Often there is confusion between physical health & mental health – let me share my understanding.
To achieve good physical health the following needs must be met: nutritional, exercise, respiratory & sexual.
To achieve good mental health the following needs must be met: intellectual, emotional & psychological.
Poor physical health will impact on mental health. If you do not have enough energy, minerals, vitamins and oxygen your brain will not work at its best. If you do not do enough exercise or have a poor diet, blood vessels may become clogged and blood flow to the brain may become restricted, you may experience infections and suffer more disease, which will be a drain on the functioning on the brain particularly, if pain is involved. If you are sexually frustrated, it may be difficult to concentrate.
Your physical health potential will be dependent go the body’s capability to perform at its best. Congenital conditions such Type 1 diabetes or Cystic Fibrosis will add complications to managing physical health. Supplements and medication will affect the functioning of the body by changing its chemical make up either by aiding a function like antibiotics or by easing a symptom like antihistamine or antidepressants. Physical conditions can also affect your mental health. For example if you are unable to walk and need the use of a wheel chair and you are confronted by curbs and stairs with no way round for you, or you have words in your head and functioning larynx, tongue and lips but no neural pathway connecting them up, it can be highly frustrating.
Poor mental health will impact on your physical health. If your intellectual, emotional and psychological needs are not met you can become frustrated, angry, depressed, unrealistically elated, anxious, suffer from bipolar, ADHD or Tourettes etc. You can become conflicted if others do not like you showing or expressing symptoms of poor mental health. This means your distress becomes internalised. You are constantly in fight or flight mode raising your blood pressure. In trying to hold things together you get a knot in your stomach which means your gut becomes compromised and digestion becomes impaired, IBS can follow, your nutrition will change to cope with your IBS rather than the nutritional requirements of the body. Higher levels of cortisol are produced impairing your ability to think which means your cognitive capability is reduced so you react to situations and events rather than think about them. Halitosis may appear and your sweat may change in odour. Your immune system can become compromised.
Mental health has a far bigger impact on wellbeing than physical health. If your mental health is good you can tackle the issues of physical health by listening to your body. Your body will tell you when it needs exercise. It will tell you when you need a particular type of nutrition such as high energy foods or minerals. If your mental health is poor, you stop listening to your body and so cannot notice the messages it is sending you.
To maximise your mental health you must make sure your intellectual, emotional and psychological needs are met. If you are in a relationship or an environment that is not allowing this to happen, that relationship or environment is not healthy for you. You have two options 1) assertively ask for your mental needs to be met and explain that without that happening you cannot perform at your best and your mental and physical health will be compromised. 2) Leave the relationship / environment.
The easiest thing to do is nothing but this will severely compromise both your physical and mental health. If untreated this will lead to chronic conditions. If your body has a weakness such as arthritis, it will be aggravated. If the body is conflicted and not working at its optimum, it starts acting inappropriately and is more likely to be prone to cancer. The best way to show the difference between physical and mental health is: Type 1 Diabetes is a physical illness; Type 2 Diabetes is a mental illness manifesting itself with physical symptoms.
To make changes in your life so that your mental health is good, it requires courage and the support of others. You will need at least one person in your life who will support you on this journey. You will also need an independent counsellor who understands what it means to have your intellectual, emotional and psychological needs met and who can help you decide what is the best path for you to take.