A new study suggests that perceived stress and depression factor into the relationship between the two conditions – perhaps not a surprise. But because the relationship between insomnia and heavy drinking goes in both directions, the influence of stress or depression depends on which condition came first, the analysis found.

We were most interested in how insomnia leads to drinking, and we found that seems to occur primarily through stress. But when we switched pathways, it appeared that drinking primarily led to insomnia through depression.”

Jessica Weafer, senior author of the study and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

“Identifying these types of mediating factors can have important treatment implications,” she said. “If people who have insomnia are experiencing a lot of stress, then if we can target the stress, that might reduce the likelihood that their insomnia would lead to heavy drinking. That’s the long-term ideal, or hope, that this work could have an impact on treatment.”

The study was published recently in the journal Alcohol.

Insomnia and hazardous drinking can cause upheaval in one’s life: Both are associated with missed work and lower productivity on the job. Chronic insomnia can increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses. A defining characteristic of alcohol use disorder (AUD) is continuing to drink even when encountering interpersonal problems, getting sick or hurt, or driving while intoxicated.

Weafer has expanded her research focus on risks for problem drinking to address the fact that poor sleep can lead to increased drinking and those with AUD commonly have difficulty with sleep.

“The number of people with AUD who also have insomnia is very, very high. It’s striking, and important,” she said.

Participants in this study were part of a larger project testing the effectiveness of a digital insomnia intervention for people with poor sleep who are heavy drinkers. A total of 405 volunteers completed questionnaires assessing insomnia severity, current and historic drinking behaviors, perceived stress and depression symptoms.

Previous research has suggested that stress or depression, or both, contribute to troubled sleep or heavy drinking, said first study author Justin Verlinden, a cognitive neuroscience PhD student at the University of Kentucky.

“There are so many different pathways that could explain insomnia and alcohol use. We wanted to connect the dots and see if there’s anything there,” he said.

Analyzing the data with a range of statistical models revealed the many ways stress and depression influence the relationship between insomnia and hazardous drinking.

“If you look at stress and depression separately, we find there is an indirect relationship between insomnia and drinking as well as drinking and insomnia – meaning a good chunk of the relationship between insomnia and drinking can be explained through perceived stress or depression,” Verlinden said.

“When you put both stress and depression in the same models, that’s where we get unique findings, even though there are a lot of shared characteristics between stress and depression.”

A model of insomnia predicting heavy use of alcohol showed that the characteristics of stress – beyond any symptoms shared with depression – better described this relationship. In a model reversing the order, where drinking predicts the onset of insomnia, symptoms of depression that aren’t shared with stress better explain the link.

“That finding was very surprising, but showed the benefit of looking at both stress and depression in the same model, to see how those pathways might differ depending on what the directionality is,” Weafer said.

Both stress and depression are described as partial indirect paths – meaning there are any number of other factors that could help explain the connection between bad sleep and problem drinking, the researchers said.

The findings represent a snapshot rather than explaining the progression of how insomnia and heavy drinking become linked over time, and where depression and stress fit into that evolving relationship, Weafer said. The team is collecting a final dataset that will enable the researchers to trace insomnia, stress and depression over the course of 12 months to get a better idea of the connected pathways.

The researchers are also testing the effectiveness of a digital version of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia called SHUTi (Sleep Healthy Using the internet) in heavy drinkers. Their December 2023 pilot study showed that SHUTi was effective at reducing insomnia in heavy drinkers – even without an emphasis on curbing alcohol use.

This research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the University of Kentucky.

Additional co-authors include Mairead Moloney of the University of Miami and Olga Vsevolozhskaya and Lauren Whitehurst of the University of Kentucky.

Alexandria Switzer (’26), a biochemistry major and neuroscience minor, emphasizes the importance of taking care of your brain and discusses the long-term effects that chronic stress can have on your brain and body functions.

