Are you a newcomer making yourself sick with worry?
A top-down approach to optimal health for immigrants
Most of us who emigrate do well with the transition, despite the stressors and uncertainties that are inevitable with immigration and resettlement, according to Canadian Guidelines for Immigrant Health published in CMAJ (July 2011).
These include challenges with leaving family members behind, changes in social and support networks, communication difficulties due to language and cultural differences, securing work comparable to our education and experience, lack of mobility and financial resources, and uncertainty about citizenship status. It is easy to feel demoralized and disillusioned, both early on in the process as well as later, especially if your expectations are not met. As you are probably already aware, all of this change can negatively affect your health.
It is widely known that nutrient-dense food, physical activity, good sleep and rest is important for optimal health. Perhaps it is less well known that even more important than all of these is taking care of your emotional wellbeing. In other words, learning how to manage your feelings and reactions to the stressors and challenges in life, especially the day-to-day stuff, which we can all too easily sweat about, as well as the bigger, unexpected events that can throw you off balance.
How you respond to the stressors in your life can make you sick, or it can facilitate health. If you are not managing your emotional responses then you are creating a toxic environment in your body. When toxins build up in your body and you do not find healthy ways to release them, it affects your immune system. When your immune system is compromised, your body’s natural defense mechanisms are compromised, leaving you vulnerable to illness.
You may be triggering negative emotions several times a day. Many people worry about finances, relationships, family and an uncertain future. We can be quick to get upset over things others say or do. When these negative feelings arise in your mind, you activate a stress response in your body, known as the fight-or-flight response.
The stress response: fight or flight
Whenever your brain perceives a threat, an alarm goes off in your body and it goes into survival mode to protect you. Stress hormones flood your body as it prepares to fight or run from the threat. Your blood pressure and heart rate increase. Your immune system shuts down. Your muscles become tense.
While this response was helpful to keep the cave dweller safe from danger, it is not required today as most of the stressors are not life threatening. However, the primitive part of your brain cannot tell the difference between real danger and an imagined threat (one that only exists in your mind). It perceives you are under attack so repetitively triggers the fight-or-flight response. The effects from this kind of chronic wear and tear on the body can make you sick.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, when we repress, or intensely and regularly express, these five negative emotions they affect the functioning of our organs:
- Sadness affects the heart.
- Anger (+ resentment, irritability, bitterness, frustration) affect the liver and gallbladder.
- Fear (+ insecurity, isolation) affect the kidneys and bladder.
- Grief (+ inability to let go) affect the lungs and gallbladder.
- Worry (+ overthinking) affect the spleen, pancreas and stomach.
Too much of these toxic emotions can be an internal cause of disease.
Change your mind
Whatever the stressors are in your life, remember it is how you interpret and respond to them that determine whether you activate the stress response. To ensure you are not always in fight-or-flight mode and putting your health at risk, pay attention to the way you think and react. Manage any impulses to react negatively. Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings; know they are powerful and can do more harm than good. Get things into perspective, have good time management and set healthy boundaries. Remember you can choose how to handle stressful situations. It is not easy, but it is possible.
Questions for you to consider:
- Will the worry, the guilt, the resentment you are feeling change the outcome?
- Who is hurt the most when you create or express these feelings?
- How can you refocus your attention and think more positively to feel more love, connection, hope, optimism, energy?
- What do you need to feel better? Consider all areas of your life, e.g., relationships, work, recreation, spirituality, environment. Is any area out of balance and in need of priority attention?
- What can you say no to in order to free up time to say yes more often?
The relaxation response
The opposite of the stress response is the relaxation response, according to the book Mind Over Medicine, by Dr. Lissa Rankin. The healthy body is supposed to be in a relaxed state most of the time. Do whatever works for you to create a state of calm and quiet.
Walking in nature and meditating are just two examples that have been proven to shut off the stress response and allow the body to self-repair. There are many choices. Get support from those who accept and love you. Unplug from technology. Do whatever works for you to rest, to counter-balance the stressful emotions and avoid being over-stimulated. Only in a restful, relaxed state can your body heal itself and stay healthy.