Emotional Immune System

 I recently did a post on social media and mentioned the emotional immune system. A few people wrote or messaged me and asked if there is really an emotional immune system, and I said, not only is there an emotional immune system, but there is also emotional inflammation, emotional diseases, so to speak. Emotions are part of who we are. They are there for better or worse. We ALL have an emotional immune system, which is basically a psychological mechanism that helps keep us resilient, and if we understand what it is, it can be strengthened to make us stronger physically, spiritually, and mentally.

 Emotional immune system is the foundation of emotional resilience. An emotional immune system is not just about having negative thoughts; it is about us learning to observe them and learning to live with them. I recently spoke of suicide being a complete depletion of the emotional immune system and I think it is important that we begin to recognize this wonderful system called the emotional immune system because we underestimate our abilities to weather emotional storms.

 We need to remember a few things about the emotional immune system, and the first one is mood affects our immune systems. Notice I said system. For instance, when we are always angry, we tend to have high blood pressure, skin problems such as eczema and heart attacks. Science has discovered when we experience anxiety it affects health concerns like heart disease, diabetes, respiratory issues, and concerns as well and thyroid problems. When we feel guilty, we have physical symptoms such as difficulties with sleep, stomach and digestion issues, and muscle tension.

 Did you know that one minute of anger can weaken the immune system for up to five hours? Imagine being angry for an hour, or all day, or for months or years! Not to worry because just like vitamin C can help strengthen the physical immune system, one minute of laughter can strengthen that system for up to 24 hours. I say that is an easy antidote for anger. No there is no such thing as toxic laughter like people believe being too positive is toxic, being optimistic or laughing is not toxic, so be positive, or I should say optimistic because positive has turned into a toxic thing these days so just laugh a lot and boost your immune system.

 We need to build our emotional immune system because it can cause emotional inflammation. I am celiac and cannot eat gluten or my joints get inflammation, and I am uncomfortable. It is the same with emotions, we can get them inflamed with things such as anger, guilt, shame, resentments, worry, and stress. We move slower because perhaps we are lacking sleep, or we are getting more irritable than normal or we feel low levels of energy and we start feeling helpless or even hopeless and we withdraw. This is what happens when our emotions are inflamed and not taken care of.

 Look we live in a world where there are a lot of emotional landmines such as wars, politics, gun violence, dividedness, financial issues, crime, relationship problems, and your cortisol is cascading like Niagara Falls. Ibuprofen won't stop this kind of inflammation but there are things you can do to help reduce the inflammation of emotions and build on that emotional immune system.

 A word we hear often is "I was triggered" and triggers deplete our emotional immune system and clearly affects our emotional inflammation. Triggers happen, however, if we are triggered, which are about memories or experiences that create a very powerful emotional reaction, remember to breathe and tell yourself you are right here and right now and are safe. Another thing that helps is to examine and try to change or at least shift beliefs that you’ve carried around from your family or society and then reprogram those negative beliefs. Of course, if you are triggered easily, and your emotional immune system is depleted, then counseling is a wonderful option.

 Another way to build the emotional immune system is try not to be perfect. I see it way too often people not achieving perfection and then they become despondent and depressed and angry at themselves. What we need to realize is we are enough in all we say and do. That's right, our imperfections are beautiful. We have been told from the beginning to be perfect. Get perfect grades, do everything perfectly and we have basically been brainwashed to work towards perfection and I must tell you, it steals our joy. I am a huge advocate of being the best we can be and that is not perfect. Just be you and embrace the mistakes.

 Try not to stuff your emotions! I understand that it is a habit we created, however, this shuts your emotions down. It is healthy to feel them. What is not okay is to allow it to deplete you. If an emotion comes up and you notice it is inflaming you or depleting you, then sit with it for a few and know that it will pass. Our emotions are impermanent, and they eventually subside. They are also motivators so find appropriate ways with peace and compassion to let the emotions out and free yourself from them. Stuffing emotions is like having a clogged artery so find and way to safely release and clear it.

 Of course, I believe mindfulness and staying in the moment is one of the best ways to regulate our emotional immune system. When we stay in the moment it allows us time to work on love, patience and compassion for self and others. It also gives us the opportunity to self-observe and practice self-understanding and insight. Here’s the thing, let’s say an emotion arises. Okay so just pause for a moment and allow yourself to bring awareness to your thoughts and reactions. This is part of mindfulness.

 Another part of mindfulness is to practice some form of meditation. Try not to let your emotions hold you hostage. It is so important to help calm and heal emotional inflammation and build resiliency and strengthen the emotional immune system. With meditation, we can try to experience and use the positive energy of each emotion. It also allows us to listen to what our emotions are saying and to reduce emotional inflammation. Go ahead, feel it, learn from it, release it, and boost that wonderful emotional immune system of yours so you can walk in peace.