“It’s important to take care of your brain because once you damage it, it’s not something that can fix itself,” she said. Your brain is responsible for nearly everything you do. When you experience stress, your brain can’t tell the difference between imminent danger and something less threatening; therefore, you’re activating your sympathetic nervous system– your fight or flight response,” Switzer explained.

“Psychology impacts your physiology,” she said. If you’re consistently activating your sympathetic nervous system due to stress, it’s not going to be as effective when you experience real danger. High stress levels lead to chronically higher blood pressure, which can put you at risk for cardiovascular disease. It also suppresses your immune system. “If you’re activating [your sympathetic nervous system] to the point where it’s not as effective,” Switzer explained, “you’re more likely to get sick; you’re not able to recover as quickly.”

Stress affects mood disorders, too. “If you’re constantly having this sympathetic system activated. . . it’s going to mess with the hormones– the signals that are being sent– and put you at a higher risk for things like depression and anxiety.”

So, where does stress come from? Switzer says it’s perceptive. “We’re all going to see it differently,” she said. “What really stresses someone out isn’t going to stress someone else out.” But she continued, “For a lot of students, there’s so much pressure on us being involved in so much.” This pressure can make it difficult to maintain balance, leading to uneasiness about deadlines, projects, homework, employment and more. So, how can we manage this stress? Switzer encourages shifting the focus on perspective.

“First, you have to recognize that something is stressing you out,” she said. Once you can identify it, she suggests analyzing your beliefs surrounding the stress trigger. Ask yourself, is this belief negative or disempowering? Then, think about the outcome. What kind of outcome would the negative beliefs around the task warrant? What would occur if you didn’t complete the task? Lastly, she recommends changing your beliefs to something more positive– seeing it as opportunistic instead of burdensome. “Changing your perspective gives you more energy to put towards that stressful event,” Switzer said, “which helps you mitigate it and make it less stressful.”

Changing your perspective on stress can lead to long-term health benefits. “If stress keeps attacking you and you’re not able to deal with it. . . your overall level of well-being is getting lower,” she said. “If you’re able to handle stress, then you’re functioning well, you’re able to thrive.” Successfully managing stress will allow your immune system to work efficiently; you’ll be less likely to develop mental health issues, and your sympathetic system will be less elevated.

Not all stress is bad; some stress is beneficial. “Stress is good,” Switzer asserted, “it challenges you to be creative and come up with solutions.” She explained how challenges that induce stress can help build resilience and personal growth. “Acute stress– short periods that you can handle– great,” she reinforced. “But chronic stress where it’s constantly beating at you is not good.”

Overcoming stress doesn’t have to be a solo task either. Switzer suggests having an empathetic conversation if you notice a friend dealing with large amounts of stress. “Letting them talk about it is the first step,” she said. “We’re social creatures, we need that interaction with people to help build eachother up. . . having the connection and support system that social interaction provides decreases stress,” she added.

Switzer explained how getting out your stressful feelings can alleviate some of the intensity that comes with chronic stress. She also recommended CAPS, your RAs, and Campus Ministries as resources for students who need to talk about their stress.

“I think it’s important to know about your brain,” she concluded. “Learn how to take care of it because it’s part of what keeps you going, it’s what keeps you alive; it’s going to serve you through all of your life.” March 10-16 is Brain Awareness Week. The Neuroscience department is celebrating in advance by visiting local K-12 schools from Feb. 17-22 to lead some fun, brainy activities to spread brain education and awareness. To volunteer, you can contact Aaron Welsch or Alexandria Switzer via email.

To find out more about stress and how to manage it, go to stress.org

Written by Sadie Quackenbush

 Photo By: Kaboompics.com

OP-The Anchor

Waking up does not activate an increase in the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol does, however, increase in the hours prior to wakening as part of the body’s preparation for the next day, new research led by the University of Bristol has found. The study is published today [15 January] in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

For many years it has been generally accepted that waking up results in a stimulus to release hormone cortisol  – a phenomenon called the “cortisol awakening response” (CAR). This response has been used to investigate many clinical conditions including PTSD, depression, obesity, and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

A major limitation of studies using CAR is that protocols typically only assess samples obtained after waking up, and not in the period prior to this, since measurements are taken in saliva. Consequently, the studies are not able to prove a change in the rate of cortisol secretion over the awakening period.

