Emotions and spiritual interaction between people
Have you noticed that we feel and behave differently around other people? “The mood has changed,” we say. In fact, not only the mental attitude changes, but also the physiology of our body, which instantly reacts to what is happening around. People unconsciously perceive the “language” of the body and facial expressions of each other with all their senses. Empathy, imitation, copying is inherent in us at the genetic level. It is not in our power to control these abilities at our own discretion: to empathize or imitate only when we want it and to the extent that we need it. We, like communicating and overflowing vessels, transmit their mood, feelings, nervous interconnections – to each other, “infecting and becoming infected”. Agree that such feelings as anger, fear, indignation are very contagious? Just like laughing and smiling.
The impact of emotions on health
Emotions (from Latin – shake, excite) are the subjective reactions of humans and higher animals to any external and internal stimuli. Emotions accompany all the processes of human life, can be caused by situations or events that exist only in our imagination.
In other words, this is a personal attitude, a person’s reaction to events happening to him. Today, scientists argue a lot about how harmful negative emotional manifestations are for people’s health. And there is an opinion that in reasonable amounts, stress is even useful, as it helps the body to stay in good shape, not to sag and pushes to action. However, prolonged exposure to the body of strong emotions, both positive and negative, causes stress and fraught with health problems.
Mankind has long known that emotions have a direct impact on health. This is evidenced by popular proverbs: “All diseases are from nerves”, “You can’t buy health – your mind gives it”, “Joy makes you young, grief makes you old”, “Rust eats iron, and sadness eats the heart”. Even in ancient times, doctors determined the connection of the soul (emotional component) with the physical component – the human body. The ancients knew that whatever affects the brain affects the body equally.
However, already in the XNUMXth century, during the time of Descartes, this was forgotten. And the person was safely “divided” into two components: the mind and the body. And diseases were defined as either purely bodily or mental, which were shown to be treated in completely different ways.
Only now have we begun to look at human nature, as Hippocrates once did – in its entirety, that is, realizing that it is impossible to separate the soul and body. Modern medicine has accumulated enough data that confirms that the nature of most diseases is psychosomatic, that the health of the body and spirit are interconnected and interdependent. Scientists from various countries studying the influence of emotions on human health have come to very interesting conclusions. Thus, the famous English neurophysiologist Charles Sherrington, Nobel Prize winner, established the following pattern: the first to occur is an emotional experience, followed by vegetative and somatic changes in the body.
German scientists have established the connection of each individual human organ with a certain part of the brain through nerve pathways. American scientists are developing the theory of diagnosing diseases according to a person’s mood and express the possibility of preventing a disease before it develops. This is facilitated by preventive therapy to improve mood and the accumulation of positive emotions.
It is important to understand here that it is not a one-time grief that provokes a somatic disease, but long-term negative experiences caused by stress. It is these experiences that weaken the immune system and make us defenseless. The feeling of unreasonable anxiety that has become chronic, depressive states and depressed mood are good soil for the development of many diseases. Such negative spiritual manifestations include anger, envy, fear, despondency, panic, anger, irritability, that is, emotions that you should try to avoid. Even Orthodoxy classifies such emotions as anger, envy and despondency as mortal sins, and not by chance. After all, each such mood can lead to serious diseases of the body with a very sad outcome.
The meaning of emotions in oriental medicine
Oriental medicine also claims that mood and certain emotions can cause diseases of certain organs. According to representatives of oriental medicine, physical health and emotions are quite closely related. Our feelings, both bad and good, affect our body in a significant way.
Moreover, representatives of oriental medicine find a connection between emotions and various organs.
For example, kidney problems can be caused by fear, weak will and self-doubt. Since the kidneys are responsible for growth and development, their proper functioning is especially important in childhood. Chinese medicine encourages children to develop courage and self-confidence. Such a child will always correspond to his age.
The main respiratory organ is the lungs. Irregularities in the functioning of the lungs can be caused by sadness and sadness. Impaired respiratory function, in turn, can cause many comorbidities. Treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults, from the point of view of oriental medicine, should begin with an examination of all organs, including the lungs.
