There is an inextricable link between your emotional health and your physical health.

Don’t believe me? Google “broken heart syndrome.”

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, BHS is “a temporary heart condition brought on by stressful situations, such as the death of a loved one.

People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they’re having a heart attack.” One part of the heart enlarges and doesn’t pump as well as usual. This is a physical manifestation of extreme emotional distress. It puts all those other observable physical responses to being dumped or losing a loved one into perspective -- the tears, lack of energy, inability to focus.

Local psychologist Albert Eaton, director of the Behavioral Science Family and Medicine Residency Program at Columbus Regional, said that physical manifestations of emotional responses are largely caused by our body’s natural stress response.

“When you perceive something as a threat -- and relationships that are not super healthy are often perceived as a threat -- you activate a part of your body that we usually associate with stress,” he said.

Conversely, if you’re in a healthy, positive and supportive relationship, your overall health -- mentally, emotionally and physically -- is better.

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