To resolve the critical question of whether the rate of cortisol secretion actually increases after wakening, the Bristol research team used an automated sampling system to measure tissue cortisol levels both before and after wakening in 201 healthy male and female participants aged between 18 to 68 years old.

The researchers found awakening did NOT result in an increase in cortisol release, with no evidence for a change in the rate of cortisol increase in the hour after waking when compared with the hour prior to waking. This suggests that any change in cortisol levels immediately after waking are much more likely to be the tail end of the daily rhythm of cortisol – which starts increasing in the early hours of the morning, and reach a peak shortly after habitual wake time.

Importantly, the study also observed substantial interindividual variability in absolute concentration and rate of change, and differences in dynamics that may be attributed to length and timing of sleep. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest caution is needed when interpreting cortisol measurements solely obtained in the hour after waking.

The findings demonstrate that the major cause of any changes in cortisol around the time of awakening are predominantly related to the endogenous circadian rhythm of cortisol. Furthermore, the results also suggest that if cortisol has any relationship to awakening, it is with factors that contribute to the initiation of awakening rather than being a response to it.

Circadian rhythms, the natural 24-hour cycles of physiological and behavioural patterns, are extremely important adaptations to living on our planet with its daily light:dark and temperature oscillations, and disturbances of these rhythms contribute to many psychological, metabolic, cardiovascular and immunological health conditions. Understanding the role of cortisol rhythms in many of these conditions will be very important for researchers understanding of these disorders and their potential treatment.

Stafford Lightman, Professor of Medicine a Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS), and one of the lead authors of the study, said: “Our study opens up a whole new framework for understanding the relationship of overnight increases in cortisol with  sleep, and how this may be disrupted in sleep disorders, depression and many other conditions.”

Dr Thomas Upton, Clinical Research Fellow and co-lead author in the Bristol Medical School: (THS), explained: “By measuring both before and after waking, this study provides much needed and crucial insight into the dynamics of cortisol with respect to sleep and endogenous rhythms. For me, a key message is that much caution should be exercised if attempting to interpret post-wake cortisol values where information about the pre-waking state is not known.”

Marcus Munafò, Professor of Biological Psychology and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor – Research Culture at the University of Bristol, added: “As well as providing important insights into the biology of our sleep-wake cycles, this work illustrates how findings that have become received wisdom within the research community may be wrong.

“Making sure our work is robust and reproducible – including rigorously testing previous findings – is a central part of the research culture we try to foster at the University of Bristol.”

The research team suggest that future studies on mechanisms of arousal from sleep both overnight and during the morning should carefully consider dynamic changes in the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary axis – the system in the body that regulates the stress response and the release of cortisol – in addition to sleep and behaviour.

To learn more about stress, go to stress.org

Reference: Klaas S, Upton TJ, Zavala E, et al. Awakening not associated with an increased rate of cortisol secretion. Proc Royal Soc B: Biolog Sci. 2025;292(2038):20241844. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1844

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. 

The practice sets the tone for the meeting, and helps his employees, most of whom work remotely, to feel safe, grounded and willing to take creative risks, he said.

“At first they thought it was really weird, like, ‘What are we doing?’” Clayton said. “There were a lot of cameras off and I’m sure a lot of people were like, ‘This is awkward.’” But after a couple of weeks, there was a shift. Employees of the Austin, Texas company were saying, ‘This feels good,’” he said.

Deep breathing can be an effective way to reduce stress at work, studies show. But on the job, many people don’t think about how they’re inhaling and exhaling.

Desk workers sitting a computer tend to take shallow breaths as their shoulders creep up. Workers who spend the day on their feet in retail or health care may be too busy to focus on breathing.

