What is more important than eating Broccoli?

As the holidays quickly approach, you will soon find yourself in a room with your brother, sister, parents or others whom you may not have seen in a while. Are you beginning to think about the encounters you may have? Is there someone who just gets under your skin? You may or may not know exactly what it is about them, but you just don’t want to be around them. Or, are you just reluctant to be in a room with people? The phrase “No man is an island” truly does have some merit to your life. Whether you are currently living in a household with someone or actually living alone, you may find yourself feeling lonely. As the holidays approach and you may be placed in situations where you must interact with others, the uncertainty of this may actually affect your health: Some known health problems associated with loneliness include:

• loneliness is tied to hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure), inflammation in the body, and even problems with learning and memory.
• Those who are socially isolated suffer from higher all-cause mortality, and higher rates of cancer, infection and heart disease.
• Loneliness can destroy the quality of sleep, so that a person's sleep is less restorative, both physically and psychologically. Socially isolated people wake up more at night and spend less time in bed actually sleeping.
• Loneliness increases the risk for early death by 45 percent and the chance of developing dementia in later life by 64 percent.
• Loneliness is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults.

Being lonely can produce a stronger reaction to negative behaviors in other people, so lonely people see those maltreatments as heavier. That makes it possible to fall more deeply into loneliness. Research from Brigham Young University suggests that the health risk associated with loneliness or social isolation is “comparable to well-established risk factors” such as obesity, substance abuse, injury and violence, and environmental quality. loneliness is rooted in the quality of a person’s relationships. It’s a lack of meaningful interactions where people are really connecting with each other. Social connections are vital to your health, so never let the internet, social media and smart phones, take the true connectivity of communication which includes eye contact, hugs and smiles away from you. Your health depends on these! You may be avoiding the Holiday gatherings because you just can’t stand being in the same room as someone. This person brings out all of the negative emotion in you. You can actually see yourself getting angry while being in this room. Some known health problems associated with unmanaged anger include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Sleeplessness
• High Blood Pressure
• Risk of Heart attack
• Risk of Stroke
• Skin problems like increased acne or eczema
• Headaches or Migraines
• Insomnia
• Digestion problems or abdominal pain

Of course one event in a room with people who don’t see the world the same way that you do, will not harm your health. But, if you begin to see a pattern of the way you think and behave when it comes to relating to people, and it doesn’t just happen during the holidays, it may be time for a mental health check so it doesn’t affect your physical health. You can be juicing, eating mostly raw, living foods and feel that you have a handle on your diet. But, if you can’t control your emotions, you may as well have a glass of wine, a cigarette and a Twinkie. You just can’t eat good foods and think negative thoughts without getting sick!