Lack of vitality and enthusiasm can negatively affect the work of the heart. Also, for the good work of the main organ, following Chinese medicine, poor sleep, depression are contraindicated. and despair. The heart regulates the function of blood vessels. His work can be easily identified by the complexion and tongue. Arrhythmia and palpitations are the main symptoms of heart failure. This, in turn, can lead to mental disorders and disorders of long-term memory.
Irritation, anger and resentment affect the functioning of the liver. The consequences of a liver imbalance can be very severe. This is breast cancer in women, headaches and dizziness.
Chinese medicine calls for experiencing only positive emotions. This is the only way to maintain good health for many years. However, it is unlikely that a modern person will be able to get rid of negative emotions, as if by magic. Do we have a way out in this situation?
First of all, it should be remembered that we need emotions, since the internal environment of the body must exchange energy with the external environment. And such an energy exchange will not be harmful if natural emotional programs inherent in nature are involved in it: sadness or joy, surprise or disgust, a sense of shame or anger, interest, laughter, crying, anger, etc. The main thing is that emotions area reaction to what is happening, and not the result of “winding up” oneself so that they appear naturally, without anyone’s coercion, and not exaggerate.
Natural emotional reactions should not be restrained, it is only important to learn how to express them correctly. Moreover, one should learn to respect the manifestation of emotions by other people and adequately perceive them. And in no case should one suppress emotions, no matter what color they may be.
Ayurveda on the suppression of emotions
Suppressed emotions do not dissolve in the body without a trace, but form toxins in it, which accumulate in the tissues, poisoning the body. What are these emotions, and what is their effect on the human body? Let’s consider in more detail.
– completely changes the flora in the gallbladder, bile duct, small intestine, worsens pitta dosha, causes inflammation of the surface of the mucous membrane of the stomach and small intestine.
– change the flora in the colon. As a result, the stomach swells from the gas that accumulates in the folds of the colon, causing pain. Often this pain is mistakenly attributed to heart or liver problems.
Due to the painful consequences, it is recommended not to suppress either emotions or bodily manifestations such as coughing, sneezing and passing gas.
Suppressed Emotions Cause Imbalance , which in turn affects agni, which is responsible for immunityin the body. The reaction to such a violation may be the occurrence of an allergy to such completely harmless phenomena as: pollen, dust and flower smell.
Suppressed fear will cause violationsassociated with products that increase vata-doshu.Suppression of emotions pitta doshi (anger and hatred) can cause hypersensitivity to foods that aggravate pitta in people with a pitta constitution from birth. Such a person will be sensitive to hot and spicy foods.
People with kapha constitution, suppressiveemotions kapha dosha(attachment, greed), will have an allergic reaction to kapha food, i.e. will be sensitive to foods that aggravate kapha (dairy products). This can result in constipation and wheezing in the lungs..
Sometimes an imbalance that gives rise to a painful process may first arise in the body, and then manifest itself in the mind and consciousness – and, as a result, lead to a certain emotional background. Thus, the circle is closed. The imbalance, which first manifested itself on the physical level, later affects the mind through disturbances in the tridosha. As we have shown above, vata disorder provokes fear, depression and nervousness. Excess Pitta in the body will cause anger, hatred and jealousy. The deterioration of kapha will create an exaggerated sense of possessiveness, pride and affection. Thus, there is a direct relationship between diet, habits, environment and emotional disturbances. These disorders can also be judged by indirect signs that appear in the body in the form of muscle clamps.
How to find the problem
The physical expression of emotional stress and emotional toxins accumulated in the body are muscle clamps, the causes of which can be both strong feelings and excessive strictness of upbringing, hostility of employees, self-doubt, the presence of complexes, etc. If a person has not learned to get rid of negative emotions and is constantly tormented by some difficult experiences, then sooner or later they manifest themselves in muscle clamps in the facial zone (forehead, eyes, mouth, nape), neck, chest region (shoulders and arms), in lumbar, as well as in the pelvis and lower extremities.
If such states are temporary and you manage to get rid of negative emotions, provoking them, there is no cause for concern. However, chronic muscle stiffness, in turn, can lead to the development of various somatic diseases.
Consider some emotional states that, being in a chronic form, can cause certain diseases..
Depression – sluggish mood, depending on circumstances, in for a long time. This emotion can cause quite serious problems with throat, and frequent sore throats and even loss of voice.
Samoyedism – feeling guilty about everything you do. The result can be a chronic headache.
