Have you ever visited a mental health specialist when you were real low?
The answer to the question might be “NO” for most of you. ‘I will have an isolation period for a week to feel better or will stay out of reach from friends as they might be reason you are facing a problem’, these might be the thoughts coming to your mind in the 1st place in such situations. That is very normal, right? If it is so, then you might not be caring about your mental health much.
The concept still revolves around our society that it is very abnormal for a person to visit a psychiatrist. A person taking this step must be really a crazy jerk and s/he should be put in a mental asylum. You should stay away from him/her. ‘Mental Health’ is still a taboo, isn’t it?
Well Depression, anxiety, insomnia, rage, suicidal thoughts or risky behaviour, abusive behaviour, being extremely introvert, uncontrollable hormone functions (including sexual hormones), sudden changes in personality are all some signs of degrading mental condition which are definitely very difficult to observe from the outside.
Though your friend might seem to have a healthy physique if s/he workout on a regular basis, but that does not necessarily mean a healthy state of mind in 1st place. Positive mental health depends on millions of factors that we are encircled with and are engulfed in, which exerts its influence on us either positively or negatively. The release of dopamine (happy), serotonin (sad), adrenaline (anxiety) hormones depend on the way we respond to those circumstances.
Of course there's always a way to be healthy both physically and mentally and we are supposed to choose how we achieve that perfect level of equilibrium where our body and mind are perfectly interconnected and in proper balance. The simplest ways to a healthy mind are to be socially connected, quality sleep, brain healthy diet, yoga and meditation, and of course Optimism.
Dance, art and craft, writing, Sports, cooking, there are various skills or we can say hobbies that an individual accommodates in own self to feel creative and optimistic. And when we come to optimism, well it's a great word in itself. Remember that story if it a glass is half empty or half full? In a way both were correct and both were wrong. Being pessimistic is the easiest thing to do as we humans tend to move away from blames. Do not worry, it is a normal humanly characteristic that we possess, which can be changed. Not so easily though. Pessimists are said to be the realistic ones, as most of them prepare their minds for the worst. Where an optimist is the vulnerable one as a sudden turn of consecutive events might break them easily. Being positive all the time, try hard to be resilient enough to deal with all your problems, it is a little tough in human society to be an optimist.
But yes, being an optimist can be very effective on your psychological health, as the release of dopamine hormone affects our brain and body in a good way and also reduces the release of other negative hormones in our body.
"Hope is the thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson and "The darkling thrush" by Thomas Hardy are the two poetries that I came by long time ago during my +2 years of higher school and it taught me optimism the best. So here I am dropping them below for you:
#optimism #mental_health #humanity #psychology #psychological_health