When most individuals embark on a wellness journey, it is often one that begins with a diet change – maybe now they eat more greens, or consistently make an effort to increase their water intake. Concurrently, they might notice an adaptation of some workout or exercise routine, a way to hack into the physical form of the body through more direct means. Few, however, consider the body and mind as a unit, and hence we lack motivation to pursue a route that focuses on gaining some form of mental clarity – oftentimes we attribute any mental changes we experience through the course of our “health” journey as a result of the actual physical effort we see ourselves putting in. We go to the gym, we get more fit, we think we should automatically become happier. We eat more lean meats and fruits in a day and expect that, just like our bodies, our minds will be sharper and brighter.
It’s time to step out of that line of logic…
In my own experiences, as a long-time gym goer and clean eater, I sometimes found myself questioning why aspects of my mental health still remained just as constructed as before my habits changed. Sure, I found myself able to focus on my work intricately after adhering to a more enriching lifestyle, and yes, my sleep quality did improve greatly, which might have led me to find more mental clarity. But with the human mind, there is always space for more – a way we can find improvement in the way we think, comprehend, and approach. What I wish I knew earlier was that the mental mind is something abstract and outwardly different from the physical human body. We can take overlaps to ensure that the basic functions of our mental health are met; we can drink enough water, eat enough food, get enough sleep, socialize, etc. But how do your needs change as you experience emotion, life changes, or fluctuations of your own mental health? The answer is simple: you have to participate in some form of self inquiry.
If we really believe that true health is customizable to our own needs, then we need to be able to consider all parts of health, including how we think about it, and what we do to establish our healthy habits themselves. In order to cultivate this process, we need to focus on intentional self-reflection, which can be performed in a series of manners, my favorites being, journaling/expressive writing, meditation, and conversation. By giving our minds a way to compartmentalize our experiences and goals for ourselves, we can better understand how we process information, and use that as an advantage when crafting wellness that is sustainable and fulfilling to our greatest sense of self.
When deciding how to approach this facet of wellness, like all things in this sphere, you must ask yourself what realistically aligns with your mode of expression best. Selecting a mode of expression that is comfortable and safe to you is ultimately what is going to benefit you in the long term. If I am not a writer, and I cannot see myself pursuing any form of still retrospection, perhaps conversation can become my ally in this department, and so forth. The choice is entirely the users, and the beauty of such practices is that they can all be intertwined or definitively separated.
Pen and paper make a great companion, so do keyboards and fingers. My sister likes to journal about the happenings of her day, focusing on details relevant to her mood and behavior, but I also know that I could never do that, as I would find it to be too tedious. Hence, my resolution is poetry. I like the freedom of having no grammatical restraints, and the ability to be metaphorical in my words, as I usually find myself making comparisons in my thoughts.
Whatever the selected method of writing, the goal is still achieved; get your ideas out of your head and onto the table. Once something is written down it loses the ability to slip away from memory as easily, and we can laminate it for inspection of our motives, and feelings. If I sit down to write and notice that my references are centered along a gloom or certain tone of mellowness, and I do not already feel that emotion, reading my work forces me to ask myself about the root of my creation – what am I really trying to express here? Is it a reflection of my own experiences or rather a collection of the energy I felt today?
Once I can answer these questions, I can move on, knowing that if I am more angry or irrational on this day or week, maybe I partake in physical activities that are more strenuous, as those are cathartic to me. Or, if I walk away identifying my feelings as something happier, maybe I decided to maintain the routine of that week to see what corners of it will continue to serve me moving into the next. You do not, however, have to know exactly what your feelings are either. Perhaps this is just a mode of gathering some self awareness for your actions moving forward to be more in alliance with your values or goals. Writing down your thoughts can also help unload the mental dialogue that we often keep to ourselves, making room for upcoming experiences to be felt to their fullest extent. It gives us the gift of being present.
Alongside writing comes my newest addition to my own wellness, meditation. Mediating is not for the weak minded, but the weak minded should be the first to start. Guided meditations offer a great way for beginners to immerse themselves in the practice and really test the limitations of their patience and their ability to self-regulate. One thing I really appreciate about mediation is the noticeable progress and mental gains one can receive upon regular practice. Patience, and calmness are like muscles of the mind – if we do not work them regularly, they atrophy and leave us timid and anxious.
Despite living a life in the office, and being on their feet all day long, there are millions of individuals in our population who still claim to receive the benefit of a calm and peaceful body and mind with the use of a simple and effective meditative practice. I am one of them, and I only need ten minutes of my morning to feel better equipped to handle the stress of my curriculum and activities. As a self-identified emotional sponge, I tend to marinate in the emotions felt by those closest to me. I will be the first to admit I cannot compartmentalize emotions as neatly as I would like to, yet I found that intentionally sitting down (or lying in Savasana) for ten minutes a day was enough to recalibrate my mental clarity and wring out my mind. It feels fake, until you try it. Nothing compares to the moment of peace that washes over the mind and body after getting up from a good meditation. There is nothing more beautiful than the silence that plays under closed eyes when you transfer your mind to the realm of safe being.
Benefits of a calm mind are more so apparent in the physical body than is obvious; keeping a calm mind allows for the regulation of certain hormones, such as cortisol, which can then decrease inflammation in the body and allow an individual to see greater physical benefits in muscle mass, sleep quality, and emotional regulation in the body. Another remarkable example is how a calm mind can lead to balancing of female hormones and prostaglandins near menstruation, which can go as far as alleviating PMS symptoms for women who might otherwise experience them. Meditating is the most versatile instrument in the adult toolkit to success – it is enriching and it is immediate, but it takes practice and time.
Lastly, another preferred path to stimulate mental processing is simply conversing with others. This is perhaps the most intuitive means of expression; however, human beings are the least likely to talk about their own wellbeing with those around them. This is where we often see the giant stigma wrapped around therapy and psychiatry, when in reality, both are just tapping into human functioning with the same goal of promoting wellness. Maybe you want to see a therapist or a professional, and I think that is great for individuals who are self aware enough to seek that style of care. However, most people our age lack that kind of retrospection, and so they need to move on to the descendant of therapy: talking with friends.
Think about it this way, imagine you just experienced the worst break up in your track record of monumental relationships –who do you want to express this to? Your best friend (I hope –or your mother, up to personal preference I suppose). What I am suggesting here is expanding conversation beyond those really tough times. We have to get comfortable enough to talk about details, to talk about feelings, to talk about what bothers us, what we hate, what we love, what we need – not only in relation to relationships, but in tandem with even the littlest things that spark some sort of curiosity in our minds day-to-day. Talk about how you felt after you bombed that chemistry exam, debrief how your coworker made you feel valued after they addressed you in a meeting, rejoice over the fact that it is a sunny Friday.
In short, hold yourself responsible for feeling your feelings, expressing them, and then connecting them to what you know about yourself. I always say my greatest moments of self reflection happen when I am listening to my friends describe an experience. It tells me a) what they value and the type of people I allow in my space, and b) how I react to it, as a reflection of my own lines of logical reasoning and empathy. Conversing is just a part of the human experience, but we have the ability to give it another lens from which to better understand ourselves too.
Mental wellbeing is half of true health, and by allowing yourself the opportunity to get to know you, as an individual, you give yourself the ability to become a healthier member of a society in the process. At the end of the day, a well regulated mind can perform wonders for the physical body, it is the ultimate supplement and in some ways, self awareness is also a leafy green.