More than skin deep.

I write a lot about how to take care of your skin. I am absolutely evangelical about wearing a good sunscreen. If you don’t believe me you better read this. I get frustrated at the amount of skin care that is available that does not stack up from a scientific point of view.

Beauty in some form or another has been my career and I guess you could say it’s been my life, although I do not feel defined by it. It’s had it’s rewards. Helping others find confidence through their appearance can be quite fulfilling. But then watching someone lose perspective in their appearance? Not so much. 

 

Another kind of beauty?

I describe this site as ‘another kind of beauty’ which when I came up with that little line, I knew it may or may not mean much to anyone who visits this site, because if I am writing about beauty, then, you may ponder, how can there be ‘another kind of beauty’. What does she (me) even mean?

Yes, I understand why that may cross your mind, but at the time it meant something to me. It struck me that although beauty and skin care were important for your confidence, it was just as important for your wellbeing and as long as you do not get too obsessed, it helps you project a version of yourself that you are happy for the world to see.

Now, I also like to write about health issues that effect, not just your skin, but YOU.  I write about women’s issues and the wellbeing of the mind and it’s impact on every aspect of your beauty and your health. It is a dialogue I have with myself, that I wish to share with you in the hope it may help. But where does stress and too much worry sit in all this pondering? 

 

Do we pay enough attention to our mind? Do we allow our negative thoughts to control us? Can we hear above the din, that which our body is trying to tell us?

 

If you’ve ever watched someone seemingly age overnight through a life changing trauma, then you know the effect our mind has over our body.  When we see this happen in someone, we are witnessing the mind-body connection even if you do not acknowledge it. 

These are the times when a deep trauma can shake a person so much, just putting one foot in front of the other becomes insurmountable. These are the times of deep grief or personal catastrophe. If you have witnessed this in someone, you know exactly what I am talking about. 

 

But what about the everyday stress of life?

The eternal list of things to do, people to please, deadlines to meet. The worry of having enough money, keeping a roof over your head or the fear of losing your job? Or the fractured relationship that goes unhealed and filed away in the ‘too hard basket’ of our brain. On and on it goes. We all have some stress in our life. 

Some say, ‘Oh hey, I handle stress’ or ‘I thrive on pressure’ but do we? Is any one of us actually capable of handling stress? Or do we push it aside. Cover it with too much alcohol or some other destructive panacea. Until one day. Something happens. You get sick, your back goes out, unexplained anxiety, or, it’s a little more subtle and like a pebble on the beach, almost unknowingly you begin to slowly wear out much sooner than you should. 

In my own family I have seen what a lifetime of worry can do to someone. Its grip and insidious creep finds its way into every cell of the body and with devastating consequences and eventually chronic illness.

Sounds drastic? Maybe. You may even disagree, you may say the mind cannot have that much power over the body. But for me, I am quite sure uncontrolled worry and mismanaged stress does make us ill and many of the 21st century chronic illnesses are  quite possibly linked to the mind-body connection and much more than we would like to believe and often can be tracked back to unmanaged stress and worry. 

 

But no need to take my word for it.

Nor the many, many people out there singing from their alternative-way-of-thinking hymn books about the mind-body connection. I’m not even talking about the self love guru’s, nor the peace loving hipster movement. Of course, no disrespect to any group or movement trying to make their life better, more peaceful and more spiritually connected. I applaud them, but sometimes it’s easy to brush it all aside as a bit too, well, you know, woo, woo… hocus, pocus, hippie nonsense. Right? 

 

But to be dismissive would be to miss something life changing.

I’m talking about scientific data that is now emerging and is beginning to back up and support what many have been saying for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  Somewhere a long the way in our mad rush to achieve who knows what.. we all stopped listening. And to our peril.

This week I was kind of ‘blown away’ by a woman who has healed her own auto-immune disease through practicing what she has learnt about the mind-body connection. After years of frustration and debilitating chronic illness, finally, listening to her internal world and making adjustments to how she handled stress in her life, turned her chronic illness and life around. Completely!  

Her name is Shannon Harvey and her journey was so transformational,  she has made a film about it.

I’m linking to the trailer of the movie below. I have no affiliation with Shannon or her work (at this stage), nor is this a sponsored post. I am simply sharing something that now appears to me as the blindingly obvious and yet we ignore it. The mind-body connection!! 

 

A short trailer: The Connection. Mind Your Body.

 

 

It’s important.

I think this is one of the most important articles I’ve ever written for you. I hope you watch the trailer and find inspiration to find out more or, it turns on a light bulb as it did for me on the amazingly powerful value recognising the mind-body connection has on our lives.

No one in the film discounts the importance of modern day medicine, nor that changing your attitude to stress or remaining positive and being optimistic is a cure-all. No, this is never implied. But, there is compelling evidence that the mind-body connection plays a crucial role in staying well and getting well.

Here is the link to Shannon Harvey’s website The Connection: Mind Your Body. 

 

And now you?

Can you relate? Do you think too much stress may be effecting your health? Has it ever effected your health so much so, you gave your life a complete overall? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear what you think about this or even better, PLEASE share this post with anyone who it may help. I figure there are an awful lot of people out there just worrying themselves to death.. quite literally. 

 

Happy health to you and I’ll see you in the comments.