Mind over Health - how much control does the mind have ?

[Shannow]

Background, and it's not something that I've personally noticed, until better half pointed it out to me this morning...while I'm working stressful jobs (last decade has been rewarding but incredibly stressful), I am healthy, but as soon as I take a break of a couple of weeks, I physically crash for the first half week, colds, flu, stomach bugs etc.

Got a new job two weeks ago, one that I always wanted, and one that has a tiny fraction of the pressures of my last 10 years...and have been sick every since. Vomiting/Diarrhea the day after I was given the job (first sick day off in over 2 years, and day 1 of new job), this weekend respiratory, sinuses, earaches, headache, chills and sweats.

Now she's described it, the pattern fits, but goes against the whole "relax, meditate, reduce stress" way to "health".

[RunningDeer]

Background, and it's not something that I've personally noticed, until better half pointed it out to me this morning...while I'm working stressful jobs (last decade has been rewarding but incredibly stressful), I am healthy, but as soon as I take a break of a couple of weeks, I physically crash for the first half week, colds, flu, stomach bugs etc.

Got a new job two weeks ago, one that I always wanted, and one that has a tiny fraction of the pressures of my last 10 years...and have been sick every since. Vomiting/Diarrhea the day after I was given the job (first sick day off in over 2 years, and day 1 of new job), this weekend respiratory, sinuses, earaches, headache, chills and sweats.

Now she's described it, the pattern fits, but goes against the whole "relax, meditate, reduce stress" way to "health".

"Mind over health - how much control does the mind have?"

For me it’s key. Environment with stressors is good if you get positive, creative juices from it. If not, change things, or accept things. Either way you are in the drivers seat. Choice is freedom and freedom is choice.

If change is not feasible, then it’s important to take time to round out the rest of your life as a counter balance. If most of what you do is positive then that one anchor isn’t as heavy. It may even change when the negative focus is starved out of it.

Like the saying: “You are what you eat.” Well, “What you think, you are.” It’s just that simple for me. So, the key is awareness of internal dialogue.

If it’s a person or people that are the triggers, then once you center and nullify the unconscious contract the drama will cease. There are plenty of unaware folks that’ll step up to fill the spot. Like attracts like. Ka-ching!

In terms of vacation time, for some it means no responsibility, therefore they give themselves permission to crash. And others don’t know how to have a life if they're not working 24/7. So an empty calendar and quiet space is stressful.

Stress runs the wheels of monkey mind and you’re off.... fighting with viruses or spouses or traffic lights, the net effect are symptoms like you’ve listed. Overtime, they, i.e., thoughts and thoughts morphed into emotions, multiply in the body. So.....please don’t feed the monkey mind. Go to the zoo instead. Ka-ching!

Paula :wave:

[ghostrider]

this last week everyone I know had headaches and toothaches , severe ... the mind is more powerful than we know ... the entire war is a war for the control of your mind ... the global depopulation agenda is there to put fear in the survivors and make them easier to control ... it is a matrix , a battle for the mind ...

[Kryztian]

It's great you are seeking other people's ideas, although, in the end, only you, deep within you, know the answer to this. Here are a few possible reasons I can thing of:

1) You are allergic to something in your new work environment, or something you pass through on the way to your job.

2) Your body has needed to make some changes, work some things out, detox, etc. You were so busy before, but now, with the luxury of free time and less stress, it is able to finally accomplish this task (by getting sick, detoxing). It is a common occurrence that some people find themselves as care takers and stay healthy for a long time until the person they are caring for no longer needs their help (they get healthy, die, or more away) and then suddenly the care taker gets sick. Another way to think of this is to compare it to a person who is fasting: during the fast, their body is no longer burdened with the task of removing toxins from the food they eat, so instead, they do a real deep cleaning of the body, removing even more toxins, and making the person feel unpleasant.

3) There is a part of your fragments consciousness (we all have a fragmented consciousness) that does not want you to slow down. That compels you to keep working, working, working. If this might be the case, I would recommend searching for a good hypnotist that practices "parts therapy."

Good luck to you. Healing is an important part of every persons life journey.

[Shannow]

Paula,
very good insight, and a lot to reflect on. Something that I realised late last year was that I'd let my job define me, and had grown to hate my job...now I've moved on to other stuff, and am looking forward to work, rather than being work.

Re your monkey mind concept, and Ghostrider's comments on fear and the matix, there's a "parable" for want of a better word that's pretty common in Oz.

