The link between physical and mental health

Physical and mental health are connected—your body’s fitness can affect your emotions, and vice versa. Poor physical health, including issues caused by chronic diseases, can increase your risk of developing mental illness. Poor mental health makes it more likely you’ll develop a physical condition. The opposite is also true. When you’re sleeping well, exercising regularly, and eating healthy, it can have major positive effects for mental wellness.

Physical activity is so beneficial, that many physicians consider it a natural treatment for conditions like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Once you understand the mind-body connection, you can take steps to create a healthy lifestyle that supports your mental health practices.

The connection between physical and mental health 

Physical health is a combination of eating nourishing foods, getting adequate sleep, and moving your body enough to maintain a normal weight and reduce risk for physical problems like heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Getting active improves circulation, strengthens muscles and bones, and increases your likelihood of living a long life. It also includes ditching unhealthy habits, like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. 

Mental health encompasses your emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being, according to mentalhealth.gov. It affects how you think, feel, act, and relate to others. It encompasses your mood, behavior, and how you handle stress. 

The two are strongly connected. Taking care of your body can improve your mental wellness, but when one declines, the other often does too. A holistic approach to mental health practices can help support both.

When you’re feeling mentally healthy, it’s easier to maintain your daily routine—seeing others, being active, staying productive at work, and coping with everyday stress. When you’re living with a mental health condition, all of that becomes more difficult. You might not have the energy to exercise. Or, you might feel withdrawn and not up for reaching out to the connections that usually support you. Easy, quick-to-prepare foods are more appealing, even if they lack nutritional value. In short, mental health challenges disrupt the ways you normally maintain physical health. In turn, that can put you at a higher risk for physical problems like heart or respiratory disease.

When you’re feeling physically healthy, it’s likely your daily habits support your mental health. If a chronic condition prevents you from exercising, it can impact how you feel, how you socialize, and lead to mental disorders. 

RELATED: How your thoughts can affect your health

Physical causes of depression and other mental health problems 

A mental health issue isn’t just a reaction to being ill. It’s another symptom of the illness.  For example, depression can be a result of being physically ill. It can also be a symptom of the illness.

Specifically, there might be a connection between inflammatory diseases and mental health. Inflammation—and the corresponding immune response—is linked to depression, schizophrenia, and other conditions like autism spectrum disorder and bipolar. A study published in 2016 found that people with inflammatory illnesses are more likely to have depression than those who have non-inflammatory diseases, such as heart disease. The researchers found that as the level of inflammation rose, so did the risk of depression. Autoimmune disorders, considered inflammatory diseases, cause your immune system to overreact, causing inflammation. Many autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, and diabetes, are considered inflammatory diseases. 

People with chronic disease have an increased risk of developing mental health conditions. Chronic pain, constant treatment, modifying activities, and disruptions to daily quality of life because of an illness can all trigger symptoms. For example, the following shows the percentage of people with a specific disease who are living with depression.

• Heart attack: 40%-65%
• Coronary artery disease including high blood pressure (without heart attack): 18%-20%
• Parkinson’s disease: 40%
• Multiple sclerosis: 40%
• Stroke: 10% to 27%
• Cancer: 25%
• Diabetes: 25%

Many times, proper management of the physical condition can lessen or eliminate symptoms of depression. Other times, treatments targeted to depression, such as antidepressants, are needed.

RELATED: Depression treatments and medications

Lifestyle factors

Even when chronic illness isn’t part of the picture, how you care for your body influences mental health.

Exercise and recreation

Inactivity can contribute to depression and other mental health disorders. Exercise improves your mood, according to the American Psychological Association.  Active people are less depressed than those that lead a sedentary life. Regular exercise releases proteins, called neurotrophic or growth factors, which help nerve cells in the brain grow and make new connections, improving the brain’s functioning, according to Harvard Health. Physical activity alone may not be enough for people with severe depression, but for some people, it is as effective as an antidepressant.

Diet and hydration

There’s a strong relationship between gut health and mental health. In other words, what you eat impacts how you feel, and how you feel impacts how well your digestive system functions. It’s important to consume a mix of fruit, vegetables, protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates. And a healthy diet includes lots of water. When you’re dehydrated it can cause physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, or fatigue—and even lead to mood changes, like irritability.

RELATED: How gut health impacts your overall health

Sleep

Everything seems a little harder when you’re not well-rested. Sleep is essential to your brain. It helps to store memories and regulate moods. And it’s key for how your body functions. When you’re not catching enough zzz’s, it impacts everything from how well your immune system functions to appetite and metabolism.

Smoking and drinking

Alcohol and the nicotine in cigarettes impact mood, and can have major negative effects on physical health—increasing risk factors for respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Both substances can provide temporary relief from mental health symptoms, but that effect is only short-term. Long-term, both habits are detrimental.

RELATED: Does smoking increase your risk of getting COVID-19?

Maintaining good physical and mental health

The link between mental and physical well-being means that a physically healthy lifestyle is crucial for maintaining mental health and happiness. 

Physical health tips

The following habits can help improve physical health:

• Eating a healthy diet, with plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Exercising regularly
• Drinking plenty of water each day
• Getting enough sleep
• Quitting smoking, which can aggravate the symptoms of many chronic diseases

Regular check-ups with your general practitioner help catch the symptoms of disease before the infection becomes severe, promoting a long and healthy life.

If you do have a chronic illness, managing symptoms is also necessary. This includes:

• Following your doctor’s guidance and attending all appointments
• Taking medication as prescribed
• Working with health professionals—physical therapists, occupational therapists, emotional counselors

Your healthcare providers can help you learn to live with the physical effects of your illness.

Mental health tips

Because mental health affects physical health, taking care of your mental health is just as crucial as caring for physical health. Some tips to boost your mood, increase resilience, and improve overall health and satisfaction with life include:

• Practice gratefulness—remind yourself of three things you are grateful for each day
• Use meditation, deep breathing, yoga, and mindfulness meditation to promote relaxation and stress reduction
• Develop a support network
• Do something nice for others—focusing on how you can help others often lifts your spirits
• Spend time outdoors

“In combination with therapy, individuals living with depression can make lifestyle changes at home,” says Stephen Loyd, MD, the chief medical officer at JourneyPure. “These include maintaining a healthy diet, partaking in hobbies that bring enjoyment, and exercising regularly. Other helpful ways to treat depression include meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and massage therapy.” 

If you need help, ask for it. Seeking mental health services, like talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy, for your emotional well-being isn’t a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength. Finding someone to talk to about living with a chronic illness and managing stress is just as important as care for your physical illness.

When lifestyle changes aren’t enough

A combination of nutrition, exercise, therapy, and quality healthcare helps combat both physical and mental ailments. Making a few lifestyle changes may be the first step toward a brighter, lighter life. But when things out of your control happen, finding care is vitally important. The mind-body connection is strong, but not strong enough to conquer any mental or physical problem.

If therapy and lifestyle changes do not bring about relief from a chronic physical condition or mental health problem, medication could be an option. There are effective treatments for many types of chronic diseases.

SingleCare provides savings up to 80% for many medications for people who do and do not have health insurance. If your doctor prescribes medication, check on the SingleCare site or app to find the most reasonable price in your area.