Seniors

Common Senior Health Issues

Emotional Wellness

How Do Emotions Affect Your Body?

Got the blues?

URMC has a solution. Call Older Adult Services at 585-274-4605 if you or a loved one needs help.

Research continues to prove that our attitudes affect our health. There is a connection between the mind and the body, and feeling bad about yourself can lead to poor health.

For example, one study explored the power of perceptions. The researchers found that a poor image of one’s health, regardless of the actual risk factors one has, roughly doubles the risk of death within five years. In fact, a pessimistic outlook proved to be deadlier than congestive heart failure or smoking 50 or more packs of cigarettes every year!

Is the mind-body connection mystical, medical, or just plain luck? We're not yet sure, but the reasons don’t change the outcome. Many medical people agree that depression and anxiety can fuel serious illness, including heart disease, hypertension, asthma, and diabetes.

How to Improve Your Emotional Health

So how can you improve your emotional outlook? You may not have a naturally sunny disposition, but you can take steps to brighten it. "Emotional intelligence" is a term for your ability to cope with your own feelings and those of others. Here are a few personal qualities that help us develop "emotional intelligence."

Recognize your own feelings and emotions at any given time. For some, keeping a journal helps identify emotions.

Work on managing your feelings, not suppressing them. Setbacks and obstacles are part of life, but violent and destructive outbursts will not help.

Develop empathy, the ability to "walk in someone else's shoes." Listen carefully to others. Notice their body language as well their words. The goal is to understand the feelings behind the words.

Connect. There are friends, family, and even pets who could benefit from a new, more empathetic you. To deepen you emotional connection, listen carefully to the people you communicate with and express your appreciation for them with words and gestures. Harvard researchers recently found that social activities are as important to survival as regular exercise.

Need Help With Emotion?

When we don’t feel good emotionally, we can become depressed. When we’re depressed, our whole body suffers. If we’re ill and depressed, the road to recovery is all uphill. But you do have complete control over getting help for anxiety and/or depression. Contact a psychiatric caregiver and/or therapist for help–and do it now.

Learn more about health and attitudes.