Irritation – the feeling when literally everything annoys you. In this case, do not be surprised by the frequent bouts of nausea, from which drugs are not save.
Insult – feeling humiliated and offended. Get ready for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, chronic gastritis, ulcers, constipation and I have diarrhea.
Angercauses a surge of energy that builds rapidly and suddenly bursts out. An angry person is easily upset by failures and is unable to restrain his feelings. His behavior is wrong and impulsive. As a result, the liver suffers.
excessivejoydissipates energy, it is dispersed and lost. When the most important thing in a person’s life – getting pleasure, he is not able to hold energy, always looking for satisfaction and ever stronger stimulation. As a result, such a person is prone to uncontrollable anxiety, insomnia and despair. In this case, the heart is often affected.
Sadnessstops the energy. A person who has gone into the experience of sadness breaks away from the world, his feelings dry up, and his motivation fades. Protecting himself from the joys of attachment and the pain of loss, he arranges his life so as to avoid the risk and vagaries of passion, becomes inaccessible to true intimacy. Such people have asthma, constipation and frigidity.
Fearreveals itself when survival is in question. From fear, energy falls, a person turns to stone and loses control over himself. In the life of a person seized with fear, the expectation of danger prevails, he becomes suspicious, withdraws from the world and prefers loneliness. He is critical, cynical, confident in the hostility of the world. Isolation can cut him off from life, making him cold, hard and soulless. In the body, this is manifested by arthritis, deafness, and senile dementia.
So, along with the correction of nutrition and lifestyle, selected by an Ayurvedic doctor in accordance with your constitutional type, It is very important to learn how to manage your emotions, take them under control.
How to work with emotions?
To this question, Ayurveda gives advice: emotions should be observed in a detached way, with full awareness of how they unfold, comprehending their nature, and then allow them to dissipate. When emotions are suppressed, this can cause disturbances in the mind and, ultimately , in bodily functions.
Here are some tips that you can follow steadily to improve your emotional situation.
A tried and true method that requires constant effort from you is to be kind to others. Try to think positively, be kind to others, so that a positive emotional attitude contributes to health promotion.
Practice the so-called spiritual gymnastics. In ordinary life, we do it every day, scrolling through the usual thoughts in our heads, empathizing with everything around us – the sounds from the TV, tape recorder, radio, beautiful views of nature, etc. However, you need to do this purposefully, understanding which impressions harm your emotional health, and which ones contribute to maintaining the desired emotional background. Proper spiritual gymnastics causes corresponding physiological changes in the body.. Remembering this or that event of our life, we evoke and fix in the body the physiology and nervous interconnections corresponding to that event.If the remembered event was joyful and accompanied by pleasant sensations, this is beneficial. And if we turn to unpleasant memories and re-experience negative emotions, then in the body the stress reaction is fixed on the physical and spiritual planes.. Therefore, it is very important to learn to recognize and practice positive reactions.
An effective way to “remove” stress from the body is proper (not excessive) physical activity, which requires fairly high energy costs, such as swimming, exercising in the gym, running, etc. Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises help to get back to normal very well.
A means of getting rid of mental anxiety as a consequence of stress is a confidential conversation with a loved one (good friend, relative).
Create the right thought forms. Primarily, go to the mirror and look at yourself. Pay attention to the corners of your lips. Where are they directed: down or up? If the lip pattern has a downward slope, it means that something constantly worries you, saddens you. You have a very developed sense of forcing the situation. As soon as an unpleasant event happened, you already painted a terrible picture for yourself.This is wrong and even dangerous to health. You just have to pull yourself together right here and now, looking in the mirror. Tell yourself it’s over! From now on – only positive emotions. Any situation is a test of Fate for endurance, for health, for prolonging life. There are no hopeless situations – this must always be remembered. No wonder people say that time is our best healer, that the morning is wiser than the evening. Do not make hasty decisions, let go of the situation for a while, and the decision will come, and with it a good mood and positive emotions.
Wake up every day with a smile, listen to good pleasant music more often, communicate only with cheerful people who add a good mood, and do not take away your energy.
Thus, each person himself is responsible for the diseases from which he suffers, and for recovery from them. Remember that our health, like emotions and thoughts, is in our hands.
Ragozin Boris VladimirovichAyurvedic rach