Why your body reacts to bad news: A psychologist explains the connection between your mind and your physical health. <\/p>
When you discover something bad has happened, it can trigger your body\u2019s \u2018fight or flight\u2019 response. This is your body\u2019s evolved response for coping with intense danger. At a neurobiological level, it\u2019s governed by what\u2019s known as the sympathetic nervous system<\/a>, which sends commands from your spinal cord to your body\u2019s major organs, including your heart and intestines, gearing you up to either fight or flee when faced with danger.<\/p>\n A key part of the fight or flight response is to shut down digestion so that blood flow and energy can be sent to your limb muscles instead. In some people, this sudden effect on digestion can manifest as nausea, vomiting<\/a> or diarrhoea. In short, the bad news has prompted you to feel threatened and your body has triggered your survival mode.<\/p>\n The sympathetic nervous system is in constant opposition with the parasympathetic nervous system<\/a>, which is more active when we\u2019re relaxed. It sends its own messages to your body, including encouraging digestion. So anything you can do to boost your parasympathetic nervous system activity ought to help you overcome those feelings of sickness.<\/p>\n This is easier said than done, but basic steps include deliberately slowing down your breathing. Consider writing a list of those aspects of the situation that are out of your control, and those that you can do something about. For those things you have some influence over, try to come up with some achievable plans to make the situation better. Over time, distraction, exercise<\/a> and meditation<\/a> can help you relax and cope with stress<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help from friends and family \u2013 or seek professional support if the feelings of nausea won\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked by: Amelia Montgomery, via email<\/strong><\/p>\n To submit your questions email us at questions@sciencefocus.com (don\u2019t forget to include your name and location)<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Why your body reacts to bad news: A psychologist explains the connection between your mind and your physical health. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27460,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick.jpg",1200,511,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick-300x128.jpg",300,128,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick-768x327.jpg",768,327,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick-1024x436.jpg",800,341,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick.jpg",1200,511,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/heres-why-bad-news-can-make-you-feel-physically-sick.jpg",1200,511,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Why your body reacts to bad news: A psychologist explains the connection between your mind and your physical health.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27459"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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