Mental Health is evolving into a major issue world wide. As per WHO, one in every four people around the world are affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. It is estimated that by 2020, mental health related diseases would rank second in the causes for global disease burden. While year on year the awareness around mental health is increasing, the stigma around it is still pretty strong, which makes it even more difficult to talk about the problem and look for solutions. Looking at all the statistics and data, my curious mind wondered … “What is the key to a healthy mind?” … "How can the mind be healthy if negative thoughts come so easily and positive thoughts are so elusive?" Ever wondered why it is so difficult to come out of negative thought process even though we know deep within, the power of positive thinking?
To understand the key to a healthy mind, it is important to first understand the evolution of mind, How does the mind work and only then can we look at the tools to improve mental health. So let us look at how it all began, shall we? A few centuries ago, there was a man who lived in the forest along with his family, let us call him Forrest Gump ☺ … His job was to go out in the jungle and look for food for his family (After all there was no internet and cloud kitchens in those days!). The jungle was full of dangers with the natural habitats and wild animals, who were on the prowl for their own food. Everyday was a battle of survival which would start with Forrest Gump leaving early in the morning for the jungle … His mind alert to every single input coming from the surrounding. A small movement in the bush would set his mind racing, churning out a flurry of thoughts …. “Is it a Tiger? Is it a fox? Is it bear? Do I escape? Do I run or do I fight?" His mind and body would be alert in anticipation, ready for action if something harmful emerged from the bushes, after all his survival depended on it. Day in and day out this alert mind kept him alive by thinking of all the possible things that can go wrong and helped him in escaping difficult situations. If you visualise mind as human, then that is how its formative years have been, being trained to think of all the things that can go wrong (i.e. negative thinking), so as to protect the physical self.
Now, fast-forward to today’s world, In the last 150 years there has been industrial as well as digital revolution, making the world a lot better place to live in terms of material aspects. The Forrest Gump of today doesn’t have to face the physical dangers of the past, he is more focussed on improving his life style by trying to earn more money to provide for a bigger house or a better car. In that sense, material things around him have evolved significantly, however his mind has not. His mind still reacts in the same way when it is under stress, thinking of everything that can go wrong, after all it has been trained to do that for centuries. The only difference is , the stress of today is caused by things like, driving in traffic or a presentation at office or a meeting with the superiors, which is not the same to the survival risk which the Forrest Gump of the past faced. No wonder then, the mind is continuously churning out thoughts , as we go about our day to day challenges, making us feel exhausted and unhealthy mentally.
If you take a step back and look at it objectively, the mind is doing it’s job perfectly well. It has been trained for centuries to protect us from any physical harm and for that it needs to keep thinking what can go wrong and prepare us to react to the dangers around. The issue is, we are directing the mind to react to every stress in the same way, as it has been trained to react when there is a danger to our physical life… Basically, we are not using our mind in the right way. I once heard a learned man saying, “Electricity if used properly, can give you light, however, the same electricity if not channelized properly, can be fatal for you” … The “Mind, as a tool” is somewhat similar, if used the right way, it can do wonders, however, if not channelized properly, it can be the cause of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, stress etc... So the next time the mind is under stress, take a deep breath and ask yourself “Is there a threat to my physical self?” if the answer is No, then can you let your mind be and not get bothered by it? If it looks too difficult, ask yourself, "How come I can let me heart be? After all it is also doing its job (i.e. beating and pumping the blood 24X7) but it does not bother me? Why can't I do the same thing for Mind?" This will set you on the path to accept the Mind for what it is i.e. a tool to generate thoughts and nothing more… And this is the base on which we can answer the next question i.e. how to use the mind in a right way and break the negative thinking cycle?
To be Continued ….
-- The Curious Mind
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