But there’s good reason to remember to pause to take deep breaths. Chronic, unmanaged stress, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, can be as harmful to our health as secondhand smoke, according to the American Heart Association. Research suggests deep-breathing exercises can lower a person’s blood pressure and reduce anxiety.

Other benefits: deep breathing is free, can be done anywhere and doesn’t require taking a half-hour to meditate. Spending just a minute or two breathing deeply can help calm racing thoughts, experts say.

“If you set a priority for yourself … you can make the time,” Deleveaux said.

Focusing on breathing for one to five minutes “can help you clear the slate and wipe all these things out of your mind…and allow you to get back to focusing on the one thing you want to accomplish,” said cardiologist Glenn Levine, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “The best analogy is turning your computer off when you have 37 programs (open) and it freezes.”

A good way to do deep breathing exercises is while sitting on a bench outside, Levine said. If that’s not an option, doing it at a desk works.

“Either turn off your screen or just put something blank on the screen so people think you’re still working,” Levine said. “Instead of focusing on the screen or work, just focus on your breathing. If possible, close your eyes.”

There are other ways to fit in breathing exercises. To get ahead of anxiety before starting a day of cold calls, sales development representative Lindsay Carlisle does breathing exercises with her 7-year-old daughter during the drive to school. They breathe in for seven counts, hold their breath for five, breathe out for seven counts, and then repeat the cycle several times.

“Throughout that process, my shoulders start to drop on their own, and it really is calming,” Carlisle, who lives in Flint, Michigan, said. “I’m not a yoga instructor. I don’t know what I’m doing, but it works.”

Suze Yalof Schwartz was an overworked fashion editor when her mother-in-law taught her a three-minute meditation technique that she says changed her life. She gave up her fashion career and founded Unplug Meditation, a Santa Monica, California, company with a meditation studio, an app and programs for corporate clients.

“When we slow down our breath, we send a signal to our brain that everything’s OK, even when it’s not,” she said.

A 16-second breathing technique she’s taught to firefighters, police officers, doctors and others is called the box breathing technique. You breathe in for four counts, hold for four, breathe out for four counts and hold for four.

“It is the best thing that you can do at work before you have a meeting, before you send out an email that you wish you didn’t send, before you have a difficult conversation, because it just calms you down, gets rid of your negative energy,” Yalof Schwartz said.

Employers such as Coca-Cola, Mattel and Netflix have hired Unplug Meditation to teach breathing or meditation.

It’s not always easy for workers to find space for deep breathing exercises. For example, in retail jobs, workers often mix with customers. Yalof Schwartz recommends doing breathing exercises when ringing up a sale or folding clothes. You can also take a deep breath right before walking through a door.

Office workers can set a timer on their phones to remind themselves to breathe deeply. That’s what Carlisle, the sales representative, does. She also keeps a Post-it note on her monitor that says “Breathe.”

“The anxiety is always going to be there,” Carlisle said. “But at least I know I have one small tool. … It sounds so simple and silly, but it works.”

For more information about stress, go to stress.org

Written By CATHY BUSSEWITZ Bussewitz is a national reporter on the AP’s business team. She writes about the workplace, job issues and wellness.

Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva

OP -The Associated Press

Feeling overwhelmed is normal now and then, but if you’ve ever woken up with your heart racing or feeling like you’re in a cold sweat, stress could be following you to bed. Known as stress dreams, poor sleep like this is often related to your worries throughout the day and can keep you from getting quality sleep. Instead of repeating the stress cycle, Woman’s World sought out the pros so you can fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Keep reading to learn more about what causes stress dreams, common occurrences and how you can reduce having them.

What are stress dreams?

Quality sleep is important, but having stress-related sleep problems can stop you from feeling rested long-term. “Stress dreams are anxiety-provoking dreams that are often caused by stress, anxiety, or unprocessed emotions in our waking life that we carry with us into our sleep,” explains Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, PhD, Ed.D. psychologist, educator and author of Calm Within The Storm: A Pathway to Everyday Resiliency.

