The Mind and Body

You know that feeling after you have had a long day and you can just feel it everywhere?
It's in your shoulders, your back, you've got a headache, and your feet hurt.

Now imagine all of that, but it's an actual illness.
Wait, we aren't done yet.
Let's add to it depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, or any mental health diagnosis for that matter.

Now how do you feel?

Overwhelmed, I'm sure.

So how does having something wrong with your body affect your mind and how does having a mental health disorder affect your chronic illness?

It's interchangeable, really.

When I took a class a few semesters ago on medical aspects and counseling, we discussed some of these thoughts.

The stress that the chronic illness causes can in turn create problems for a mental health diagnosis and vice versa.

Stress is not only one of the biggest problems, but it's also the most dangerous.

In later posts, I will discuss how stress can be handled and how preventing it can help control chronic illness issues, as well as preventing more stress and anxiety from occurring.

You also need to think about how both a chronic illness and a mental health diagnosis affect all the other aspects in your life. This can range from family to environment. Other things will also need to be considered like therapy treatments, medication reactions, and the person's ability to fully function.

It's more than a passing glance.
Having both body and brain pains means having to consider all the options that are there for you and all the solutions to the problems that may come up.