Stress (and therefore belief) impacts the immunity and healing capabilities of the body.
Research shows that acute stress rapidly lowers antibody levels, increasing susceptibility to infection- in a study from 1990, this was found to occur after only a five minute recollection of disturbing memories that induced feelings of anger or frustration, and the levels of the antibody remained low for nearly six hours.
What makes the memory disturbing is the emotion that it generates.
If just five minutes of negative emotion produces such a result, then it is easy to predict the impact of prolonged periods of negative emotion on the immune system.
Negative emotion causes other undesirable effects in our bodies,including tension and constriction of the muscles and blood vessels, hormonal imbalance, reduced digestive function, and raised blood pressure.
In the same way, feelings of happiness, peace and joy exert a positive and healing influence on the body. Antibody levels rise, healing occurs faster, blood pressure drops, breathing patterns improve - the list goes on.
Happiness has also been proven to change the way our brain functions - we literally perceive the world in a totally different way when we are feeling good. We then make different choices and decisions about our lives.
This is why it is so important to pay attention to our emotional health.
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