Fasting is an act of not consuming food and drinks for a certain period of time. Based on that, it is logical to assume that fasting is likely to have some effects on us both physiologically and biologically.
When our body digests the nutrients we receive from the previous meal, they are turned into glucose in the liver to produce energy. When that is done, the extra turns into fat.
Of course, there are countless benefits to fasting, but it mostly benefits the prevention of diseases related to cholesterol and diabetes – plus it helps with weight loss.
When the body gets used to fasting, instead of using the energy on taking care of the calories we receive in everyday life, it uses that energy for taking care of the diseases in our body. It does this by fighting infections and purifying toxins from the intestines, kidneys and skin.
Defense mechanisms
Defense mechanisms help ward off unpleasant feelings or make good things feel stronger for the individual.
All interactions in our daily life, be it romantic or professional, bring positive and negative feelings at the same time. All emotions have a physical part too. For instance, we tear up when we are sad and breathe faster when we are afraid. The body and soul are inseparable.
When positive feelings are abundant, we connect with them less, as if they don’t exist. This cuts the connection between our body and soul. When negative feelings are too hard to cope with, we use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves. Intimacy, eating, drinking alcohol or smoking, and living fast are things that disrupt our contact with emotions in everyday life, disconnecting our mind, soul and body. During Ramadan, we slowed down, ate less, reduced smoking or drinking alcohol, and postponed sexual intercourse, thus we became more self-conscious. Hence, people may have become more aware of several negative feelings such as agitation, irritation and fatigue. In fact, those feelings were always there. We just used several tools to escape from them.
Skills for regulating emotions
Skills for regulating emotions can be explained as identifying, expressing, feeling, managing, calming and controlling emotions and the ability to read others’ feelings. This understanding starts to develop in the early years. Children quickly learn that life …….
Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/columns/how-fasting-affected-our-psychology