Anything unresolved or at the forefront of your mind can easily go to sleep with you, which can play a role in distressing dreams. Dr. Hanley-Dafoe adds that “your brain processes your emotional experiences from the day during REM sleep.”

These dreams are often vivid and unsettling and can stem from stressors such as work, family, financial pressure or anxiety in general. When you’re dealing with these dreams, “the amygdala, which handles emotional responses, is engaged, leading to dreams that incorporate elements of stress or anxiety,” says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a clinical neuropsychologist and founder and director of Comprehend the Mind.

What are the most common stress dreams?

Stress dreams and unhealthy sleep habits can be directly correlated to the stressors in your daily life, or they can manifest in ways that highlight underlying anxiety or worries.

“For example, if you are worried about an upcoming presentation, you might dream about showing up unprepared or making a big mistake,” says Dr. Hanley-Dafoe of the types of stress dreams. “On the other hand, dreaming about being chased may not literally mean you’re running away from something, but it could symbolize a problem or responsibility in your life that you are avoiding.”

Most people have variations of the same dream, depending on what’s going on in your life. Dr. Hafeez notes that dreams where you’re unprepared, being chased or falling where you lack control in different scenarios are common because they symbolize a lack of control in your life.

“Many people dream about losing their teeth, indicating worries about their appearance or the fear of losing something valuable,” says Dr. Hafeez. She also says that dreams, where you’re late are also widespread, “mirroring real-life anxieties about failing to meet deadlines or expectations.”

Stress dreams are the mind’s way of processing and coping with stress and other concerns you deal with during the day.

 How to stop stress dreams from happening

While you don’t have control over your dreams, you can work on regulating your stress throughout the day and incorporating relaxation techniques. This will hopefully combat the intensity and frequency of these dreams and aid in your sleep cycle. “If stress dreams persist despite following good sleep hygiene, it’s important to remember that there are effective stress management techniques that can help,” says Dr. Hafeez.

If you do notice that you are waking up during the early morning hours, this is happening because of a spike in cortisol (the stress hormone),” explains Dr. Hanley-Dafoe. “In these moments when your mind is racing and anxious thoughts are consuming your mind, my gentle invitation is for you to place your hand on your heart and think about everything you are grateful for.”

Reduce stress dreams by creating a calming bedtime ritual

Dr. Hafeez says creating a calming bedtime ritual prepares your mind and body for rest. “This could involve taking a warm bath, deep breathing exercises, reading a light-hearted book, or meditation.” You could also keep a journal because it will allow you to let go of any lingering thoughts or emotions.

“Having a simple yet effective bedtime routine that allows you to decompress can make a big difference,” adds Dr. Hanley-Dafoe. Try reducing your screen time and stop using your devices at least an hour before bed. Instead, “engage in relaxing activities like stretching, practicing meditation, or reading to help you clear your mind and relax your body before sleep,” she says.

It’s important to learn what’s causing you stress in the first place. Once you do that, you can figure out the best ways to combat it and get back to a more restful night’s sleep.

For more information about STRESS-RELATED issues go to stress.org

By Courtney Shapiro

OP-Woman’s World

Photo by cottonbro studio

Photo by cottonbro studio

If you’re starting to experience the symptoms of bruxism, or you’re worried about how stress could be affecting your sleep in general, then this article aims to shed a little more light on the subject.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how stress can lead to nighttime teeth grinding, and some of the best ways to manage the stress associated with bruxism.

The relationship between bruxism and stress

Though bruxism can have many causes, various studies have shown an increased incidence of self-reported bruxism in adults who also report stress and anxiety. While the jury’s still out on whether or not stress can actually cause bruxism, there’s little doubt that these two conditions are related.

There are various explanations for the relationship between bruxism and stress. Here are two of the most common:

The fight or flight response

In times of stress, people exhibit physical changes such as dilated pupils, faster breathing, and most pertinently, the tensing of muscles.

