When mental health impacts physical health
Angie Walsh
BSW, MSW, RSW, RCC
Often when people reflect or take inventory on their health status, they typically only consider physical health and discount their mental health struggles, chalking it up as “just stress”. In fact, the ‘health’ section on many intake forms only ask about physiological impairments and diseases (ie. asthma, diabetes, heart issues, etc.) and fail to validate the importance of mental health on a person’s holistic function and wellness. This contributes to the societal viewpoint that physical health is of more significance than mental health, when the reality is that both physical and mental health are two major components of health and wellness.
Mental health has been undervalued and downplayed within our healthcare system and Western society (and arguably even less so in other cultures). Mental and physical health exist on a continuum and in tandem. Just because you’ve had stable mental health and good physical health for several years, doesn’t mean that you will never struggle. We are only one devastating phone call or accident away from changing our physical and mental well-being significantly. Physical injuries can impact our mental health because they are intertwined. We need to acknowledge all of the effects that can arise from an intense or threatening experience—whether that be to our life, hobbies, passions, relationships, self-image, abilities, and self-esteem—not just to our physical body.
For example, let’s consider a car accident resulting in a concussion or broken bone. The typical recovery requires complete rest for a prolonged period of time—rest for your injured body part and/or brain. This means no longer participating in your typical life routines or passions, while possibly also experiencing debilitating headaches and chronic pain. Though these are physiological symptoms and physical health issues, these conditions will affect mood, outlook, motivation, focus, appetite, sleep, etc. It’s also important to recognize that traumatic events can lead to intense worries and fears— so it is easy to develop an anxiety disorder and feel the need to avoid uncertain or potentially risky experiences to “guarantee safety.” When we avoid typical daily life activities, or perhaps are ordered to be bed ridden and feel chronically uncomfortable, it is easy to slip towards a depressive state and feel hopeless or unmotivated.
Mental health issues can present in various forms–- some more subtle than others. Since many symptoms appear less tangible and harder to accurately measure, like mood dysregulation and difficulty focusing, they often go unaddressed or minimized. When we continue to ignore these symptoms, they tend to get louder and present themselves in more noticeable ways. Most mental health symptoms aren’t as easily diagnosable as a broken leg or cardiac arrest—yet they can manifest as complaints of chest pain, shortness of breath, and the inability to walk. It is very common for males and older generations (ie. those who are unaware of the significance of mental health or resist acknowledging the existence of mental health) to only take notice of more physical symptom issues because they have ignored the quieter symptoms–such as increased worries, feelings of guilt, and loss of interest in hobbies or passions. When mental health issues go unnoticed, ignored, or unaddressed for a prolonged period of time, it is common for these symptoms to intensify and trigger other symptoms— presenting as more “typical” physical health issues. For example, often teenage boys do not acknowledge anything is wrong or that there is a need to address their more subtle anxious symptoms until they have a full blown panic attack in public. Again, they may overlook mental health as the primary issue and instead head straight to the family doctor or Emergency department. Usually people tend to look further into these physical health issues (ie. shortness of breath, chest pain, blurred vision, difficulty hearing, muscle fatigue, etc.) since our society primarily prioritizes the medical/physical health system. However, when people have these physical symptoms assessed by a doctor, results repeatedly come back ‘normal’ or unremarkable and unexplained. When this happens, these are labeled psychosomatic symptoms.
Mental Health Symptoms
Subtle symptoms often downplayed as ‘just stressed’
Social discomfort
Loss of interest in passions/hobbies
Difficulty sleeping (ie. hard to fall asleep or constantly waking up)
Nightmares or night terrors
Racing thoughts
Intrusive thoughts, constant worry
Repeatedly checking things (ie. doors locked, appliance off, counting. etc.)
Lack of motivation
Increased thoughts of guilt or being a burden
Helplessness and suicidal thoughts
Body image issues
Low self-esteem
Constantly thinking you are being judged and are never enough
Evident physical psychosomatic symptoms
Headaches
Migraines
Insomnia
Fatigue (ie. mental, muscular)
Muscle, chest or back pain
Indigestion or GI issues
Stomach ulcers
Hypertension, high blood pressure
Increased or decreased appetite
Body aches and pains
Unintentional weight gain or loss
Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
Skin rash
Erectile dysfunction/impotence in males, lowered libido/infertility in females
Though psychosomatic symptoms may not register as ‘true’ physical health symptomatology within the medical system, they are not imaginary or unimportant. They are very real and intrusive symptoms. It can be extremely frustrating to have no clear reason for the symptoms or be dismissed by the medical system. Other times, some symptoms like high blood pressure or insomnia will be prescribed medications but this ignores the relevance of addressing the underlying issues that have caused the presenting symptoms in the first place.
When we have unexplained psychosomatic symptoms that continue to return a series of negative testing results by the physical healthcare system, we need to remember that physical health is only part of the picture of wellness. When we downplay our feelings as ‘just stress’ and hope for the pills to ‘do their job’, we overlook the initial reason for these issues—which then means we're only band-aiding the situation and accepting a lifetime dosage as merely symptom management rather than treatment. Instead, it is imperative that we discover the root source causing these symptoms. We need to question and self-reflect on the key factors that impact our overall wellness: lifestyle, habits, hobbies, friendships, relationships, stressors, mindset, routines, nutrition, activity, significant life events, grief, losses, self-image, and self-esteem.
So, how do we do that? Counselling. The right counsellor can guide meaningful exploration around self-reflection and critical thinking, help to deconstruct negative thought patterns and destructive defense mechanisms, and teach practical coping skills—all while strengthening the body-mind connection to prevent further and future breakdown. When the triggering stressors are addressed and effective coping strategies are developed, often the severity of the physical symptoms will lessen and eventually resolve by improving mental health.
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