Anxiety…is it in Your Head or in Your Body?

Jun 10, 2024 |

Anxiety (and Depression) Wreak Havoc on our Lives!

Anybody who has ever experienced anxiety and its sidekick depression knows first-hand just how painful and life-disrupting they can be.

Anxiety disorders (such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder) are the most prevalent mental health conditions of our time. 

They are also strongly associated with many chronic health challenges that are widely under-recognized and under-treated in primary care. (1) 

Psychosomatic vs Somatopsychological

Breaking the cycle of anxiety is essential for optimal health and wellness, as our cells cannot withstand being continually bathed in cortisol and adrenaline. 

A continual slow (or fast!) drip of these stress hormones triggers cascades of inflammation that wear the body down at the cellular level and can certainly cause or exacerbate physical symptoms.

Unresolved anxiety and other mental health challenges that trigger or fuel physical health issues are often labeled 'psychosomatic', meaning 'that the mind is causing the physical symptoms. 

Sadly, this term is grossly overused in the world of invisible illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic inflammatory response syndrome, chronic Lyme & co., and many more.

While I appreciate how triggering the term 'psychosomatic' is to those who suffer from chronic health challenges (it indeed was to me amidst my long journey with CFS!), I now fully understand and embrace how destructive, subconscious thinking and behavioral patterns can absolutely both cause and exacerbate physical illness. 

For this reason, I am a big proponent of neural rewiring as part of a comprehensive approach to healing from chronic illness.

From my perspective, in most, if not all, cases where chronic illness coincides with mental health challenges (which is common!), a more appropriate term to describe the issue is 'somatopsychological.' 

This is when imbalances within the physiology and biochemistry of the body cause the mind to go haywire.

When there is dysfunction and broken biochemistry in the body, a person is undoubtedly going to be prone to destructive thinking and behavioral patterns, anxiety, and depression. 

Until the imbalances in the body are correctly addressed and neural rewiring practices are implemented, the vicious stress-illness cycle will continue.  It certainly did for me...I spent upwards of 15 years caught in.

The Issues in Our Tissues That Lead to Issues in the Mind

Let's consider the main factors that contribute to imbalances in the body:

  1. Reduced cellular energy. For optimal health, we need the mitochondria of our cells to be in tip-top shape and thus able to produce ample energy in the form of ATP. The body and brain will suffer when our mitochondria get bogged down and damaged by various stressors.
  2. Chronic infections. The human microbiome comprises trillions of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and parasites. Optimal health depends on these bugs playing nicely with one another and with the cells of our body. Some microbes are beneficial, some are considered commensal (which means neutral) and can become non-beneficial under certain conditions, and others can be downright disruptive and should not be there at all! When the body's immune defenses are down, we risk infections taking hold and triggering widespread inflammation.
  3. Structural misalignments. Chronic muscle tension can pull bones out of misalignment, which stresses organ systems. Organ system stress leads to body and brain stress!
  4. Gut dysbiosis and leaky gut. The brain and gut are intricately connected. It is common knowledge that gut inflammation and imbalances within the microbiome of the gastrointestinal tract harm brain health and play a significant role in mental health challenges. (3)
  5. Toxic overload. I'm sure everyone can agree that environmental toxins can cause harm to varying degrees. We are all exposed to thousands of toxic compounds each day through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the personal care and makeup products we put on our bodies, the household products we use to clean, and the buildings we live and work in. If we take in more toxins than our bodies can process, our bodies and minds will suffer.
  6. Autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The autonomic nervous system runs behind the scenes of our physiology, controlling life-giving functions such as heart rate, breathing, digestion, muscle contraction, sexual function, elimination, and more. If this system gets out of whack, which is becoming increasingly common, we will surely experience body and brain challenges.
  7. Impaired circuitry. Think of energetic imbalances in the meridians and unresolved trauma. These issues are silent contributors to autonomic nervous system dysfunction.

Just as energy in nature can become trapped in various locations within the earth, such as a volcano or geyser, the energy from painful emotional states and unresolved traumatic experiences can become trapped within our bodies.

Trapped emotional energy within the body can cause distortions within the biofield, thus disrupting the body's biology and physiology. 

Additionally, trapped emotional energy within the body emits a vibrational frequency that can knock the body out of homeostasis by placing continual stress on the autonomic nervous system, affecting surrounding tissues, and radiating beyond the body.

Due to vibrantional resonance, this can cause us to attract people and experiences that emit the same or similar frequencies.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology has long proven that the muscle memory of trauma can most definitely contribute to setting the stage for and keeping people stuck within chronic states of poor physical and mental health, as well as many other life challenges. (4) 

Trauma alters the body's ability to respond favorably to environmental inputs and interventions appropriately. 

So What Can Be Done!? Where Do I Start!?

All the issues I've highlighted in this blog are major players in the imbalance and stress of the mind.

But, the factors that I often see cause the most imbalance and ongoing damage are impaired circuitry from unresolved trauma and trapped energy from harmful and/or painful emotional states.

Why is this? 

Trapped emotions and the muscle memory of trauma can't be quantified by lab testing or other diagnostic tools that our analytical brains can understand. 

For this reason, these types of stressors, as significant as they are, go largely unrecognized and unaddressed. 

As a result, many people stay sick despite HUGE efforts on the biochemical front, such as with diet, supplements, detox protocols, functional lab testing, etc.

This is why I weave bio-energetic assessments, neural rewiring coaching, and many other mind-body techniques into the Wellness Code, which is the framework I use in my work with clients and what I teach in the Wellness Code Practitioner Training.

What Can You Do On Your Own?

To get started on addressing the "issues in your tissues" that can undoubtedly fuel anxiety and depression and can get/keep you stuck in a stress-illness cycle, below are three practical, powerful, and FREE strategies you can begin implementing on your own right now:

  • Tremor (or Trauma) Release Exercises (TRE®). This technique, developed by Dr. David Berceli, Ph.D., provokes tremors within the body to help "shake out" tension patterns within the psoas and surrounding muscles resulting from unresolved trauma and trapped emotions. This technique was HUGELY helpful in my recovery. You can read more about it here, and here is a great YouTube demonstration.
  • Pay attention to your breathing. Holding one's breath and shallow chest breathing are common behaviors that many engage with unconsciously. Poor breathing patterns deprive the cells of the oxygen necessary to function optimally and can trigger a fight-or-flight response. To begin interrupting and transforming this habit, check your breathing regularly. If need be, set an alarm on your phone to do it several times per day! It will also be helpful to schedule short periods of slow, deep, diaphragmatic breathing (in through the nose and out through the mouth) a few times daily. Simple, yes -- but you'll be amazed at how transformative these two interventions can be.
  • Take a walk! Movement is essential for producing and mobilizing energy, shuttling toxins out of the body, and optimal physical and mental health. We are ALL guilty of sitting too much! With a sedentary lifestyle comes stagnation, and with stagnation comes poor health. Extra credit for taking a walk during the 'prime time" of day, such as early morning and sunset, when you can get exposure to frequencies of light that help strengthen your body's attunement to the cycles of nature, i.e., your circadian rhythm.

There is SO much you can do within your body to support the health of your mind! Embrace the power of self-care and start engaging with one of the practices above today!

Be well - and be EMPOWERED,

Jen

Helpful Reading:

First published on October 2nd, 2020. We update accordingly as new information and insights emerge.

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