The Link Between Emotions and Health

How much emotions affect our physical health.  Discoveries of a cardiologist and how our emotions affect our physical health

Andy: As seniors we built a past that has an effect on our present and on our future. But what happens when our past limits our potential? That can be at any age, but perhaps more so as we get older as there is more of a past to deal with. To discuss that we talk to Dr. Friedemann Schaub, a physician specializing in cardiology, and a PhD in molecular biology, who brings those 2 disciplines together, and just discovered how much our emotions affect our physical health.

Dr. Schaub: When I used to be in cardiology I saw that stress and anxiety was a major risk factor for cardio vascular diseases, but it was also a risk factor that was very much under-appreciated and I think also under-treated. So, over time that became clear to me that we have to really start in order to maintain health and wellbeing, to look more into our emotional challenges. Looking into those challenges before they before actually physically manifest in problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol; it goes further and further down the line.

We know that stress, fear and anxiety can cause other immune diseases, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue. So, what if we could actually really prevent those things from happening by understating more how to deal with fear and anxiety? So, I became interested in really investigating what causes fear and anxiety, how do we even create it, and how can we uncreate it in a way that it doesn’t require for us to take medication, it doesn’t require for us to maybe for a decade sit with a psychologist and try to figure life out.  Are there ways to change our mind and overcome anxiety that are holistic, but at the same time also self-empowering? And that’s how this whole work started to be.

Andy: So, it sounds like you believe we do have emotional and mental control over things such as fear and anxiety, in other words, they are not entirely driven from the outside.

Dr. Schaub: No, I think we are reacting to input from the outside with fear and anxiety, even though it doesn’t seems sometimes like a choice ultimately it is something that we can choose.

And there have been great studies about soldiers that are out there in Iraq, or Afghanistan. Some people come back completely traumatized by an event. And people that were in the exactly same event could just basically brush it off and forget about it. And the difference what the studies showed was they are making on a psychological level and ultimately on subconscious level and what that means is how much baggage, how much traumatic events had they already brought with them from, for example, their childhood to those events that later occurred in the line of duty.  And what they found is that people that had been already dealing with difficult times before, and they haven’t been really able to resolve it, that they had a significantly higher likelihood of post traumatic stress, than people that didn’t had those imprints and anxiety programing from the past. So, that’s really something where you can see that the external world that doesn’t necessarily cause us to have the same reactions.

Andy: Well, that is certainly interesting and particularly so, because in many cases we are talking to people who have a few years and they have gone through a lot and they may be bringing some more of those issues or baggage as we call them, to bring into an emotional situation.

Dr. Schaub: Yeah, and that’s also something that I think is really important to look at because the older we get the more we are piling up emotional baggage.

Our natural response when we are little – babies, is to pretty much let it out. So, when you feel anything, whether is anger, scared, sad – you just express it, and that’s obviously the natural and healthy way to release emotions, but we are forgetting how to do this. And we are basically told we have to keep it together and not show these emotions, especially anxiety and fear are not really acceptable. So, we pretend that we are calm and relaxed, and internally we are boiling, but we are pushing those emotions down. And eventually they are piling up. And many people that I’m working with that are in their 60’s 70’s that really feel like they are like a pressure cooker ready to explode. And that certainly is a very important aspect to deal with is to how can you actually find peace with the past and really feel like that you are able to overcome and ultimately resolve whatever difficult challenges. And this doesn’t have to be a traumatic event. It can be just problems that we haven’t been able to wrap our mind around, situations that still when we think about cause us to be somehow to be in conflict with our self. All those things can cause us to be anxious and stressed. And the book and my work help people to resolve those things and get a clean slate.

Andy: Perhaps you can share a little bit for our better understanding to the types of issues that some of these patients of yours are dealing with that probably apply to other people.

Dr. Schaub: Yeah, often it is like the generalized anxiety that you just feel the threshold of getting into a nervous fearful response is very low. So, there is constant worrying about the outcomes of any random events, there is the worrying of getting older or being alone, things that really don’t necessarily have to do anything with immediate present time, but they are more about the future. Then there are certainly also the post-traumatic stress, people that have been into difficult situations that went through challenges and really feel still, there is the impact from that within them.

And there is a large group of people that feel just lost. And I think that’s also for people that are, for example, retiring. Many people that have been really absorbed in their job, in their duties as mother or father, and then life changes, they become older, they retire, and they lose a sense of self. It’s almost like a loss of identity and that can cause a lot of insecurity and anxiety, because you really don’t know: “What is my role in life? Who am I supposed to be?” And that sense of basically being ungrounded  creates these fearful responses that obviously can also be addressed and worked with.

Andy: Well, those are very real indeed, and those examples that you sighted – retirement, the future, being tied to the identity of your work… How does one begin to get over that or to reach a different understanding of what life is like without having that?

