5 Ways Love Can Help Every Aspect of Your Health

On February 14 of each year, we celebrate love on Valentine’s Day. Although some people reject the idea of celebrating love on just one day a year, love can surprisingly have a profound effect on every aspect of our health.

Studies have shown that happily married couples get more restful sleep and that love releases hormones that help people relax, increase their immune function, and help them ward off disease. Love is an essential part of a productive and well-lived life. Here are five ways to affect every aspect of your health.

Physical

As stated above, love profoundly affects a person’s physical health. It helps lower their blood pressure, releases dopamine, the hormone responsible for pleasure and bonding, and promotes better sleep. People who are in at least one supporting, loving relationship have also statistically been shown to prevent severe diseases such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and various cancers.

Studies show that people in secure, loving relationships have an average of better overall health than those who are lonely or in complex relationships. If you are suffering from a disease, having loving, supporting friends and family around you that you know love you could make the difference between winning the battle with the disease and simply surviving.

Mental

People in loving relationships tend to have a better mental state of mind. Having supportive, safe people in your life can reduce the risk of various mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. They tend to help people shift their perspective to the positive rather than the negative because they positively look at life, mainly in part due to the love and support of others.

Because of their positive perspective, they tend to look on the bright side. When life gets tough, they don’t despair or turn to self-pity, which can lead to other health mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression. Instead, they look at the positive things with hope and anticipation.

People in loving relationships also know they have people they can count on if times get tough. Having supportive people around you can make the difference between a person who is depressed and someone happy and healthy. They tend not to have cognitive distortions such as all-or-nothing or catastrophic thinking. Instead, they tend to see things as they are and can also brainstorm practical solutions for resolving an issue.

A healthy mental health outlook can do wonders for a person’s life. Anxiety and depression are two disorders that could be debilitating if left unchecked. Even with the help of medication, anxiety and depression can be challenging to overcome.

But it depends on your perspective and outlook on life. A person with a more positive outlook on life who can troubleshoot issues and resolve them effectively tends to go through life better than those who think the worst of situations and people.

Emotional

Love has a profound effect on people’s emotional health as well. Love is a natural mood lifter, so people in loving sporting relationships tend to feel happier and better about life.

When people feel loved, they are more apt to show love to others. This changes their emotional health from anger, bitterness, and rage to a person who can easily forgive. Forgiveness is the key to emotional wellness.

The person who can analyze their heart and forgive anyone of even the most challenging offense will more than likely live a life of emotional freedom and wholeness. Many people get stuck living life carrying a heavy weight of unforgiveness because of bitterness, rage, and anger.

Many people believe that if they forgive their offender, it’s letting them off the hook and not requiring them to receive a penalty for what they’ve done. However, forgiveness does not have to imply that you’re letting a person off the hook, and anyway, it’s more for your benefit than theirs. If you want better mental and emotional health, try forgiveness.

Also, people who love have better self-esteem than those who do not. When people feel loved by others, they are more likely to love themselves. This allows them to enjoy loving relationships because they have been loved.

Financial

Love can also have a profound effect on a person’s financial health. A person who is not in a loving relationship tends to turn inward on themselves. Because they are trying to find love, they tend to be self-centered. This involves frivolous spending and indulging in pleasures because they want to soothe the void of not feeling love. However, people who feel like they’re in loving relationships have more of a servant attitude and give to others.

People who love themselves and have good emotional health will tend to love others because of the love they freely have received. Therefore, they are more giving and generous with their funds. They’re more likely to give to mission work to allow the gospel to be preached.

When people feel love, they tend to show it through their finances. They often give generously to others who need it. People in loving relationships use their money more wisely. They offer to others because they want to help those in need. This also improves their emotional health because they benefit from being servants, giving to others, and meeting needs in people’s lives they could not meet on their own.

Spiritual

Love is the key to a healthy spiritual life as well. Jesus was the ultimate example of love. He loved people so much that he gave his life for them to have access to His Father and receive salvation from their sins. His life of generosity, serving, sharing, and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit is (among other things) a pattern for us to follow on our spiritual journey.

People who are in loving relationships understand God’s love for them. They can more easily give love to others because they know God’s love for them. They’re easy to forgive because they know God’s forgiveness of them.

Furthermore, a person in a loving relationship has no problem coming to the Father with their problems. They cry out to Him when life gets tough. They accept His correction. They follow His example and give to others freely.

This allows them to have good relationships in their lives as well. Not only can they be counted on to be reliable and present with someone going through a tough time, but because of how they treat others, others reciprocate that love and trust. Therefore, when life gets tough for them, they know that their support system will be there to pray for them, urge them, and celebrate with them and their triumphs.

Many Bible passages talk about love. Consider the following examples.

Greater love has no life in this; he laid down his life for his friends. – John 15:3, NIV

What great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God, and that’s what we are! – 1 John 3:1, NIV

Take some time to scour the Bible for more verses on love.

Write them down and put them throughout your home. Remember daily that love and support are the keys to a good spiritual life. You can also enjoy rich and loving relationships with the love and support of a spouse, friends, and other family members.

Love is the key to many aspects of our lives. People who don’t have love in their lives rob themselves of the beauty love offers. Without love, the world would be a dull place. Seek to foster loving relationships and reap all the above benefits.