The Interface Of Physical And Mental Health
Alia, 23, has always been keen on knowing what’s best for her body and mind. She is a regular exerciser, and mindful eater, and engages in activities that make her feel self-satisfied with her life and way of living. Her friend Rohan, 23, knows what Alia has been doing to maintain her health, but he is totally uninterested in doing minimal physical activities. He is always busy with his gadgets and is a couch potato. He also once discussed with Alia his mental health issues, such as anger issues, throwing tantrums, having frequent mood ups and downs, and is now seeking help from a therapist.
The above cases not only show how different each one can be but also the depth of lifestyle and consequences of adaptation to a certain lifestyle. Such practices usually affect one’s ‘ sharira’ meaning the physical body and ‘manas’ the subtle mind. Any imbalance in either one can in turn affect the other eventually.
In the present decade, the interface of physical and mental health is a complex and multifaceted issue. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that there is a bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health, meaning that each can have a significant impact on the other.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of mental health integrates physical and mental health into a holistic scheme. But how has this concept been incorporated into teaching and clinical practice in the present? This is certainly a question to ponder over. The bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health is something that can’t be overlooked. For example, people with mental health conditions are more likely to experience physical health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. They are also more likely to die prematurely. Conversely, people with physical health problems are more likely to experience mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Primordial prevention of acute to chronic psychological behaviors can delay the chance of the healthcare system working for its secondary and tertiary prevention.
Genetics, lifestyle, and social and environmental components contribute to the challenges faced by an individual. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to massive lockdowns and isolation, led to two possible outcomes, especially in southern Asia. The first one is people glued to a corner of a room using their gadgets to attend work meetings. People slothing off with no physical activities slowly decreases the level of sanity in them. People who were quick to see the future included physical and mental fitness as part of their daily routine. In the second instance, people either lost their jobs or quit them and were routed back to the villages, going back to a slow lifestyle blending with mother nature, which resulted in people being less anxious about tomorrow not taking a toll on mental health.
In ancient scriptures, the emphasis on health is thrown light. Techniques of Ashtanga yoga aim to bend the mind, body, and soul. This was even proven to increase longevity and delay signs of neurological aging. Slowly, the present world is also going back to its roots and learning to practice and inculcate such essential tools in day-to-day life.
The interrelation of physical and mental health is an important issue that needs to be addressed. By understanding the relationship between physical and mental health, we can improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. The state of an individual’s mental health has two dimensions to it: (i) The longitudinal, which is the individual’s capability to be mentally healthy, which is dependent upon the person’s psychological and neurological apparatus as well as the coping skills that have been adopted. (ii) The cross-sectional, which is dependent upon the degree of stress to one’s potential and physical ability to overcome the situation rather than to evade it. Early intervention with prompt integration and self-management can result in better physical and mental health outcomes.
Many in-depth and detailed research and tool models have to be developed, combining AI and human intelligence to design unique and adaptable healthy models to have better physical and mental health. Access to such innovations should definitely be open to all individuals.
