GIGO: Garbage In Garbage Out – Taking Control of Your Mental Health
I worked with one client who complained of nightmares but failed to attribute the slasher movies she watched every night as the cause. When she stopped watching slasher movies, the nightmares mysteriously disappeared. Other clients come to me hopped up on coffee, “energy” drinks and other forms of caffeine and complaining of anxiety and insomnia. Granted, such simple solutions are not usually found to emotional distress, but I’m amazed at how often people fail to consider the effects of things they expose themselves to can have on their emotional well-being. Consider what you are putting into your head and how it affects how you feel. The older I get the more particular I am about what I expose myself to.
Media
Consider the movies, video games, television, music and internet sites to which you are exposed everyday. How does watching people eat roaches affect you? Do you mindlessly surf the internet or gravitate toward quality sites which contribute to your comfort, education, imagination or sense of humor? Does your music inspire you? Calm you? Depress you? Agitate you? Bore you? I worked with a divorcee once who listened to nothing but sad country songs which only further exacerbated his grief. By contrast, I worked with another divorcee who found that an old 1950′s sitcom made him roar with laughter and comforted him with its familiarity. He bought the entire set and watched it through his grieving to comfort himself. Do you choose your media experiences by what’s most popular, what other people think you should like, or do you choose what nurtures you?
People
What kind of people do you surround yourself with? Depressed people? Complaining people? Angry people? Self righteous people? Critical people? Happy people? Passionate people? Carefree people? Calm people? People who inspire you or people who suck you dry? Are you in an abusive relationship? Are you surrounded by drug or alcohol abuse or violence? Look around and see what influence the people around you have on your mental health. It might be time to make some changes.
Environment
What kind of surroundings do you find yourself in most days? Is your workplace cluttered and ugly? Is your home a mess? Are you surrounded by unpleasant sights, odors, sounds? Are you trapped all day in florescent lighting or a cubicle? Are you sitting in uncomortable furniture? Are you surrounded by garish colors? Do you have clutter everywhere? Stacks of paperwork piled high? Think about the physical environments in which you spend the majority of your time. What are they contributing to your state of your mind? Peaceful or stressful? Comfortable or cramped? Natural light or harsh glare? Quiet or noisy? Beautiful or ugly? Orderly or chaotic?
Food
I harp on healthy eating and its effects of mental health so much, I won’t bore you with a complete rundown on it again. Basically, the neurotransmitters which contribute greatly to your moods are manufactured by your body from the nutrients you eat. Energy levels, mental functioning and moods are all made worse by eating poorly. For a complete article on how to eat well for mental wellness, please see my article, “Eating for Mental Health“.Making conscious choices about what you expose your mind and being to can greatly affect how you experience life. Exposing yourself to Garbage in (ugly sights, noxious odors, flat and artificial tastes, uncomfortable surroundings and unpleasant sounds) can only produce Garbage Out (sadness, anxiety, fatigue, irritability, frustration, hopelessness and general unhappiness). Control you input and change your output.
Related posts:
- GIGO: Garbage In Garbage Out – Taking Control of Your Mental Health
- Mental Health and Mental Illness in the Movies
- House Health Care Bill Mandates Study Of Mental Health Outcomes of Abortion, Adoption
- Health Care Reform and Mental Health–stolen from Kevin MD
- House Health Care Bill Pushes Mental Health Promotion, Nanny State In Workplace
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