Dr. Schaub: You know, what we have to really look at first is that this anxiety isn’t the logical intellectual construct. If we could really solve the anxiety puzzle with our brains, well, most of us would have done it by now. But it’s really something that comes from a deeper part of our mind. It’s often doesn’t necessarily make intellectual sense. Let’s say you have retired and have been really focused on your career, then you fall into this anxiety that you cannot really explain, because during your career you may have always looked forward to the times when you can stay longer in bed, or just play golf, or spent more time with your spouse, but when it’s actually happening all of the sudden something like of emptiness that creates these anxious feelings arises, and that comes from that deeper part in our mind – the subconscious. And most people don’t’ know how to work with the subconscious, and most people don’t really feel that the subconscious is trustworthy. So, the word that I described in the book and that I’m offering is really about helping people to consciously not only be aware of the workings of the subconscious, but really helping the subconscious to heal from this anxiety, and there we are addressing very specific root causes that make that anxiety even possible to exist.

Andy: Well, in the case of someone who is facing retirement, maybe a better example, for a short time and finally realizing what is like, and now suddenly it comes to the understanding that moaning the loan, and just idling your time, and finding things to stay busy, aren’t all that was cracked  up to be. How do you answer those kinds of concerns and frustrations?

Dr. Schaub: Well, one of the important things is that we basically we need to have something to get motivated by that means we have to really look toward something. So, when you, for example, leave your career and your identity behind you, and your mind has nothing really to identify with, what you basically see is just an empty page and that’s for especially the subconscious very scary, because the subconscious looks early on in our life, from pretty much the begging of our existence, looks for things to hold on to, to identify, to belong. So, what’s important is that you are starting to really think about and design that what you actually want to grow into.

Just because you are retired doesn’t mean you stop growing. We grow until we die. That’s the law of nature. But many people feel like, well, after retirement, it’s pretty much being idle and there is no more growth and that’s one of the common mistakes. So, just looking into what do you want to become. Do you want to become a person who gets really good, you know, something that really you have not had time to get interested in? Do you want to be really good in your community and really be engaged there? Do you want be a person who really takes better care of your body and really says: “I’m just going to get into this and focus on taking care of my health?” May be you are really interesting in expanding your more spiritual side and find out more what’s to explore there. So, just giving your mind and giving yourself some direction. It doesn’t have to be just one direction it can be just a ray of directions to go to, already makes your mind more curious about the future, rather than seeing it more like an empty page and that in itself can already be a big relieve.

Andy: Certainly, fear and anxiety can manifest in so many ways for people over 50, and one of those you are likely to have more medical concerns and may be financial concerns, and those are real in many ways. You have to also address them. How might someone look at something like that?

Dr. Schaub: Well, I think that’s again something where basically when we get older and we are dealing with the fragility of our body, of course that can be very scary and as a physician I often saw how people who were may be never in the hospital, all of the sudden felt completely powerless and very scared by just this new environment.

In fact, one of my first patients, when I was still in medical school, was an old farmer that came into the hospital in his mid-60’s first time pretty much at the doctors, because he had broken his leg. And he was so terrified, he was so scared, that he didn’t wanted have his leg operated on. And of course the doctor said: “No problem. It’s going to be fine. It’s a very routine operation.” But he was literally in a state of panic and I was certainly really concerned about for him, because his fear and his constants repeating: “Is he operating? Am I going to die? Is he operating? Am I going to die?” was really concerning.  Well, the operation went really well, everything was good, but then the next morning he was dead. So, for me this was something I often wondered – did the fear that wasn’t really address cause the system simply to shut down? And what I’ve learned was that we do have as patients. Really the obligation and the responsibility to make sure that we have a sense of empowerment, that we don’t feel “Well, it’s all in the hands of the medical system.” So, whatever you can do to really educate yourself, to also look for a second opinion, alternative, to really stay on the path where you know – “My body and my health is my responsibility and it’s also in my hands. Sure, I need some help, but I also need to take care of it myself.”

Andy: So, maybe it’s that word you used, is that sense of empowerment that might lessen some of the fear and anxiety?

 

Dr. Schaub: It is one of the most important, you can call it antidotes to fear and anxiety – feeling empowered. Just also what we talked before somebody who may have a problem with their identity loss after really feeling – “Well, I was a business owner, I was in a managerial position and now I don’t have any power.”

Bringing power back in their life is very important. Whatever that means it can be power over your health, it may be power about inspiring others, it can be power over just your house, or maybe you get an animal that it’s not about overpowering the animal, but it’s feeling like there is connection there, and you are guiding and guarding this animal. So, whatever brings you a sense of power and responsibility is definitely something that is alleviating this anxiety.

Andy: Well, that’s really an important point, because of all of the systems that become part of your life, whether it would be medic care, whether it would be social security, there are things that one starts to feel are somewhat out of their control, but indeed people can really wrap their arms around something like that and not let it drive in; rather they can drive it if they become empowered to do it.

