We Are All A Little Mental

A couple of weeks ago, my sister told me I had to take her slot in a half-day workshop.  I grumbled a bit.  I mean, come on, it was a Saturday! (I had important plans, particularly to catch up on lost sleep).  But I woke up bright and early and marched into a nice little basement hall (with ZERO signal!) for the MAGIS workshop, Head On:  Let's Talk About Mental Wellness.

It was the best half day I spent without coffee in months!

There are 4 aspects that determine our overall well-being:  Biological, Psychological, Social and Spiritual.  For each of these, there is some way to measure whether a person is within normal range.  Normally (pun intended), a person can fall within normal range in one or more aspects, but rarely for all.  Thus, no one is absolutely "normal".  We are all within one type of spectrum or another.  In fact, if you aren't a little bit mental, you're probably not human.

The MAGIS group put together a comprehensive team of experts that talked richly (albeit briefly) on an array of topics, sufficient for a very good and growingly important base knowledge on mental health.  Below are some of the important points I learned that day:

• Mental health is driven by shifts or changes -- minor or major -- in our BioPsychoSocialSpiritual aspects. It can be from just one aspect or a combination.  This means, that there are only factors associated with the development of mental illness, but no definitive cause.  
• Many people can live with multiple factors conducive for a mental illness or even show symptoms sometimes, but are not clinically (meaning: consistently exhibiting the symptoms) diagnosed.  They are able to cope with the symptoms.  Studies show these are people who typically have a good support system.
• There are no absolute cures for mental illnesses, only remedies.
• Diagnosis is made using phenomenological perspective, meaning: based on observed symptoms (relying heavily on the clinician's judgement) vs. biological markers.  There are no bio markers that can conclusively indicate a mental condition.
• There is a huge variety of mental disorders with overlapping symptoms. Thus, it can be a challenge to conclusively diagnose a person without spending sufficient time observing him/her.
• Feelings and thoughts are uncontrollable.  We can only control our behavior or actions/reactions in relation to these.
• 6 out of the 9 basic emotions are universally viewed as "bad".  Because of this, people maintain a negative connotation when feeling these emotions, curtailing their natural tendency to "feel" these and process completely.
• The brain is neuroplastic.  It is highly flexible and changeable.  Synapses can be trained, exercised and strengthened.
• We can get a visual of these strengths/weaknesses of different areas of our brain through a Brain Map!
• Impulsiveness, Autism and ADHD are due to under-stimulated (under-aroused) brains.
• Impulsiveness and creativity are in the same area of the brain. Notice how artists seem to be a little bit more crazier? (Hehe!)
• Everything is dual in nature. Recognizing and accepting this helps us to deal with this duality better.
• Everyone is continuously looking for healing.
• Trauma is stored in the body and can manifest in different ways, including stiffness in movement.
• Movement creates change and, thus, can initiate a change in mindset.
• The expressive arts help access the internal.
• All art is good art and is always a good starting point of healing.
• As adults, the only time we allow ourselves to play is when we are around kids.  It is important to give ourselves a space to play and to be deliberate about playing for ourselves.
• These are the 7 levels of our existence.  All of these are important and we need to be mindful and actively cultivating the health of each.

1. Physical body
2. Breath
3. Mind (as in the function of the brain)
4. Intellect (judgment)
5. Memory
6. Ego (how you separate yourself from others; feeling of superiority or inferiority is an expression of Ego)
7. Spirit (that level of our existence that is most connected to all things)

Phew!  It's a laundry list, isn't it?  It's a barrage of knowledge nuggets that seem so diverse that it's easy to lose that hint of connection. I'm sitting here, wondering how I can elegantly tie it all together and close this blog.

What did I learn?  

First, when God said He created each of us uniquely, He wasn't kidding.  Therefore, there is no such thing as normal.  Each person was given a unique set of graces and abilities, designed for a very specific purpose in His overall plan.  Armed with these, He has set each of us on our very own journey.  Yes, our paths converge sometimes, but the entire journey is ours alone.  

Second, He didn't create us perfect (But what is perfect, anyway?), just perfect for our roles.  He purposely created us with some kinks and chinks, because we were meant to need each other.  We were meant to help and support each other.  We have our own struggles, most of them hidden (like icebergs) from even the closest people in our lives.  Once we are able to recognize and accept our struggles, we are able to seek, recognize and accept help from others.

Third, knowing and accepting these as universal truths should make us more compassionate and prompt us to give more allowances to each other, to #ChooseKind always. Deliberately.    

(Oh, and I think I have PMDD - Premenstrual  Dysphoric Disorder. Yes, it's an official mental disorder since 2013, apparently).