To say the last year has been tough would be a huge understatement. Lockdowns have thrown our routines out the window and the constant sense of uncertainty on the future and the inability to make real concrete plans has compounded this sense of hopelessness for many. As a result, many are understandably in a continuous state of stress. This blog isn’t a solution to everybody’s problems, nor could it be – but there are some methods you can apply to help improve your mental and emotional state. But first I want to explain why this is important.

Why it’s important we keep our minds healthy

To summarise: stress and fear weakens the immune system. In fact it’s incredibly toxic for our bodies, as this state compromises our bodies ability to fight off antigens which makes us more susceptible to viruses and infections.

“For stress of any significant duration – from a few days to a few months or years, as happens in real life – all aspects of immunity went downhill. Thus long-term or chronic stress, through too much wear and tear, can ravage the immune system.”

Your mental state can therefore influence your health status, which is why it’s so important we recognise this mind-body interaction in an age where keeping our immune system strong is more important than ever, particularly if we’d like to achieve some normality within our lives again. Our immune system is our bodies defence mechanism against viruses and various other ailments, it detects toxic intruders within our system and our white blood cells fight off these germs.

“Your immune system steps in, like a bouncer who means business. It releases white blood cells and other chemicals that destroy these threats. Or it causes a reaction, like a sneeze, to boot out a virus in your nose. It’s an elite squad of agents that zap invaders — like bacteria, viruses, and fungi — ASAP. They zoom through your body and defend you.”

Managing negative emotions such as stress, fear or depression essentially helps our bodies fight germs. Volatile emotions can cause our body to release cortisol and adrenaline, which are hormones that are generally released during fight or flight situations, which supplies us with a burst of energy at moments where our bodies are required to make a rapid response. These hormones can spike our heart rate, blood pressure and energy levels (from extreme highs to lows) and as a result, can cause anxiety, lethargy, fluctuations in heart rate and so on. This impairs your body’s ability to rejuvenate and replenish itself particularly if this state of distress is continuous. Naturally this compromises the body’s production of white blood cells and its ability to fight off viruses and infections.

How can we can improve our mental state whilst the world is in chaos?

Exercise

I know this might sound like a trivial solution to some but exercise DOES improve your mood and your mental health. Exercise is a powerful medicine for many mental health challenges and has been shown to reduce mild to moderate depression just as effectively as anti-depressants. A study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins and serotonin, which are potent feel-good chemicals within the brain that enhance your mood and lighten your spirits – making exercise a natural and effective treatment for mental anguish.

For me personally, I find exercise to be a great way to focus your mind; whether you’re balancing on one foot, lifting heavy weights or moving in a more explosive, dynamic way – your senses will naturally become overloaded with what’s currently occurring in the body. This doesn’t give your mind the chance to drift towards negative thinking, your mind as a result is then fully engaged in the present moment.

We know that exercise is good for the body and this extends to our immune systems too:

• Physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. This may reduce your chance of getting a cold, flu, or other illness.
• Exercise causes change in antibodies and white blood cells (WBC). WBCs are the body’s immune system cells that fight disease. These antibodies or WBCs circulate more rapidly, so they could detect illnesses earlier than they might have before.
• Exercise slows down the release of stress hormones. Some stress increases the chance of illness.

As with anything, balance is always key. Too much exercise, too often that is too intense will also give your immune system a battering. Recovery and rest is also important to achieve balance.

Posture

How your body naturally positions itself can also affect your hormones, which will naturally influence your mood and potentially compound negative feelings if you’re already feeling low. I’ve written a blog that details how your posture affects your mood, click here to view.

If you’re feeling gloom, try not to carry yourself as if you are down in the dumps as you’ll only reinforce this feeling.

To conclude…

This blog draws attention to how the state of the mind directly impacts the health of the body by altering the function and strength of our immune system. Hence why I’d like to stress the importance on keeping our mind in good form and our spirits high in the midst of a pandemic.

This blog focuses on the physical changes you can apply that’ll help change the direction of your emotional state that’ll benefit you both mentally and physically. Though this piece fixates on the physical, there are other ways to lift your spirits during these times, such as connecting with friends/family, meditating and/or volunteering to help out in your community.