Dr. Schaub: Yeah, I think the second part; the second very powerful antidote is also trust. And trust means not necessarily trust in let’s say luck or a higher power, it’s also trusting yourself. This is where people, especially people that are getting into the retirement age and seniors often have so many reasons have so many reasons to trust themselves, because they have a long history of solving problems, overcoming difficulties, learning new things, but very few of us actually take time to take a look at these resources, and look at “Wow, look what I actually can tap into? What’s there for me to no matter what happens I can figure it out and to develop?”

So, one of my recommendations is always to sit down and really take an inventory about your accomplishments, about the talents you have, the skills you have learned, the problems you have solved, the adversities you have overcome. Really just look at how powerful and how much you have accomplished and that builds trust and confidence, and really lets you look into the future with much greater ease.

Andy: Well, Dr. Schaub before we run out of the time that we discussed, I just want to check on a couple of things. First, what kind of steps, exercises might someone do, because you want to address this may be before you have that fear and anxiety. So, are there any different exercises or recommendations that you have?

Dr. Schaub: Well, I think one of the most simple exercises is simply being aware of yourself talk. And what that means you are just looking how you talk to yourself, how you communicate with yourself. And that can be one of the major anxiety triggers. Many people either have a rambling inside of their head, that just predicts bad things in the future to happen, or looks into the past or really regrets everything that they did wrong, or there may be a voice that’s very critical, or just a very pessimistic voice. That’s not again something that you consciously make up. It’s just more like a bubbling up from somewhere of the deeper parts of your mind. And being aware of this negative self-talk, and really just checking on it, and asking yourself: Is really true what I’m saying here, and does saying this really serve me or it just cause me more anxiety?” And if you can, then stir these thoughts into the opposite direction. Just really reguiding your thinking. First of all you don’t know, second of all right now everything is OK, and third of all if something should happened you have the resources to deal with it.  So, just being aware of – “I’m actually causing the anxiety through my thinking very often.”

What I’ve noticed is in my practice when people do work on their self-talk by stopping the negativity and redirecting it, usually there is just a couple of weeks of inner work that negative talk reduces by 70% to 80%. So, that’s already a huge chunk of anxiety triggers that you get out of the way.

Andy: Well, that’s a powerful message and is certainly better than people who may end up self- medicating, and drinking, and doing things like that, who might find themselves in this sense of despair.

Dr. Schaub: Right, well I think when you do really deal with anxiety and when you feel like, well there is just an uneasiness that I cannot get somehow in control.” Also realize, and I think that’s a very important message, that anxiety is not your enemy; anxiety is not a disorder or a mental illness. Anxiety is a symptom. It’s a symptom like pain is a symptom, and if you have pain, you wouldn’t just ignore the pain, you wouldn’t just ignore the pain, you would medicate the pain and then you would where the pain actually came from. That wouldn’t be really advisable and that’s the same with anxiety.

So, make sure that you actually go to a place where you are investigating: “Am I anxious because of past unresolved issues? Am I anxious because I’m still believing that the world is not safe, or I’m not good enough?”, or are there some core believes that just create this anxiety, or “Am I struggling with myself?”

Very often anxiety is caused by an inner battle that many people can relate to. A battle between the confidence side and there seems to be a side that seems to be a side that’s just so negative or anxious. And that battle can especially when we get older get louder and somehow more disturbing. They are all ways that we can overcome these problems and reading the book, for example, is a good start.

Andy: Well, that was my next question Dr. Schaub. What would be the takeaways for the last few minutes, that you would hope someone would be able benefit from the book, and how would that make their life different in their senior years?

Dr. Schaub: Well, I think anxiety is a great opportunity for us to grow. So, usually when we do have anxiety in all these examples that I’ve mentioned, it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the outside, and it doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you. It may just mean that you are somewhat out of balance, and that you haven’t really found your center again. And if you really pursue healing anxiety and looking at anxiety from a different picture you will actually grow from it. You’ll find a much greater fulfillment in how you relate, and how you appreciate yourself. So, anxiety is a huge for greater wholeness.

Andy: And it takes work it doesn’t just fall in your lap, does it?

Dr. Schaub: No, it definitely takes work, and even when you are feeling anxiety doesn’t have an effect on you anymore, to keep the balance, especially in our busy world right now, where we are bombarded by so many messages, and pulled in so many directions. It takes daily discipline; I mean we are brushing our teeth every day, so we just have to take care of our mind and freedom.

Andy: Well, that’s great! I sure appreciate your time. I think that was real interesting and very informative.

Dr. Schaub: Thank you very much and I wish we had more time.

Andy: Thank you Dr. Schaub and I would love to talk with you again sometimes soon!

We’ve been listening to Dr. Friedemann Schaub and his book The Fear and Anxiety Solution and we thank you for listening. Have a great day!

Category: Modern Medicine