Do you think you are healthy? Does it even matter what you think? You are either healthy or not and what you think about your health has nothing to do with it, right? Health is all about exercise and eating right, isn’t it? These questions bring up the connection between thoughts and health that I would like to discuss. First, I want to briefly say that health is not an either/or situation but there are various levels or degrees of health and sickness. And true health is more than merely the absence of disease or symptoms. True health is optimal physical, mental, and social well-being!
So with that said, what you think absolutely matters when it comes to health, and not just because having lots of negative thoughts makes it impossible to have optimal mental well-being. There have been several theories as to why your thoughts affect your health, but there does not seem to be any real consensus on the matter. Some evidence shows that negative thoughts are associated with increased markers for stress and that stress can have a negative impact on health. However, other studies still found a relationship between positive thoughts and better health even after controlling for stress factors.
There are a couple of interesting studies that I wanted to briefly share on the subject of thoughts and health before discussing how chiropractic views this idea. In one study, the participants were given nasal drops that contained one of two rhinoviruses (common cold viruses) and evaluated for the development of the common cold. The results are fascinating. The participants who had the most positive emotional style were less likely to develop a cold in a dose-dependent manner even after controlling for “prechallenge virus-specific antibody, virus-type, age, sex, education, race, body mass, and season.” That means those who were highest on positive emotions had the least risk of developing a cold, those with middle positive emotions had a little higher risk and those lowest on positive emotions still had a little higher risk. Now it is really interesting that those who had negative emotional styles did not show a significant difference in risk between the high, medium, and low levels of negative emotion like you may have expected. The positive group did have better stress hormone levels and better health practices, but these factors could not account for the different risks of illness according to the study. (1)
In the other study a group of healthy premenopausal women was followed for many years to evaluate cardiovascular risk factors. At 10.4 years and 13.5 years after enrolling in the study (when they were at least 5 years postmenopausal) carotid scans were taken and evaluated for thickening of the carotid artery wall, a sign of cardiovascular disease. At the time of entering into the study and at the first scan the women also completed a test measuring optimistic or pessimistic attitudes. Those with the most optimistic attitudes had the least thickening of the carotid artery wall. The conclusion of the authors was “optimistic women are less likely to show progression of carotid disease in mid-life than are pessimists.” (2)
It is remarkable that these studies show benefits of positive emotions and thinking for both short- and long-term health. I personally think the benefits of ‘healthy thinking’ go far beyond just these two examples. I would like to share one more possibility for the link between thoughts and health from the view of chiropractic philosophy. The link between thoughts and health has been known in chiropractic from the very beginning. The founder of chiropractic, D.D. Palmer, succinctly stated that the three causes of subluxation are thoughts, traumas, and toxins. A subluxation is when the bones of the spine are not aligned or moving properly and causes irritation to the spinal nerves interfering with their ability to function fully. With subluxations the body is in a state of less than optimal functioning. Since the body works together as a whole, when one part is not functioning at its best it affects everything else.
So constantly thinking negative or self-defeating thoughts can lead to subluxation, hindering your body’s natural ability to heal. From experience I have found that to truly correct some subluxations you need to address the underlying cause which may include your thoughts. So think positive and healthy thoughts and you will be affecting more than just your mood; you will be affecting your body’s ability to heal.
This connection between thoughts and health is one reason why I look into more than just the physical symptoms to get to the real cause of the problem. I believe that the body, mind, and soul need to be balanced for true healing. If you or someone you know could benefit from this kind of holistic approach stop by or give me a call.
References
- Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Turner RB, Alper CM, Skoner DP. Emotional Style and Susceptibility to the Common Cold, Psychosomatic Medicine 65:652–657 (2003). Can be accessed at: http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/65/4/652.long
- Matthews KA, Raikkonen K, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Kuller LH. Optimistic Attitudes Protect Against Progression of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Healthy Middle-Aged Women, Psychosomatic Medicine 66:640–644 (2004). Can be accessed at: http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/66/5/640.full.pdf
