumatic experience can present as a mental health problem, for example an anxiety disorder. But a stressful or traumatic experience can also manifest itself as a physical disorder.