The Mind-Body Connection: How Physical and Mental Health Intertwine with Jordan Hoffman, LCSW

Have you ever noticed your shoulders tensing up during a stressful moment? Or felt your heart racing before a big presentation? These aren't coincidences—they're powerful examples of the mind-body connection at work in your daily life.

In this enlightening conversation with Jordan Hoffman, Director of Behavioral Health Services at Medlink, we uncover the science behind how our physical and mental health systems communicate and influence each other constantly. Jordan brings over a decade of experience working in mental health and shares practical, accessible techniques for using this connection to your advantage.

What makes this discussion particularly valuable is how it transforms complex neurological concepts into simple daily practices. When anxiety strikes and your thoughts become overwhelming, Jordan explains how focusing on physical interventions—like paced breathing, lowering body temperature, or releasing muscle tension—can create a backdoor approach to calming your mind. "If we can't tell the brain to stop being anxious, can we tell the body to calm?" This powerful question becomes a gateway to understanding how we can influence our mental state through physical awareness.

You'll discover why mindfulness forms the foundation of a strong mind-body connection and learn specific grounding techniques that engage your senses to pull you out of anxious thought patterns. Jordan also shares accessible starting points for those not ready for therapy but wanting to strengthen this connection, including breathwork, yoga, meditation, and digital mindfulness tools that can integrate seamlessly into busy lives.

Subscribe to our podcast for more insightful conversations about health topics that affect your daily life, and visit medlinkga.org for additional resources to support your wellness journey. What physical signals might your body be sending you today that deserve your attention?

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
Welcome to the Medlake Health Connections
podcast, where we explore healthand wellness topics that matter
to our community.
I'm your host, Tangela, andtoday we're talking about the
mind-body connection, howphysical health and mental
health are linked, and whycaring for both is so important.
To help us dive into thisconversation, I'm joined by
Jordan Hoffman, our Director ofBehavioral Health Services.

(00:24):
Jordan, thank you so much forbeing here.
To start, can you tell ourlisteners a little about
yourself and your role here atMedlink?

SPEAKER_01 (00:31):
Thank you, Tangel.
I'm happy to be here.
Um, so I have been with Medlinkfor a little over eight years.
I've worked in the mental healthfield for well over ten years
now.
I can't probably if I did themath, I don't really want to.
Um, I love working withindividuals and really helping
them with their individualgoals.
Um very big on just howeverything that we do affects

(00:51):
ourselves.
Part of why I love working withMedlink is we look at the whole
person.
So how the their physical healthaffects the mental health, which
of course, you know, and everylittle thing is connected to one
another.
So, you know, if you're havingissues with your feet and that's
diabetic related, who need tosee for that?
And then you need to see apodiatrist and you need to see a
therapist because you'restressed about it, and just
everyone working together is soawesome.

SPEAKER_00 (01:13):
Thanks for sharing that, Jordan.
So let's start with themind-body connection.
How would you explain that ineveryday terms?

SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
I mean, one of the things that I think is great
about the term mind-bodyconnection is the layman term
really is right there.
It is just the idea, and that'swell-supported research, that
our mind and our body are veryconnected.
So our physical health isaffected by our mental health,
and our mental health isaffected by our physical health.
But even on a more minute level,what we do physically can
influence how we feelemotionally in the moment, and

(01:41):
vice versa.
So if we physically feelstressed, that's gonna make us
mentally feel stressed.
And then we use that a lot indifferent types of therapy to
really help the person learn toregulate because we can also
sort of flip it on its head andhow if we act differently or
physically do thingsdifferently, or if we think
differently, it affects theother.

(02:02):
So we only have to affect one toreally create change.

SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
That makes sense.
Can you give us some examples ofhow this connection is used in
therapy or ways someone couldpractice it in daily life?

SPEAKER_01 (02:13):
I think a great example is when somebody's
having intense anxiety or evenlike true panic attacks that
they may not even know whythey're having it.
And in that moment, thosethoughts either are so jumbled
or blanked out, or there's justno way they can stop the
thoughts.
They can't bring that anxiousmind down any, they can't shut
it down.
So instead, when we have likethe mind-body connection, one

(02:34):
thing that's really great we cando is okay, we can sort of
forget about the mind.
Don't worry about stopping theanxious thoughts or trying to
create them because some peopleit's the anxiety like blanks out
their mind.
They have no thoughts, theydon't even know, they just feel
panic.
And so instead, it's can wefocus on the body?
Okay, can you take deep,soothing breaths?
You know, pace breathing inthrough the nose for five, hold

(02:56):
it for five, exhale for five.
Can you bring down your bodytemperature?
Very often when we're anxious oroverwhelmed, our body
temperature rises.
We get really hot.
So if we drink really coldwater, using cold compresses to
try to bring down the bodytemperature.
If we can relax the body, can wephysically think about okay,
where am I holding tension in mybody?
Because that tension is feedingdirectly into the nervous

(03:18):
system.
That physical tension is tellingthe brain I'm anxious about
something.
So if we can't tell the brain tostop being anxious, can we tell
the body to calm?
So if we start calming the body,the mind starts relaxing with
it.
Um, it's really fascinating.
You can see it like on anyindividual level.
Like I know for myself I can bedriving down the road and all of
a sudden I'm feeling like reallytense, like mentally.

