How Negative Thoughts Affect Your Health

“How Negative Thoughts Affect Your Health” written by Guest Contributor.

How Negative Thoughts Affect Your Health

As a massage therapist, you get to know your clients and their bodies pretty well and I can think of two times in my career where one of my massage therapy clients suffered from diseases that had an onset right after an emotional crisis in their lives.

Is this a coincidence?

I don’t think so. Every thought and corresponding emotion starts a chain reaction of chemicals and hormone coursing through our body. Positive thoughts like appreciation and love lead to healthy hormones and chemical and higher immunity. Negative thoughts like anger resentment and guilt cause a chemical reaction in the body that cause a breakdown in immunity.

One of the clients went through a very bitter divorce.  Her husband left her for another woman. It was all she could think about or talk about and the other client who developed arthritis went through the death of her daughter and profound grief. I have seen family members suffer from eczema from stress. etc

Louise Hay

In Louise Hay’s book, “You Can Heal Yourself” she says that for every single symptom we have from abdominal cramps (Fear) to warts (Little expressions of hate) and everything in-between there is a specific emotional cause.

Here are a few examples of the causes of symptoms

  • An imbalance between your rational mind and your emotions will cause digestive upset, constipation, diarrhea or digestive disorders. That’s because your mental ‘digestion’ or assimilation process is mirrored by your body’s physical assimilation process
  • Resentment and bitterness are like acid. They cause inflammation and pain. Stubborn, inflexible resentment goes to the knees and joints–the parts of your body that are designed to be open and flexible
  • Arthritis is bottled-up hurt
  • Cancer is a deep secret, hatred, guilt, or grief ‘eating away’ at you.
  • Back pain reveals feeling a lack of support. Lumbar back pain points to lack of financial support. Thoracic back pain shows no emotional support or love. Middle back pain is carrying the weight of the past

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Examples of Ailments Attributed to Emotions By Louise Hay


Anxiety: Not trusting the flow and the process of life.






Bad Breath: Anger and revenge thoughts. Experiences backing up.

Balance, Loss of: Scattered thinking. Not centered.

Baldness: Fear. Tension. Trying to control everything.

Bedwetting: Fear of parent, usually the father.


Every emotion you have sends a signal and travels along your neural pathways and triggers a release of chemical proteins called neuro-peptides (NPs). Each emotion has its own individual frequency.

These tiny chemical proteins communicate chemical messages throughout your body, creating physiological responses. Adrenalin, hormones, oxytoxin, endorphins–these are all examples of NPs.

For instance, happiness, joy, laughter, cause the release of natural opiates called endorphins and norepinephrine. These powerful opiates make you feel good. They boost your immune system, relax muscles, elevate your mood, and dampen pain

Adrenalin and cortisol release when you feel fear, anxiety or stress. They cause your heart to beat faster, and blood vessels to dilate, making your skin flush. Rapid, shallow breathing ensues. Muscles tighten, especially around the stomach and shoulder area

Thought Awareness

When ever you have a thought your awareness of it and how it is impacting your body physically is the first step.

Negative emotions are literally eating away at your immune system through these chemical processes.
I love this story about A teacher who asked her students to each bring to school a sack of potatoes. For every painful experience they could recall, and for every person they could not forgive in their life, each student had to choose a potato and then carve into it the name of the incident and the date of the occurance

Like A Sack Of Potatoes

For an entire month the students were required to carry around their personalized sack of potatoes at all times. It lay beside their bed at night, sat with them at lunch and on the bus, and while they were with friends

The hassle of lugging around this load soon made it profoundly clear what a weight they were carrying around emotionally. The people whose names were inscribed on the potatoes were not affected by the heavy burden.

Is that the price you want to pay to hold onto people, situations and emotions that are weighing you down with a physical burden. The students began to see forgiveness and letting go as a gift to themselves, rather than a gift to others.

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.

What can you do to stop this destructive process?

The first step is awareness of the impact on your body.

Stop numbing yourself with drugs and alcohol

meditation to reduce stress

Exercise. Move your body even if you don’t feel like it. Walk or do light yoga.

Finally, smile more. It will fool your body into emitting positive chemicals

Final Word on How Negative Thoughts Affect Your Health

Ask for help to overcome. Surround yourself with loving caring friends and family and a support system.



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Article: How Negative Thoughts Affect Your Health

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