To the date I can remember breaking out into Shingles. It was October 2008. What our brain processes with emotions causes physical effects in the body. In this situation it was severe stress with "no outlet" or at least that is how I felt at the time. This external event caused the Shingles virus, an autoimmune disease, to express itself on the left side of my core area. It took about 6 months to rid myself of the physical effects, but what a wake-up call to how sensitive our bodies are to emotional, and environmental factors.
Shingles expressed itself due to a rise in cortisol, the stress hormone, in my body. I gained weight which was difficult to even attempt to lose at the time given the additional cortisol levels. I kept going to yoga classes and had to take the time to nap and relax to finally cure myself. When the emotional stress subsided, the cortisol levels decreased and the rash disapeared. There were no drugs involved in treating this situation. It was all about managing the stress and how my body regulated the stress hormones.
We hear so much about diet and exercise, but managing our stress through meditation, breathing, yoga, journaling, relationships, and our communication, also plays a critical, and often left unattended to, part of our well-being.
Feel good today.