Don’t forget the human

Did you know that there is zero science to support the above beliefs about what we call mental health?

Instead, there is research that confirms that new neural pathways are formed in response to new information or new experiences. It’s called neuroplasticity.

Other research confirms that the physical gesture of a smile, regardless of your emotional disposition, releases feel-good hormones into your brain which uplifts your mood. Try it. Smile at yourself in the mirror without having any reason to smile.

When we try to rationalise life through the lens of science, we discover technically fascinating facts about the functioning of the human body, but we lose sight of the human in that body.

Feelings of anxiety, depression, rage and more, including observing others to behave in a narcissistic or bipolar manner is very real.

But it’s critical to understand that it is simply what we observe regarding their response to very real emotional experiences for them.

Depression is the absence of hope, anxiety is the fear of not being able to cope with potential outcomes that we are facing, and emotional duress about the stressors of life is what we call mental illness.

We describe what we experience in others or in ourselves as bipolar, or narcissistic behaviour, not because that is who we/they are, but because that’s how we experience that part of life.

It doesn’t mean that we’re not dealing with very real fears or duress that causes us to behave in that way.

However, when we label behaviour, we lose sight of the legitimate human experience behind that behaviour.

No one ever behaves badly when they feel appreciated, significant, or understood.

Bad behaviour or emotional duress simply means that as a human, we’re struggling to reconcile the experiences of life with our efforts to create a good life for ourselves, or others.

Medication, affirmations, supplements, and deliberate exercises to cope with such emotional duress will only ever provide interim relief.

If we don’t resolve the root cause of that duress, those interim measures become lifelong chronic crutches.

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #lifecoaching #zaidismail #theegosystem #ownyourlife #narc