How Do The Mind And Body Connect With Each Other
Posted: Monday, July 09, 2007
by Susan Thom
I think after we go through a traumatic event, or events, especially within a short period of time, our minds need to catch up to our body. Our bodies can walk, and bend, and take baths and showers and eat dinner and go to sleep. But our minds, now that's a different story.
Do we just get zapped back into ourselves? Does a voice tell us, "Enough evaluation, time to go grocery shopping!" "You're mind and body are as one, go, before something else happens." Those are the productive days. I can get a lot done on those days. My mind and body are in unison and I feel strong and hopeful and positive and excited and proud, and whole. Whatever my mind thinks of to do, my body can do it. Things work out, and jobs get done. Fear is far from my mind. I can clean out the garage I've been putting off for two years, I can give my dog a bath, I can clean my room, I can strip my bed, I can go to court over my divorce proceedings, I can go shopping, I can run errands, I can take care of doctor's appointments, and vet appointments, and getting my daughter to work on time until she gets her car. My body is doing all that.
When my mind has had enough, it starts giving me little signals. I'm a little more cranky, things bother me more, I don't want to deal with the bills or things at hand, I don't clean as much, or do the laundry as often. It starts to overload. This is never a good sign. I sleep more, and take more naps and longer naps during the day, and I try to escape instead of deal. This usually lasts a week, sometimes two. I feel horrible, but my mind is not keeping up with my body, and the longer my mind shuts down, the more my body is affected. Then, I have both emotional and physical problems.
So, what is the answer to this shutdown of mind before body? Experience is all I can think of. I am getting better at calming my mind, and keeping it at a level that doesn't harm the rest of my body. I am trying to keep a balance. Information comes in my head that makes me uncomfortable, or sick, or mad, or sad, or happy, and I try to level my mind to accept these emotions and deal with them in a calm way. This is not an easy thing for me, at all! I have to try and remember that nothing is really that important or earth changing, and those things that are, I'll deal with.
Unfortunately, I had to go through some pretty messed up experiences to figure this out, but I could have just used my own brain! I had to learn to be humble again. I had been at one time, but I was too comfortable. I had to be reminded that things happen to teach a lesson. I got the idea, and I got my humility back. I had to learn how to be more focused, and smarter about certain things, since I left my purse on the seat of the truck to run into an all glass convenience store for a pint of ice cream, and it was stolen. I couldn't get mad, or blame anyone else, I left it there. I needed to respect my home and those in it. I learned I am not as weak as I thought. I came through my test with dignity and humility and even a touch of comedy. I didn't freak out when I was up against a wall, well, a little bit, but not to excess. I did what I had to do and took each moment and each happening in it's time, and that's how I got through . My mind didn't collapse, and my body kept working.
Afterwards, however, the shock and despair of the situation set in, and I was depressed city for about a week. I didn't want to talk to anybody, I certainly didn't want anybody talking to me, I wanted nothing to do with housework or laundry, and my mind was trying to catch up to my body. Sure, the part of the brain that makes you walk and talk was working fine. The part that deals with emotions and fears and feelings and anger and hatred and love and desire and repulsion, was tapped out. It had been stretched to the max. Once some rest and thinking had been done over a slow and depressed week, things started getting back on track. My body was able to take a bath, clean the kitchen, vacuum, wash clothes, take the trash out, and my mind was able to tell it to. Things weren't so fuzzy. I was thinking in a more focused manner, and I was starting to be able to deal with new problems approaching. I was stronger. I was more humble. I was smarter. These new problems weren't beating m up as much. As a matter of fact, I was handling them quite well. I really want to work at balancing my mind and body, so that when something happens, I can deal with it, and not run the other way!
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