How does LOVE effect the body?

Last Update: February 13, 2019 at 11:42 am

Date:  February 13, 2019

Source:  News for the Soul

 

 

How does LOVE effect the body?

by Dr Holly, heard Wednesdays at Noon pst on News for the Soul Radio

 

Wednesdays at NOON PST  / 3PM EST – The Whole Health Initiative with Dr Holly   – An NFTS Global Luminary  broadcasting from Canada since March 2014 –   Dr Holly is a Doctor of Natural Medicine, a scientist, a professional speaker, an author of Cancer: Why what you don’t know about your treatment could harm you and 12 other books and a practitioner.  As a Doctor of Natural Medicine with 7 degrees & 3 designations in a wide range of healing modalities and 20 years experience, she can assist you in identifying and understanding your path to health. She can identify your underlying life themes, coping mechanisms, value systems and defense mechanisms to understanding the physiology and biochemistry and energy patterns of your body.  She has a mobile health clinic that comes to your door and can assess 1000s of variables in front of you AND create a protocol unique to you.  In addition, she provides consultation for physicians and clients around the world.

 

 

 

We know that Valentine’s day is a celebration of romantic love. We often give/receive flowers and chocolates to recognize that romantic love between special friends and partners. But from a health perspective how does love affect us?

Well to start with, it doesn’t have to be romantic love. Rather loving of any kind. So, what are the different kinds of love?

Spiritual – all encompassing, universal, unconditional love for self and mankind

Comradery – the deeper love shared with a friend – deep, unconditional, compassionate, sharing

Familial – the love that is shared by parent/child; siblings; or animals

Romantic/in love – hopefully a love that shares both the comradery of friendship plus the romantic love of being special plus the ability to “make love” as opposed to just having sex

Infatuation – intense, short lived, typically only sexual in nature; a common basis of divorce – infatuation drove you to the marriage OR infatuation with another drove you away from your marriage

The different types of love have a common impact on our health. Some would claim that we are wired for love; some say that the basis or underlying vibration of our universe is love. Regardless, of what your beliefs are, let’s look at the research on how LOVE benefits our health. Most of the research has been done on either long-term happy marriages or toxic relationships, however, there is some research with people we feel connected to; someone we care about; someone we respect and value. I am putting together a basic summary.

Good relationships:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Less depression
  • Less anxiety
  • Less stress or better stress management
  • Fewer colds
  • Faster healing
  • Fewer dr and hospital visits
  • Less substance abuse: drugs, alcohol and prescription
  • Especially for long term couples we have pain control (interesting study: “Researchers subjected 16 married women to the threat of an electric shock. When the women were holding their husband’s hand, they showed less response in the brainareas associated with stress. The happier the marriage, the greater the effect.” https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/health-benefits#2
  • Longer lives – wards off isolation ““Loneliness is associated with all-cause mortality — dying for any reason,” he says. In other words, married people live longer because they feel loved and connected.” https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/health-benefits#3

Note both of these quotes were taken from www.webmd.com I love that.

In addition, research has repeatedly shown that feeling loved and valued is more important in a relationship than money. I love that too.

On the other hand, toxic relationships can destroy our health and wellbeing. In fact, toxic relationships can be as toxic to our health as toxic food or a toxic environment. They can lead to stress, depression, anxiety and various medical problems:

  • Increased stress and anxiety
  • Increased depression and moodiness
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Increased adrenal dysfunction
  • Increased hormonal dysfunction in the body
  • Increased insomnia and fatigue
  • Increased muscle tension
  • increased immune and inflammation dysfunction
  • Increased gut issues
  • Increased pain awareness

You might want to ask yourself the following questions to determine if you have a healthy connection or a toxic connection?

  • When you are with that person, do you feel better or worse
  • Do you feel love, respected and valued or are you criticized and judged as not being enough
  • Do you feel emotionally safe with that person and can share who you really are, or do you feel anxious or frustrated and need to hide
  • Do you feel heard and understood or are you just ignored and disrespected
  • Can you have healthy discussions and share ideas or are your thoughts demeaned and negated
  • Is the relationship either calming or energizing or do you feel drained
  • Do you feel physically safe with that person or threatened and apprehensive
  • Do you feel that there is a fair give and take in the connection, or do you feel used
  • Do you each find your happiness within or are you responsible for making the other happy

Bottom line? When we feel:

  • Loved and valued enough
  • Good about who we are
  • Respected enough
  • Safe enough
  • Heard enough
  • Appreciated enough
  • Connected enough

Then we will experience better health psychologically and physically.

The reason I said, “enough” each time, is because each component means something different for each of us.

So, while it is fun to celebrate and appreciate your friends or partner on Valentine’s Day, it is also important to do so each day, year-round.

I will share with you one way you might include this daily, Tom and I acknowledged and appreciated one another with grace before each meal.

Let me provide you with the funny side note on grace. Tom didn’t say grace when I met him, so I explained that I believed that grace was a way of slowing the body down and preparing it to digest a meal. In addition, it was also a time to show gratitude and appreciation for the food and the day and our lives. Initially Tom created a joke with it. He didn’t know what to say for grace, so he decided that whoever sat down first at the table could say it was the other person’s time to say grace. He would rush around getting everything on the table so he could sit down first and I would have to say grace. No problem.

But as our friendship grew, grace evolved into more of a conversation between us: how we appreciated the food; the day; and our lives and all of our opportunities to grow and learn within and between ourselves as well as with the greater world at large. The most important part was acknowledging and appreciating one another. We made the agreement that we couldn’t just repeat ourselves. Consequently, grace was always a different conversation. It was a beautiful way to acknowledge each other within our daily routine.

In addition to grace, we also daily acknowledged why we thought the other person was awesome. I have to give full credit to Tom for this one.

On Valentine’s Day, this year, you might want to celebrate your best connections by finding out what and how each can make the other feel valued and special. AND make sure you follow through.

After all, you will both benefit with healthier minds and bodies on Valentine’s Day and each day of the year.

Happy Valentine’s Day to each of you.