These days, stress is rarely caused by an encounter with some kind of predator, but hormones like cortisol and the activation of our sympathetic nervous system will still work to get our bodies ready for action.

Just like elsewhere, the muscles in your jaw can tense up as part of the fight or flight response in reaction to stress, causing you to subconsciously grind your teeth together.

Poor-quality sleep

It’s widely known that stress can make it harder to get to sleep and bring down the overall quality of your rest while you’re sleeping. In the same vein, there’s evidence to suggest that getting poor quality sleep can increase the likelihood of nighttime bruxism.

One study from 2016 found that most sleep bruxism episodes happen in the light stages of non-REM sleep, with only <10% of episodes occurring during REM. REM is a hugely important phase of the sleep cycle that helps with retaining memory, emotional processing, and healthy brain development in children.

Because REM is the final stage of sleep, and stress can keep a person from achieving REM sleep on a healthy, regular basis, it’s easy to see how poor-quality sleep brought on by stress can lead to more pronounced issues with nighttime teeth grinding.

Ways to manage stress-related bruxism

Now that we understand how increased stress can intensify bruxism, here are a few of the most effective proven ways to manage stress and mitigate the effects of stress-related sleep conditions.

Get more exercise

Like countless other common health issues, one of the best ways to combat stress is to get more exercise.

Many studies have shown the positive effects that regular exercise can have on people’s mental health and ability to manage stress. For example, one 2020 study involving 185 students showed that performing aerobic exercise for just 2 days per week led to a significant reduction in the perceived stress of the participants. What’s more, there’s an increasing bank of evidence to show that a heavily sedentary lifestyle can increase stress and sleep disturbances.

Though it can be hard to fit into a busy schedule, making more time for exercise, even if it’s something as light as walking or cycling, can be a miracle worker for stress levels. Wilderness therapy is a specific type of adventure therapy that’s proven to work wonders for teenagers when struggling to address mental health concerns. Generally, it takes place in uninhabited areas in nature, often far from urban environments. Groups are immersed in the outdoors, usually for a lengthy amount of time. This type of therapy helps destress individuals through spending time in nature, taking part in physical activities and, as a result, is an excellent way to reduce the risk of stress-related bruxism.

Limit your screen time

Smartphones, laptops, and other devices are a universal part of life now, but using them in excess can be a major source of stress.

Since the 2010s, many studies have been carried out which have highlighted a correlation between excessive phone usage and increased stress, anxiety, and other mental health difficulties.

Overuse of screens in general has long been associated with poor-quality sleep as well, which itself has been known to exacerbate stress and symptoms like bruxism.

Most people could benefit from reducing their regular screen time, and if you’re living with stress-related bruxism, it could be an effective way to reduce its effects.

Setting rules for yourself such as keeping your phone out of your bedroom, or setting time limits on certain time-draining apps, can be a great way to start cutting back on screen time and encouraging a better quality of sleep. From there, you may want to try new hobbies that don’t involve the use of your phone, such as reading and meditation, to fill more of your time with healthier ways of winding down.

In a world where our phones are the first and last thing we see each day, cutting yourself off from your devices can be a challenge. However, with a little self-control, many people will find that it greatly improves their sleep cycle and overall health.

Seek professional help

Last, but certainly not least, seeking professional help for your mental health is a perfectly viable solution for combating the stress at the root of your bruxism.

This can be a daunting prospect for people who have never actively addressed their mental health before. However, it’s important to remember that roughly one in ten Americans received some kind of counseling or treatment for their mental health in 2020, that the stigma around discussing mental health is diminishing every year, and most importantly, that seeking treatment could make a world of difference to your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

From short, occasional sessions through online counseling services to a stay at a mental health rehabilitation center, there’s a huge range of options for professional treatment to help people deal with stress, anxiety, and other conditions which may exacerbate bruxism.

There are also sleep medicine specialists and sleep dentists that can help you treat and prevent dental decay due to sleep-related bruxism. Choosing the right kind of treatment for you can take some trial and error, but once you find it, the insights and self-care techniques you’ll learn can offer an immense benefit to both your quality of sleep and overall well-being.

