Mental Health is more than Mental – Part One

This article is for those who are looking for insights into living with, or supporting those living with Trauma and/or Chronic Illness.

Here is an audio recording for those who enjoy listening more than reading.

(NOTE* – I capitalize several words that have other cultural, spiritual, and contextual meanings).

What if the modern relationship with Mental Health and the process of Healing is not doing as well as we all have hoped?

In this three-part article, I am sharing some perspectives on and potential practices for interacting consciously with any aspect of Mental Health. I will also be sharing some Traditional Chinese medicine approaches to understanding Mind and Self in the Mental Health and Spiritual practice contexts.

I am not suggesting any treatment, or a recommendation for a clinically diagnosed condition. Although that is my day job, if we have worked together in real time, it is impossible for me to know what is best for you.

If you are looking for support, I work online with people from around the world.

What is Mental Health?

Objectively, throughout history, if you survived an animal attack or a severe injury, or if your behavior was ‘unique’ enough. you could become a Shaman. But if your behavior was not conducive to the tribe at all, or you became dangerous, you could be banished. Or, worse…

If throughout most of human history, you got depressed, anxious, or overwhelmed by trauma, you went to a healer or shaman. Back then, your shaman probably understands what you are going through, because they have probably had the same experience. They also have unexpected tools, can tells a meaningful story, provides human connection, offers ceremony and Sacred Space, some community integration, authentic acceptance, and hopefully some humor.

They might even make you fast alone for days on the side of a mountain.

Life has been challenging, for a very long time…

 What is Mind…?

That is probably one of the oldest questions ever though of, and is a central question to the longest living Spiritual traditions that still exist today.

Given that we are talking about Mental Health, let’s say that Mind is a combination of consciousness itself, the mental sequence of cognition, the emotions and sentiments moving through the Heart, and the subjective lens that we all experience as our ‘Self.’

Mind = Consciousness + Cognition + Feelings/Sensations + A Self

What Influences Your Experience of Mind?

Because of how we experience our lives today, I am going to ask you to pretend you are watching someone, ideally a complete stranger, on a homemade video like YouTube.

As you watch the video or imagine wholeheartedly, what happens to the person when you see them go through some extreme stress? It can be funny or serious, scary, or sexy.

Have fun with your imagination! It is actually good for your Mind.

What happens if your stressed out YouTube personality suddenly stops sleeping? What is insomnia like after a week, a month?

If they started using sugar as fuel, what do you see them eating to try and keep going?

Big stress, no sleep, comfort food is now comfort fuel. Now imagine them on way too much caffeine.

This get tougher…, now imagine them using alcohol to calm down and try to pass out for some rest. There are many other substances that can be used as a snooze button. You only need a snooze button when you are exhausted or overwhelmed.

Although that is a common journey for about 30% of adults at any given time, I am not speaking about this to point out something good or bad. I am not even offering an opinion about those circumstances or choices.

I am, however, inviting you to consider the experience of Mind for each of those scenarios.

Mental Health=Stress+Sleep+Diet/Sugar+Caffeine+Alcohol+Snooze Button (Overwhelm)

Can you embody and empathize animistically with each of those relative Mental Health states?

What is the subjective experience of each of those examples of burnout like?

Have experienced any of them yourself?

I am comfortable saying that I have. Which is why I am sharing these perspectives and practices with you.

Mental Health can be seen as a kind of social agreement.

As long as you live and behave within a certain group of parameters, you are adapting to modern life just fine. If your behavior becomes a burden or danger to others, you will need to be healed, or nowadays treated, or as has always been, you may be banished.

Industrial society faces many challenges, but our impatience with the consequences of how fast things are changing, is at the top of the list – at least for me.

Our present sense of Mental Health seems to be, if you can play along, let’s all et along. If you can’t play along, or simply don’t want to, or profoundly disagree with the way the game is played, you must be crazy.

And that makes sense, if you are in survival mode, fear social embarrassment, and are ok with 30% of your tribe (it’s more like 60%) struggling to adapt to their environment.

I will come back to environmental influences shortly. For now, I am suggesting that the boundaries we have about Mental Health are, to some degree, determined by a society and not the capacity of the person.

The Experience of Mental Health

Let’s say that Mental Health includes successfully adapting to your environment. That means being comfortable living in a city with the internet in 2024, for most people. I would also suggest that optimal Mental Health includes enough connection, guidance, and self-directed growth to experience your Autonomy and Self-Respect. Maybe even some Self-Love and Compassion for those who are not so fortunate.

That looks like a good start.

But all of that is objective. It was meant to be. It is a safe place to start.

Talking about your (or my) experience of our Minds and our subjective Mental Health is very contextual and profoundly environmental. 

In part two <?>

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