10 monkeys in a cage, a banana strung from the roof, and a step ladder to get to it.
When a monkey starts the climb, the whole lot are doused in cold water.
Happens repeatedly, until the other monkeys stop each other from even attempting to climb the ladder, avoiding the dousing.
Take a monkey out, and replace it with a new one.
It tries to climb the ladder, and is violently restrained by the mob.
Keep taking out monkeys, and replacing them, and in the end, there's a situation where not a single monkey in the cage has ever been hosed, but they will always stop a new monkey climbing the ladder.

[enfoldedblue]

This pattern of becoming sick when we have time to relax is very common. I have found that when I have a lot of pressure and demands my body COPES. Learns to put aside it's needs in order to meet the high demand. Then when I feel that I can let go a little bit...bang... sickness sets in. I don't think this means that relaxation is bad and stress is good. Remember sickness is actually the way the body heals itself. So for example we may have an infection...which the body can manage to keep under control for some time. But in order to really deal with it and eradicate it...rather than just manage it...it needs to go into full on fighting mode (which we experience as sickness).

So my take would be that your body is probably just catching up with a lot of housekeeping that previous stressful conditions did not allow for. Nurture your body and provide it with some much needed TLC and you will probably find that you will re-find your healthy balance.

(Of course I also would look into allergies in case they are a factor etc)

[RunningDeer]

Paula,
very good insight, and a lot to reflect on. Something that I realised late last year was that I'd let my job define me, and had grown to hate my job...now I've moved on to other stuff, and am looking forward to work, rather than being work.

Re your monkey mind concept, and Ghostrider's comments on fear and the matix, there's a "parable" for want of a better word that's pretty common in Oz.

10 monkeys in a cage, a banana strung from the roof, and a step ladder to get to it.
When a monkey starts the climb, the whole lot are doused in cold water.
Happens repeatedly, until the other monkeys stop each other from even attempting to climb the ladder, avoiding the dousing.
Take a monkey out, and replace it with a new one.
It tries to climb the ladder, and is violently restrained by the mob.
Keep taking out monkeys, and replacing them, and in the end, there's a situation where not a single monkey in the cage has ever been hosed, but they will always stop a new monkey climbing the ladder.


Love the visual. Reminds me of holiday parties with friends I no longer hang with. Maybe I'll send them a basket of bananas, I-I-I mean a basket of fruit. Booyah!!!

I like Kryztian's too. It crossed my mind at first, but it's two different places. I'd still consider it.

Or maybe it's a delayed reaction to adjusting to the new job, even though it's less stressful. A a decade of routine to unknown, some need time to adjust to change.

I say take two aspirin and wear your fuzzy slippers to work for a couple of weeks.

Paula :wave:

[Rich]

The body's health is determined by the mind.
...when i was on a meditation streak some years ago I let go of some traumatic experiences i had in the past and my body became healthy,
nutritional deficiencies gone, pain in neck and back gone, intestines healthy etc...

[Hazel]

On the topic of detoxing from stresses and traumas of work... is it possible that nightmares around/about work are a also a form of emotional download/detox? I ask because I had a doosey last night, which was unmistakenly tied up with traumatic circumstances I went through when I left a place of employment 5yrs ago. I was feeling very isolated and screaming in the dream.. any knowledge on this type of thing anyone?

If not.. its fine
have learned a lot from this thread
my appreciation to all contributers..

H

[chocolate]

I have learned what is true for me along the way.
Although the mind is king, the body suffers not only because of the mind, but because of some trivial material things such as the surrounding material world- the quality of the food, water, air, etc.
For me the body suffering comes so that I learn a lesson.
It should always be a balance between the material and the mind/spiritual side of things, it is a complex balance.
Know thyself, the ancients has said. Some people intuitively know, some have to learn through hard experience.

[Bubu]

boredom make me sick. I have to do something all the time. work, play, dance, sing, read,write when I am not sleeping.

Mind over matter? just think that you are that young man who stand erect, feels light and strong and move with ease.

[Roisin]

Amongst the healthy, boredom is only a momentary moment before one transits to a new area of interest that gets rid of it. If boredom lasts longer than that, then that's an indication that one needs to do a whole new revamp on their outlook on life. Along with maturity comes the realization that there are no block-walls and that there are always other options out there and that one just needs to be open to them. If one can't see that, then they need to see a therapist for behavioral and intellectual modification.