(03:39):
I know I'm anxious about likethe traffic or the frustration
or whatever it is, and then Irealized, oh, like my shoulders
are at my ears right now.
I am like tensed up.
Okay, can I relax my shouldersdown?
Can I relax into my seat?
And then it's like, oh, whoosh,okay, I feel better.
Like just in it kind of chickenor the egg.
Was did I start tensing up and Ifelt anxious?
Did I feel anxious and starttensing up?

(04:00):
We don't really know, but eitherway, we just have to affect one
of them.
Um, and that's kind of how ithelps in sort of a just sort of
like a quick moment thing, butthere's also a lot about the
mind-body connection in terms ofjust the overall, like
day-to-day things that we do,and that help also with like
chronic conditions, you know,management of chronic pain, uh,
general stress um management andreal emotion regulation and how

(04:23):
that is impacted by what we doboth in terms of our mind and
our body.

SPEAKER_00 (04:28):
Got it.
Okay, and part of this seems tobe about self-awareness.
How do you help someone startnoticing their own thoughts,
feelings, or body signals?

SPEAKER_01 (04:38):
I do a lot of work with mindfulness, which is you
know, the general idea oflearning and training your brain
to be very present.
Because it does take practice,you know, it takes that
awareness of the here and now.
And I think it's and it's reallydifficult in today's time, you
know, how often are we doingmultiple things?
How often is what we're thinkingabout what we're doing?
You know, how much are we intune with not just our body, but

(04:59):
the present moment, you know?
Um so we can there's a lot ofdifferent ways of practicing
mindfulness, you know, that justusing what we call grounding,
which would be our sensory, whatdo you five things you see, four
things you feel, three thingsyou hear, two things you smell,
um trying to use our physicalsenses to draw our attention to
the present.
Um it also has the added effect,which is just um if we are

(05:20):
feeling really anxious orsomething in that moment, all of
our senses are part of, are notpart of the limbic system and
our emotions are called in thelimbic system of the brain.
So if we shift our focus andwe're stuck in the limbic
system, we can sort of helpshift out of it by shifting into
one of the other lobes of thebrain, like the occipital lobe,
where we, which is where sight'sprocessed, or um the temporal
temporal lobe, temporal lobe,um, where we hear, so that it's

(05:44):
actually shifting us out of thelimbic system um and getting
into some of the other parts ofthe brain that are not
emotionally based.

SPEAKER_00 (05:51):
Okay, and let's say someone wants to try this but
isn't quite ready to see atherapist.
What are some ways they couldstart practicing the mind-body
connection on their own?

SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
Things like breath work, you know, focus on our
breathing, how to take pacebreathing, deep inhales, um,
other activities like yoga,meditation, um, that all sort of
focus on that connection of themind-the-body, but also a lot
about the present moment.
You know, yoga is a greatexample of it's very much about
your breath and about movementin that moment.

(06:20):
Um, so there's a lot of justexercise people can do on their
own.
There's mindfulness apps thatyou can do.
Um, I have one that like sendsme every couple days, like every
day, I get like a mindfulnessmoment text message that like
reminds me to be mindful.
I think it technically comes forhealth insurance.

unknown (06:36):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (06:36):
Um is where I got it from.
Um it's like mindfulness moment,and it just tells you like a
little mindful phrase, but itjust comes the text message, and
it's also a great way just toremind yourself to check in.
So, like when I get it, I'mlike, oh, okay, that's a great
moment for me.
Just like, can I pause for asecond to kind of check in with
myself, check in with how I'mfeeling?
Um, can I check in with what'sgoing on throughout the day?
And what do I need to do for myown like self-care and for that

(06:59):
um mindfulness?
And part of when we have thatmindfulness and we start having
awareness, it's it really helpsagain with that mind-body
connection because there isresearch that shows that people
who have a strong mind-bodyconnection have that real
internal awareness, typically dohave better stress management,
um, improved sleep, and part ofit being because they're in tune

(07:21):
with noticing like those littlethings of I'm slightly stressed,
I'm slightly overwhelmed.
What am I doing to correct that?
Or am I letting it build up?
You know, that we think aboutpeople when they're struggling
with sleep, if they're feelingreally stressed and overwhelmed,
or when people might hit thattipping point where they have an
emotional reaction, that whetherit's an angry outburst, or they

(07:42):
cry, or they just need to theykind of shut down, how much of
that buildup that's happenedthat they weren't checking in
with themselves and taking careof.

SPEAKER_00 (07:49):
Thank you so much, Jordan, for sharing your insight
today.
This was such a valuablediscussion about the mind-body
connection, self-care, andmindfulness.
I know our listeners will walkaway with a lot of practical
tips they can apply in their ownlives.
Thank you for tuning in to theMedlink Health Connections
podcast.
We hope you found today'sepisode informative and
inspiring.

(08:10):
If you enjoyed the show, pleasesubscribe, rate, and leave a
review on your favorite podcastplatform.
Remember, the information sharedin this podcast is for
educational purposes only andshould not replace professional
medical advice.
Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for aiding
medical concerns.
Stay connected with us on socialmedia and visit our website at

(08:31):
medlinkga.org for more resourcesand updates.
Until next time, stay healthyand take care.