Can your behavior affect your health

As with many things, your individual risk of developing a health problem can depend upon a variety of factors beyond your personality, including genetics, environment, lifestyle, and behaviors. Understanding your personality might be a great way to help determine what sort of health choices or changes you need to focus on making. By being aware of the potential hazards you may face, you can work with your health care professional to come up with a plan to minimize the dangers. Research clearly shows a connection between personality and health.

If you believe that your personality, mental state, or behaviors are causing illness or worsening your current symptoms, talk to your doctor for advice on possible treatments which may involve psychotherapy , medication, or self-care.

Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Am J Epidemiol. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. Am J Public Health. Lahey BB. Public health significance of neuroticism. Am Psychol. Psychol Sci Public Interest. Denollet J. Personality and coronary heart disease: the type-D scale DS Ann Behav Med. Personality Traits Predict the Onset of Disease. SAGE Journals.

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I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Type A. More Laid Back. What It All Means. A Word From Verywell. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Wood, A. Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration. Clinical Psychology Review; 30 7 : Worthington, E.

Forgiveness, health, and well-being: A review of evidence for emotional versus decisional forgiveness, dispositional forgivingness, and reduced unforgiveness. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30, More info on this topic. Thoughts and Emotions Home. How thoughts and emotions affect health. Increase positivity. Deal with negativity. Be good to yourself. More resources. Poorly-managed negative emotions are not good for your health Negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can create chronic stress , which upsets the body's hormone balance, depletes the brain chemicals required for happiness, and damages the immune system.

The importance of positive emotions Watch Living with Positivity: An Interview with Barabara Fredrickson Scientist Barbara Fredrickson has shown that positive emotions: Broaden our perspective of the world thus inspiring more creativity, wonder, and options Build over time, creating lasting emotional resilience and flourishing.

Overcoming our negativity bias Because we are wired to defend against threat and loss in life, we tend to prioritize bad over good.

The role of forgiveness Forgiveness means fully accepting that a negative event has occurred and relinquishing our negative feelings surrounding the circumstance. The benefits of gratitude Ten ways to be a more thankful person Brene Brown discusses the relationship between joy and gratitude Acknowledging the good aspects of life and giving thanks have a powerful impact on emotional wellbeing.

Positive emotions lead to emotional resilience Positive emotions have a scientific purpose—to help the body recover from the ill effects of persistent negative emotions. Express your emotions Many people are afraid to express strong emotions because they fear losing control. Begin by identifying what you are feeling right now, in this moment.

Practice saying what you are feeling out loud, using "I" language. For example: I feel angry, I feel sad, I feel scared. Own your emotions. Start by expressing your emotions when you are alone. After you become more comfortable, practice with someone with whom you have a safe, trusting relationship. Finally begin to practice in more challenging situations. Remember not to blame the other person and to be open to hearing their experience. You can also ask others for feedback.

Inhale into a soft belly, taking in light, love, and healing energy. Picture this as clear, bright, or sparkling. Feel yourself becoming brighter as you fill with light and joy. Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

If you have stress symptoms, taking steps to manage your stress can have many health benefits. Explore stress management strategies, such as:.

Aim to find active ways to manage your stress. Inactive ways to manage stress — such as watching television, surfing the internet or playing video games — may seem relaxing, but they may increase your stress over the long term. And be sure to get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Avoid tobacco use, excess caffeine and alcohol, and the use of illegal substances. If you're not sure if stress is the cause or if you've taken steps to control your stress but your symptoms continue, see your doctor. Your healthcare provider may want to check for other potential causes.

Or consider seeing a professional counselor or therapist, who can help you identify sources of your stress and learn new coping tools. Also, get emergency help immediately if you have chest pain, especially if you also have shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, pain radiating into your shoulder and arm, sweating, dizziness, or nausea. These may be warning signs of a heart attack and not simply stress symptoms.

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