Because of a direct connection to the body, your emotions can affect you both mentally and physically. Many people have no idea about how powerful different emotions can be and the way they make it easier for you to manage different situations. By learning more about the surprising ways emotions can affect your body, you can help bring harmony to your physical and mental state. That balance will go a long way in helping you live a productive life. Let's find out more about it.

Surprising Ways Emotions Can Affect Your Body

Just by learning to express your emotions, you can change your views about life and even improve the state of your body in a positive way. Here is a bit about how different emotions can affect your body.

1. Love

When you are in love, you will notice your heartbeat racing and hands getting sweatier. You experience these changes because of a rush of the blood. The stimulation of norepinephrine and adrenaline is the reason behind your increased heart rate. Your body also releases the 'love hormone' called oxytocin, which makes you feel confident and happy. These hormones also work as painkillers and help alleviate your pain. It is due to all these reasons studies show that your heart muscle gets stronger when you are in love, and that is another reason why they say married people are likely to live longer because they are in love.

2. Anxiety and Anger

Both anxiety and anger can affect your body in a negative way. Anger is directly associated with irritability, resentment, and rage. It leads to a change in your hormonal levels and makes you deal with insomnia, headaches, skin problems, and digestive disorders. You may even end up having a stroke or a heart attack when you are under this particular emotion. Being angry all the time means you are a constant worrier that may make the symptoms of your anxiety disorder even worse. Studies have also shown that a mental disorder can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease that in turn may lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. So, do not make any move when you are angry because you will regret it when you are no longer under the effects of this emotion.

3. Depression

There are so many surprising ways emotions can affect your body, and it is quite evident when you are depressed. Depression can directly affect your immune system and a weakened immune system opens ways to all sorts of infections and illnesses. Depression is also characterized by troubled thoughts, and when you think negatively about things around you, it is naturally going to hurt your sleep. People who are depressed are at an increased risk of developing insomnia. When depressed, you are naturally going to find it difficult to make decisions. In fact, depression can also affect your memory.

4. Fear

You will notice the blood drain from your face when you are frightened. It is naturally going to make you appear pale. The emotion 'fear' makes you feel that way because of the fight-or-flight response from the autonomic nervous system. When something triggers fear, blood vessels restrict flow to your face and extremities. This in turn increases the supply of blood to the muscles in your body, so that you may be ready to deal with a fight ahead.

5. Disgust

When you feel disgusted, it also affects your body in many ways. It is actually quite difficult for your body to control this emotion, and it is quite different from other emotions in many ways. For instance, your heartbeat goes up when you feel angry or frightened, but your heartbeat slows down a bit when you feel disgusted for someone or something. You will feel as if there is something wrong in your stomach. You may even have to deal with nausea. All this is the result of the antipathy produced by disgust, which, quite amazingly, is the same physiological element controlling your digestive system. When feeling disgusted, simply take a deep breath and try to control your thoughts to feel better.

6. Shame

It is a complicated emotion because you may experience healthy and unhealthy shame at different times. Healthy shame does not affect your free will and self-esteem, but you are going to feel stressed because of unhealthy, toxic shame. It can lead to an overproduction of the primary stress hormone called cortisol, which in turn can lead to constricted arteries and increased heartbeat. You should learn to stop comparing what you have with what others have. Work on feeling more confident about yourself and not worrying about what others think or say about you. There is no need to worry about what others think so long as you know what you are doing is right.

7. Jealousy

Jealousy to a certain extent may not be harmful, but too much of it can affect your mind and body in a negative way. It is quite natural to feel a bit jealous about others’ achievements because you can use that jealousy to perform better and move ahead in life. Similarly, your fear of losing someone you love may also make you feel jealous at times, but that is not going to hurt you much. However, unhealthy jealousy can destroy relationships, hearts, and families. Your heart rate goes up when you are feeling jealous of something. The stress you feel will also raise your blood pressure. You may experience other symptoms as well, such as poor appetite, stomach problems, insomnia, weight loss, and so on. Be sure to take an initiative and even seek medical assistance to learn how to overcome jealousy to save your relationships.