It could! Find out how. And learn ways to avert it from happening to you
Though stress is part and parcel of one’s life, it is nothing but fear or intense worry about something, which in turn affects our health in a major way. It is also one of the root causes for cancer.
Following an appropriate diet and detoxifying the body will be of no use if we do not detoxify the mind. The correlation between the working of the mind and body is definite and what goes on in the mind has a direct impact on the body.
Every thought, emotion, feeling that starts in the mind has an impact on all the billion cells our body is made up of. Negative thoughts, chronic fear, guilt,anger, resentment, envy, hatred, inability to forgive and let go, all impact at a cellular level reducing and weakening our immunity level. One important point to consider is that cancer originates in a cell; hence keeping our cells energized and fueled up in the right way is of primary importance to combat this disease.
Chronic stress = cancer
And chronic stress is the biggest cause of most diseases including cancer. When we experience chronic stress, a kind of stress hormone called cortisol is released in our body which stays high. This hormone affects immunity and organ function in the body.
And when cancer strikes, it comes with a whole set of fears that stem out other negative emotions in the patient and this interferes in both the healing and prevention process in a big way.
This also explains the reason why extremely fit people also get cancer as fitness is usually not just body but body and mind together. We have to look at the mind-body healing when it comes to cancer, disease and well-being.
How do you do that?
You start with detoxification of the mind. There are many ways but we will focus on one method that anyone can do anywhere. Before that, let’s list down examples of ways that one can emotionally detoxify.
- Visualization
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Mindfulness
- Observing silence
- Pranayama
- Prayer
Breathe easy
The method that people can be encouraged to use is simple breath work. Simply focusing on your in-breath and out-breath connects the mind to the body and begins the process of emotional detoxification. Pranayama and meditation are particularly beneficial but if you are not comfortable with that yet, simply focusing on your in-breath and out-breath especially when you feel negative emotions and fear popping up, plays a large role in reducing the same and keeping the cortisol hormone at low levels, allowing for a stronger immunity.
To combat stress, it is very important for your body to get about eight hours of sleep every night. This will definitely bring about a positive impact on your mood, ability to focus and memory.
Vitamin “O” – oxygen
We can live without food and water for a while, but not without oxygen. Billions of our cells need oxygen to stay healthy and strong. Our immunity needs oxygen to function at its best. The right amount of oxygen helps maintain an alkaline body. It aids complete digestion, assimilation and absorption of nutrients into our cells, energizes and strengthens our cells, thereby increasing immunity.
Oxygen also lowers the cortisol levels. So the next time you are stressed or emotional, try breathing deeply and you’ll find a calming effect take over.
The more oxygen you take in, the lower your cortisol levels go. Cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygenated and alkaline environment hence breathing right becomes one of the most natural, inexpensive and freely available tool.
Search for healthy ways of stress management
The most obvious answer to deal with stress is to remove the root cause of stress and try and find ways to get rid of it. This can help you keep a close check on chronic stress, thus preventing minor sources of stress from affecting your health.
Take help
A psychiatrist or psychologist can be of great help in reducing the factors causing stress in you. They will also teach you ways to manage your stress levels. Some techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy can assist the functioning of your brain to discover the networks between your thoughts, behaviors and emotions. This therapy will also help you cope better with factors like worry and anxiety.
Get into the habit of meditation or Yoga
Practicing regular yoga is the best method to deal and combat stress factors and the kind of movements in these activities help your mind and body to break away from stress.
Get adequate sleep
To combat stress, it is very important for your body to get about eight hours of sleep every night. This will definitely bring about a positive impact on your mood, ability to focus and memory.
