Healthy Mind, Healthy Body

July 28, 2010
Written by: Julie Bosche, Filed in: Employee Health Programs

When you’re trying to improve your physical health, it’s important to focus on your mental well-being, as well.

While the concept of a mind/body connection might seem too vague and even somewhat far-fetched, its existence and importance to the concept of overall health is well documented.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a decline in mental health can lead to a parallel decline in physical health. Likewise, poor physical health can take a toll on mental wellness.

Your body responds to stressful events in your life and the heightened emotions they stir up. The list of physical ailments that might spring from a particularly emotional event such as the death of a loved one is long and varied.

Back pain, chest pain, headaches, high blood pressure, sleep problems, sexual problems, shortness of breath, and fatigue are just some of the physical troubles you might experience due to mental distress, according to FamilyDoctor.org.

Poor emotional health can also weaken your immune system and cause you not to take good enough care of yourself, making you more susceptible to colds, flu, and other infections.

A positive outlook, the APA notes, can help keep you healthy. The association cites some compelling evidence supporting the mind/body connection.

Taking these facts into account, it’s easy to see why it’s important to promote mental health care when motivating your employees to get healthy.

These statistics include:

43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.

High levels of hostility have been found to predict heart disease more often than high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, or obesity.

86 percent of respondents to a 2005 APA survey on the mind/body connection said that a comprehensive physical exam should include some discussion of their emotional state and well-being.

Employees receiving mental health counseling lowered the usage of medical insurance by 31 percent.

Workplace stress causes approximately 1 million U.S. employees to miss work each day.

Stress costs the American industry more than $300 billion annually in lost hours due to absenteeism, reduced productivity, and workers compensation benefits.