Your Mind Can Make You
Sick
Restoring the Temple
“Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
Science is beginning
to confirm what certain wise men have
said at different points in history.
King Solomon said, “A merry
heart doeth good [like] a medicine:
but a broken spirit drieth the
bones.” Proverbs 17:22. Your
mind and mental state can have a
profound affect on your physical
body, your spiritual experience, and
your over-all quality of life. The
mind, the body, and the spirit are
all inextricably interconnected. When
one is affected, the other two
suffer. We can live a healthy
lifestyle and perform our spiritual
duties, but if our mind in not
healthy, the other two cannot make up
for the lack, and we are truly
holistically healthy or healed.
Physical Problems
Worry, anger,
jealousy, hate, ill will, grudges,
vindictiveness, irritation,
resentment, guilt, depression,
anxiety, lack of joy and happiness,
and all other negative emotions and
thoughts have a negative effect upon
the body and open the door for
sickness and disease. There are quite
a number of cases where a disease or
sickness or altered health can be
traced back to a mental cause. Here
are a few: Decline of physical energy
and vitality due to guilt following a
series of sins resulting from a
string of lies; chronic aches and
pains due to a long-held and
suppressed grudge; skin rash after a
quarrel with someone; colds due to
mental stress over such things as
exams, trips, and arguments; heart
rhythms changing in response to
positive or negative thoughts; high
blood pressure from bouts of anger,
fear, and stress, or imagined
problems.
As a girl was about to
be forced into an unwanted marriage,
she experienced repeated attacks of
rheumatoid arthritis. One physician
was convinced that one of his
patients died of
“grudgitis” because of the
hatred he held for so many years.
Another doctor put it this way:
“It is not a question of whether
an illness is physical or emotional,
but how much of each.” Dr
Flanders Dunbar, Mind and Body,
Random House, New York, 1947.
Many health problems
(often including cancer, chronic
fatigue, depression, high blood
pressure, cardiovascular disease,
insomnia, irritable bowel disease,
certain digestive disturbances) do
not entirely clear up unless the
mental aspect is also addressed. You
may not have any of these diseases,
yet be assured that your negative
thoughts and emotions have their
toll. There are physiological reasons
why the body reacts so dramatically
to our thoughts and emotions. Every
part of our being, including our
cells, sympathize or respond to the
positive and negative states of our
minds.
Emotional Problems
Negative emotions left
unattended breed greater mental or
emotional problems. This often
results in sickness and sometimes
death. Even though people experience
negative results from their negative
emotions, they often fail to trace
their problems from cause to effect.
The repetition of the same problem
over and over again should lead them
to seek answers that would totally
eliminate the tensions, irritations,
and anxieties, but instead, they go
right back to taking temporary
solutions in the forms of drugs or
various medications.
It is very important
that those who deal with individuals
suffering from emotional problems
approach such with a spirit of
open-mindedness, sympathy, and
understanding. Some people can handle
more stress than others, and some can
be so emotionally fragile that just a
little pressure can cause
immeasurable harm. Much care must
therefore be taken to minister
appropriately and tenderly to the
abused and emotionally disturbed,
especially since emotional problems
can be so traumatic and long term
that they can shut down all the vital
forces of the body and the mind. The
interconnection and sympathy between
mind, body and spirit is so strong
that in the treatment of emotional
problems a wise person will pay
attention to every part of his or her
being with the understanding that
this is essential for total or
complete healing.
Spiritual Problems
A disturbed mental
state causes harm that can be
manifested in various spiritual
problems. This could include a
decline in spirituality problems.
This could include a decline in
spirituality, loss of interest is
spiritual things, pulling away from
fellow believers, ceasing to attend
worship or spiritual gatherings, and
anger toward God or fellow believers.
This is unfortunate because the true
solution for mental unrest, and
support for mental strength and
health, must include the spiritual.
When a person is
spiritually awake and uplifted, he or
she usually exhibits a cheerfulness,
faith, and boldness that gives
consistency and momentum to all his
or her pursuits in life. When
spirituality is affected, reactions
of discouragement, despondency,
hopelessness, doubt, inconsistency,
and laziness are exhibited, as well
as guilt and fear, which have already
been scientifically implicated with
many mental and physical handicaps.
If spiritual problems are not
addressed, not only is our happiness
in this world at stake, but also our
future in heaven and the earth made
new is in jeopardy.
Solution
Learn to become aware
of the cause of the effect. A
knowledge of this will help to get
rid of many long-standing problems.
Remember that all aspects of man
– the mental, physical, and
spiritual – are interconnected
and therefore sympathize with each
other. As one area is affected
positively or negatively, its effects
will overlap into all the other areas
and have a similar effect on them as
well. Thus, always try to work on
every part of your being when one
part is affected.
More importantly, our
thoughts affect both our emotions and
our actions. Therefore, if we can
change negative thoughts, we can also
change negative emotions and actions.
Negative thoughts can paralyze or
freeze up one’s entire being and
inhibit progress in all pursuits or
goals in life. Yes, my friend, the
solution begins from within:
transform the mind and you will
transform the person. Hence we are
told: “And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what [is]
that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.” Romans
12:2.
For more information
on having peace of mind and/or living
a healthy lifestyle, please contact
the: www.gileadinstitute.org
