“Is It All In Your Head?!” 
The Impact of Emotional Stress on Your Physical Body

Back pain can be a finicky beast.   Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not…other times it seems like it’ll never go away.   At some point it’s hard not to wonder if it isn’t really just all in your head!    

Well…could it be?  Could your thoughts and feelings be creating the physical pain you feel?   Can emotional pain in the mind project to the body as physical pain? 

In my opinion….yes!   We as human beings are composed of our physical bodies, our minds, and the chemicals that fill in the spaces.  All of these components affect the others to some degree, which means that there may be many direct or indirect links between your mental and emotional state and your experience of physical pain.  

The human mind has an incredible influence over your physical nature.  Consider, for instance, how closely your state of mind is tied to your outward appearance.  When you’re in pain, you probably look pained.  Your mental state is not only written in the expressions on your face, but also evident in the way you carry your posture.   How would you picture the posture of someone who is calm, happy, or confident?  Perhaps upright with shoulders back, chest out, head held high, arms open and relaxed.  What about the posture of someone who is angry, depressed, or fearful?  Maybe crouched over, shoulders rounded, neck clenched, arms close and tense…feeling emotionally uneasy and appearing physically uncomfortable.  Even simply imitating an emotionally-charged physicality can alter your state of mind, making it difficult to tell whether emotions drive certain postures or postures invoke certain emotions!  Either way, we can see that the body and mind are inextricably linked.   

Looking much deeper under the surface, we find that thoughts and emotions also influence the body chemically.   On a microscopic level, cells communicate with each other by way of the nervous system and an intricate chemical network comprised of neurotransmitters and hormones.   Such chemicals are found throughout every single cell in your body.  Thus, thoughts in your brain spark changes in your nervous system and chemical makeup that get transmitted throughout the body.  In essence, this means that every thought you think is communicated to every single cell in your body.   

Why is this important?  Because each emotion we feel has chemical consequences that in turn affect us physically.  For example, experiencing positive emotions such as happiness triggers the release of serotonin, a “feel good” neurotransmitter that has the effect of relaxing the body, thus reducing muscle tension.  When negative or stressful thoughts like anger or fear arise, the body releases the stress hormone, cortisol.  Chronic elevation of cortisol is linked to inflammation of the body, increased muscle tension, lower immune system function and slow healing of injured muscles and tissues.   Negative emotions can therefore trigger specific chemicals which induce physical responses that may contribute to pain. 

Fortunately for us, the body is ingeniously equipped with a nervous system that is able to automatically adapt to situations in ways that support survival.  Thanks to this design, organ functions such as circulation, respiration and digestion occur automatically and largely involuntarily, regulated by two systems that prepare the body for mobilization and rest: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.  Simply put, the sympathetic nervous system readies the body to respond in “fight or flight” situations, while the parasympathetic system operates to repair and rebuild the body.     

Let’s now examine the role that your mental state plays on the sympathetic system.   When the sympathetic response is activated in urgent or highly stressful situations, adrenaline pumps, the immune system is depressed, digestion stops, and muscle tone increases in order to get you outta’ there or ready to rumble!  Mother nature gave us a great gift here, allowing us to escape predators and/or fight off danger.   The sympathetic system, however, responds in a similar manner to any type of perceived stress.  Which means that even if there is no urgent, life-or-death danger present, a stressful state of mind alone will engage the sympathetic nervous system, causing a release of stress hormones that break down the tissues in your body.   

In today’s chaotic environment, we are subject to a continuous stream of stressors that cumulatively overstimulate the sympathetic nervous system.  Such modern stressors might include: 

• Work stress

• Conflict with others

• Financial stress

• Worry, anxiety, perhaps about life direction

• Relationship or marital stress

• An endless “to do” list

• Overwhelming phobias, such as social anxiety or fear of catastrophic events (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.)

In my practice, one of the chief complaints of pain sufferers is tightness in the muscles.  This is frequently a symptom of sympathetic over stimulation, which heightens tension particularly in the “tonic” muscles:  the back of the neck, the groin muscles, hip muscles, or lower back muscles.  Moreover, wherever there is increased muscle tension, there will be an insufficient flow of blood, known as ischemia…and often the result is pain.   

Having done years of massage work on back pain sufferers, I can literally FEEL the increased tension in the muscles due to nervous system stress.  These muscles typically do not release with repeated massage work, largely because the tension is being continuously activated by the sympathetic nervous system in response to daily stressors.   Pain resulting from this type of constant tension can therefore be difficult to get rid of without removing or reducing the stressors.   Although stress itself does not directly create pain, it does so indirectly by consistently triggering sympathetic responses that tax the body’s tissues.  Chronic mental stress can therefore definitely be a factor in causing pain. 

Under moderate or low levels of stress, the sympathetic nervous system works to keep us active and alert.  In a complementary manner, the parasympathetic nervous system works to rest and rebuild our bodies.  When the parasympathetic system is engaged, digestion improves, muscles relax, inflammation is reduced, immune system function improves, and the body is in a re-charge state.  While the sympathetic system utilizes all resources to get the body in gear, the parasympathetic system conversely kicks in to allow the body to repair and recover.  The two systems therefore operate in harmonious opposition to maintain balance in the body’s functions.   Parasympathetic activity can thus help moderate sympathetic over stimulation created by mental stress.  

So what can you do about chronic mental stress? 

• Take time to RELAX every day:  This can involve as little as laying on your back for 10 minutes twice a day.

• Meditate:  This follows the same concept as above, focusing on relaxing every muscle in your body and shutting your brain off.

• Enjoy serene activities such as taking walks and stretching.

• Discover how to run your brain:  Learning techniques to change how you perceive stressful situations and interactions is an INCREDIBLY important skill. 

Recognizing that emotions and mental states can contribute to pain and other health issues, I have found great success in using the empowering techniques of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to help clients release negative emotions, change their mental state, and ultimately improve their overall health. 

NLP studies the dynamics between the body’s neurology, the use of language and the patterns of thought and behavior.   To learn more about NLP or to schedule a private session with me, fill out the form below and you will be contacted shortly.