There are many strong feedback loops between our behavior and mental health. Consider the last time you felt happy. You probably also felt energetic. When we’re energetic, we’re much more active than, say, when we’re sad. Alternatively, after a run or workout, you may feel more positive, happier, etc. That’s because of a biological feedback loop between your behavior and mental health. Here’s an in-depth look into behavior, mental health, and their relationship.
Behavior and Mental Health
Behavior refers to all of your physical activities. Generally, if a person is doing something that you can sense, it’s behavior. For instance, you can see people run and hear people talk. In these cases, running and talking are behaviors. In contrast, you can’t easily sense people thinking. You may suspect that someone is thinking by looking at their expression, but you can’t see the thinking or sense it in some other way. Thinking, then, is mental.
Generally, thoughts and feelings are considered mental, and actions are considered behavioral. However, this isn’t an unequivocal truth. Depending on whom you ask, they may differ concerning what they consider mental or behavioral. Some may even say thoughts and feelings don’t exist! Nonetheless, we’re going to discuss behavior and mental health in the way these concepts are typically discussed (as real and separate things).
The Relationship
There are several feedback loops connecting behavior and mental health. For example, when you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are associated with euphoria, relieving pain, strengthening your immune system, and more. By extension, exercise is also an effective way to relieve stress, anxiety, depression, and improve mood. An uplifted mood can lead to a greater willingness to exercise, socialize, etc. This is one positive feedback loop, where exercise improves mood, which encourages activity, and so on.
These feedback loops can also work to your detriment. For example, depression may cause people to seek out substances that can improve their mood. This can lead to an addiction as substance use is positively reinforced by the improved mood that follows. Moreover, due to the nature of how substances interact with your body, substance abuse constantly grows.
The bottom line is that mental health and behavior are intricately correlated due to an assortment of positive feedback loops. These feedback loops reinforce your behavior and mental states, so they can be either very beneficial or very harmful.
However, you can stop these feedback loops. It’s difficult, but you can take a conscious step to engage in productive behavior or stop harmful behavior.
Therapy is an appropriate place to start adjusting your feedback loops. If you’re looking for a psychologist or therapist in either Lexington, KY, or Columbus, OH, contact us at Guiding Light Holistic Center Inc. We’ll help you develop a healthy and productive relationship with your mental health and behavior.
