The Spiritual Roots of Disease. Exploring the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

This teaching on the emotional and spiritual roots of disease is just one lesson of our free eCourse for personal transformation, ‘Matters of the Heart.’ All 24 lessons will be helpful to the person seeking restoration and freedom. They are also available in our Store as an ebook, a 176 page workbook and as CD and DVD sets of 24, 1/2 hour teachings.

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

Disease and Dis-ease

Though we begin with the body, this series of lessons is not primarily about physical health and the means to achieve it. Rather, it is about seeking emotional and spiritual health of the highest order. Finding the life that is ‘hidden with Christ in God’ or entering into ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God’ would be excellent Biblical ways of expressing the goal. As it happens, however, modern medical science shows us a connection between our emotional life and the root issues of disease that gives us a practical place to begin looking at our deeper, truer need.

C. S. Lewis once described pain as ‘God’s megaphone,’ meaning that He gets our attention when our bodies break down. So, it is in seeking to find a remedy to our illnesses that we have been drawn into a far greater understanding of the ways in which we are actually going astray from our God. The diseases of our bodies are but reflections of the dis-ease of our souls!

Three Theories About Why We Get Sick

Before we look at what is actually making us sick, let’s go over some cherished notions that we may still be carrying around in the back of our minds. There are three flawed theories of why we get sick. They may not be taught, but they are often caught.

1) The germ theory:

As an explanation of why we get sick, this is accurate but misleading, since germs account for only part of all diseases. Nor does this theory tell us why we had the weakened immune system that allowed germs to infect us in the first place. Stressing the body by lack of sleep, poor nutrition, or lack of exercise can weaken the immune system, but are you aware that research has shown that just six minutes of a negative emotion can suppress the immune system for more than 21 hours?

2) The ‘out of the blue’ theory:

This provides a graceful covering for us, since we are claiming to have no idea of any connection between our lifestyle and the disease. (Surely it is nothing we have done. It just came on us out of the blue!) Yet everything on earth happens by cause and effect. The real problem with this theory is that it seems to be pointing a finger at God who lives in those ‘blue’ heavens. However, God is never the author of evil: Untainted by any shadow He is instead the Giver of ‘every good gift.’ Death, disorders and disease are consequences of the fall of man.

3) The punishment theory:

According to this theory we sinned, so God is punishing us. But that cannot be! God punished Jesus fully and completely at the cross for our sins; it would be a breach of justice for God to punish us when the penalty has already been paid in full by Another. A further problem is that it seems to suggest that God reaches, in anger, into His bag of punishments and puts one on us without regard to the natural order.

The Effect of Stress on the Body

The truth is that there is a natural connection between the way that we live and the diseases that come upon us. As much as 80% or more of all incurable diseases have a known mind-body connection. According to one study, stress related disorders account for 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians.

Consider these connections between disease and emotional stress: high blood pressure and heart disease correlate with anger and hostility; autoimmune disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus and arthritis are associated with bitterness, resentments and self-hatred; gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS, panic attacks and heart palpitations are related to anxiety; tension and migraine headaches, along with back pain, TMJ and Fibromyalgia are all associated with repressed anger.

Now reflect that our science is just beginning to discover the linkages between specific negative emotions and specific physical disorders, but already these connections can be made. Imagine how fine-tuned this may one day become.

Negative emotions damage the body. When we perceive a situation to be dangerous, adrenaline and cortisol are released by our bodies to facilitate ‘flight or fight’ responses. This is part of the General Adaptation Syndrome (G.A.S.) which gives us the extra ‘gas’ we need to power-up for potentially life-threatening situations. The problem is that most of the ‘dangers’ that cause stress cannot be resolved by fighting or running away!

A Mounting Sea of Stress

Modern life seems to be characterized by a mounting sea of stressful events and daily pressures coming at people from every conceivable direction. And yet the real culprit isn’t the situations which surround us – it is the emotional reactions going off inside of us.Two Hearts in One Believer

That is why Dr. Don Colbert entitled his book on the mind-body connection Deadly Emotions – not ‘deadly situations.’ Stating that emotions are not confined only to the mind or heart, he describes the physiological processes by which all emotions are translated into chemical reactions which occur at both the organ level and the cellular level! Apparently, the ‘most damaging’ emotions are feelings we might consider ‘garden variety’ such as un-forgiveness, anger, worry, fear and frustration. Clearly, no one with an emotional life is immune to the danger!

These negative emotions which place so much stress upon our bodies come in two forms: those that arise out of present situations and those that are ’embedded’ in our deepest memories. Doctors Alexander Loyd and Ben Johnson in their book, The Healing Code, state that embedded negative emotions are the most damaging kind, producing ‘physiological stress’ (at a subconscious level), as opposed to ‘situational stress’ (at the conscious level).

These unhealed memories are actually stored as false beliefs and negative images which form ‘destructive cellular memories’ in the cells of our bodies! In terms of the mind body connection they list three ‘one things’ which we need to know:

1) There is one thing that can heal anything – our immune system;
2) There is one thing that turns off the immune system – stress;
3) There is one thing that will turn the immune system back on – healing ‘the issues of the heart.’

Unmasking the Negative Emotions

From the Bible’s perspective there are a few ‘good’ emotions that we might perceive as negative ones due to the way that they feel: godly fear (awe and respect for God as both holy and all-powerful); ‘danger fear’ (in life-threatening moments); righteous anger (hating the sin, yet still loving the person); and pure grief (mourning that is uncontaminated by anger, fear, doubt or guilt). These emotions are actually very good to have even if they don’t feel like it at the time.