Conclusion

Bruxism brought on or intensified by stress can cause an array of related health difficulties for those who experience it, and with modern Americans experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, it could soon become a much more prevalent issue among the general public.

If you’re experiencing stress-related bruxism, we hope this post has given you a better understanding of the condition and helped you find a way of managing it that works for you.

Photo by Rodolfo Clix

OP: American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Medical review by  Rafael J. Sepulveda, MD, DABOM

Authored by: Sophie Bishop

Sophie Bishop is a medical journalist. Sophie aims to spread awareness through her writing around issues to do with mental health and wellbeing and is looking to connect with an engaged audience. Contact Sophie via her website: https://sophiebishop.uk/.

The  American Institute of Stress writes that stress is the basic cause of 60% of all illnesses and diseases in America and costs the nation $300 billion in lost production and medical bills.

As a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, I could write a book about stress but have much to learn.

Doctor Norman Vincent Peale said, “There does not seem to be very many people  who understand the absolute necessity of relaxing or who would know how to practice it if they tried.”

Dr. Flanders Dunbar, an authority on psychosomatic medicine, wrote in her book Mind and Body, “The inability to relax is one of the most widely spread diseases of our time and one of the most infrequently recognized.”

Having had rotator cuff surgery on August 28, 2018, I continue to ponder the connection of the mind and body.

Thirty years ago I watched a series by Bill Moyers, author of Healing and The Mind, hosted by PBS, because I’ve had a gut-level feeling for years that most of our illnesses originate in our minds — when we toss and turn — unable to find solutions to overwhelming problems until our bodies finally rebel by making us sick enough to go to bed.

In 2016 I found myself in such a situation until I   was so overwhelmed that I went to bed, and quit eating or drinking until  I had emergency surgery on July 21st  at Willis Knighton Hospital, due to a blocked, twisted colon.

Though not a doctor I will always believe that was a psychosomatic illness that ended up in a physical solution — surgery.

I would go so far as to say that even my back problems, which led to a fall causing my shoulder injury may also be linked to a psychosomatic illness — which isn’t to say that the pain hasn’t been real.

The Bible says that “as a man thinks in his heart so he is” and I believe this applies to all areas of our lives, both physically and emotionally.

Since that time I  continue to think most of my illnesses have been psychosomatic because I don’t know how to truly relax and let go and let God take over.

Life isn’t easy.

It’s like the renowned artist, the late Jerry Wray,  often said “We all have something” which could mean many things.

I ponder how our minds and our bodies are connected.

I think if we could ever gain control of and become masters of our thoughts most of our illnesses would be eliminated.

Since my colon surgery, I’ve talked to two friends who experienced the same colon surgery I did after they each experienced one too many traumatic blows to their emotional system. They underwent surgeries identical to mine, including the doctor who performed all of our surgeries.

How or why we have this strong mind-body connection I do not understand but I sense it is true. I also believe that if we understood and followed God’s plan for our lives everything would fall into place but I know that most likely that will never happen because we are either too stubborn or weak-willed to give into divine guidance for our lives.

The Bible also says “It is not in man to direct his own steps.”

How true — how very true!

The Bible also says “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.”

Maybe I am just a simple minded person but when I observe the universe and my own body I know there is just too much evidence going on here to not believe in a  higher power and I know that we are often too weak willed or  to stubborn to turn our lives over to Him completely because we want to hold the reins of our lives, not submitting to His will — yet I know that He doesn’t want a puppet but children who want to listen — to obey but we most likely are a far cry from getting there but this body is physical and one day we will shed that which causes us much unnecessary pain because we are human.

But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and He always gets me to the right place at the right, even though I never seem to get it all figured out.

I do enjoy being me, the girl from the backwoods of Arkansas!

Contact Sarah at sarahp9957@aol.com 

Original post written by Minden Press-Herald

Photo by SHVETS production