I don’t often pay attention to or read emails and messages that mention “please pass this along to all your girlfriends”, simply because I receive too many emails and messages every day. However, for some reason, I read this one and it really resonated with me. As I have studied this topic for several years now and do believe this mind-body connection to be very accurate, I decided to pass it along hoping that it may have a small impact on some of the readers.
This was an actual lecture given at Stanford University by Dr.Schatzberg (head of psychiatry at Stanford) which covered the subject of mind-body connection – the relationship between stress and disease.
What is “Stress” Here is the offical definition from the Oxford Dictionary “Stress — any stimulus, such as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiologic equilibrium of an organism”.
Dr.Schatzberg said, “Among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman; whereas, for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends”.
The initial reaction from the students was laughter but he went on to explain because, in fact, he was deadly serious “Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time” helps us to create more serotonin – a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well-being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, grandmas, cousins etc, and evidently, that is VERY GOOD for our health”.
He added, “Spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.”
There’s a tendency to think that when we are “exercising” we are doing something good for our bodies, and indeed we are; but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged. The doctor’s response was “Not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is dangerous to our physical health!”
So every time you hang out with your girlfriend/s, be thankful that you have them in your life and be aware that you are doing something good for your health!
A big huge thank you to all the ladies in my life who have helped me stay HEALTHY, HAPPY, and feeling very LOVED
