Is it all in your head?

If you have a long term illness, such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), or migraines, you may have heard some of these comments from others:

• “You just need to get more sleep/exercise/meditation.”

• “You’re just stressed/depressed/anxious.”

• “You’re just lazy/weak/attention-seeking.”

• “You’re just making it up/imagining it/exaggerating it.”

These comments are not only rude, insensitive, and ignorant, they are also wrong.

If you ever doubt it for a moment I want you to listen to me right now. You. Have. Not. Imagined. This. Illness.

Long term illnesses are real, physical, and complex. They are caused by a combination of factors, such as genetics, stress, infections, hormones, immune system, and environment.

However, that doesn’t mean that your thoughts have no influence on your body. In fact, your thoughts can affect your illness in two ways: they can indirectly make you ill, and they can make you better. The mind-body connection is a powerful and sometimes terrifying thing!

How your thoughts can make you ill

Your thoughts can make you ill by triggering or worsening your stress response. Stress is a natural and normal reaction to a perceived threat or challenge. It prepares your body to fight or flee by releasing hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, that increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Stress can also suppress your immune system, digestion, and reproduction.

Stress can be helpful in the short term, as it can help you cope with a difficult situation. But stress can be harmful in the long term, as it can cause or aggravate many health problems, such as insomnia, headaches, heart disease, and diabetes.

Stress can also cause or aggravate long term illnesses, such as CFS, fibromyalgia, POTS, and migraines. These illnesses are often associated with dysregulation of the nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system. These systems are also affected by stress. For example, stress can:

• Increase inflammation, which can cause pain, fatigue, and brain fog.

• Disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which can affect mood, sleep, and cognition.

• Alter the sensitivity of pain receptors, which can increase the perception of pain.

• Impair the blood flow to the brain, which can trigger headaches and dizziness.

So, in a way, your thoughts can make you ill by increasing your stress levels, which can then affect your body systems, which can then cause or worsen your symptoms.

How your thoughts can make you better

Your thoughts can make you better by reducing or managing your stress response. Stress is not only caused by external factors, such as events, situations, or people. It is also caused by internal factors, such as thoughts, beliefs, or expectations. How you think about your stressors can influence how you react to them.

For example, if you think that your stressor is:

• Unpredictable, uncontrollable, or overwhelming, you will feel more stressed.

• Predictable, controllable, or manageable, you will feel less stressed.

Therefore, by changing your thoughts, you can change your stress levels, and by changing your stress levels, you can change your health outcomes.

There are many ways to change your thoughts, such as:

• Challenging your negative, irrational, or distorted thoughts, and replacing them with positive, rational, or realistic thoughts.

• Practicing gratitude, optimism, or humor, and focusing on the good aspects of your life.

• Seeking support, advice, or guidance from others, and sharing your thoughts and feelings with them.

• Learning new skills, knowledge, or strategies, and applying them to your problems.

By changing your thoughts, you can reduce or manage your stress, which can then improve your body systems, which can then ease or prevent your symptoms.

Conclusion

Long term illnesses are not all in your head, but your head can affect your long term illnesses. Your thoughts can make you ill by triggering or worsening your stress response, which can then affect your body systems, which can then cause or aggravate your symptoms. Your thoughts can also make you better by reducing or managing your stress response, which can then improve your body systems, which can then ease or prevent your symptoms.

So, the next time someone tells you that it’s all in your head, you can tell them that it’s not, but that your head can help you heal. And then you can laugh, because laughter is also a great way to reduce stress and improve your health.