{"id":22645,"date":"2022-10-01T00:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=22645"},"modified":"2022-09-30T21:36:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T21:36:24","slug":"mental-health-1022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/mental-health-1022\/","title":{"rendered":"Prioritizing Your Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mental health and physical health are not mutually exclusive. Both are equally important to our overall well-being. For example, chronic physical pain can lead to depression and anxiety, and sustained mental stress can wreak havoc on the digestive system, disrupt sleep patterns and compromise the immune system. So, why do we keep missing the mark on such a vital topic?<\/p>\n

Avoidance Starts Young<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From an early age, we learn to treat our physical health quickly and mostly ignore our emotions and feelings. When we were toddlers, our scrapes and bruises were fixed with warm water, soap, a little antibiotic ointment, a Band-Aid and three little words, \u201cYou\u2019ll be OK.\u201d When our beloved pet died, we often heard, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll get another.\u201d Our first high school breakup was smoothed over with, \u201cYou\u2019ll find someone else. There are plenty of fish in the sea.\u201d We lost a job and heard, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll find something much better.\u201d We learned to silence our emotional pain with replacements.<\/p>\n

Have you ever diagrammed your emotional history from your first memory to the present? I attended a widow\u2019s retreat facilitated by a grief specialist. In one of the exercises, I was asked to do a loss history graph to discover a correlation between early childhood patterns about loss and how I process it today. Drawing a chronological line across the width of the paper, I listed significant events in my life, such as a grandparent\u2019s death, mom and dad\u2019s divorce, losing a job, moving, marriage, my child\u2019s birth and my husband\u2019s death. Then, under each significant event, I wrote a few words that reminded me of how I felt at the time, who was there to talk to me about the event, and if others around me understood my needs or gave me the necessary time to process the event. Words like \u201cscared,\u201d \u201cconfused,\u201d \u201cworried,\u201d \u201cfearful,\u201d \u201crejected,\u201d \u201cpowerless,\u201d \u201cembarrassed\u201d and \u201cheartbroken\u201d were repeated and scattered about the paper. A pattern quickly and vividly emerged. The lack of attention to my mental health by those around me and myself was apparent.<\/p>\n

We learn early on to place our mental health on the back burner. Remember how important physical fitness was in elementary, middle and high school? In 1956, President Eisenhower founded the President\u2019s Council on Youth Fitness to educate Americans on the importance of physical activity and good nutrition to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The President\u2019s Council exists today, through 13 administrations, but without a focus on mental health.<\/p>\n

The Physical Side of Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Thoughts form in our brain and its neuron forest. Pleasant thoughts cause the secretion of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, giving us a sense of well-being. Conversely, stressful thoughts cause the secretion of adrenaline, cortisol and histamines, creating a feeling of insecurity or dread. Over time, long-term activation of the stress response system puts you at risk of physical consequences. Among them:<\/p>\n