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Your Mental Health Diet
Did you know that your mental health depends heavily on your diet?
And I’m not talking about food.
While I am deeply interested in nutrition and there is mounting evidence that what we eat impacts our mental and emotional health, we’re talking about a different kind of diet today.
Your Mental Health ScoreCard
Confession time. I was a dedicated Cosmo reader as a young adult (and YM before that). One of the regular features that I looked forward to most was the quiz. I realized, even then, that there was absolutely no validity to them. Still, it was fun and interesting to take the quiz to see how I measured up on whatever it was.
In a similar spirit, this week, I present to you the Mental Health Score Card, a completely invalid yet, hopefully, useful tool.
The items I've included are legit; they're based on current science and leading theories about what contributes to and detracts from mental health. The scores, however, are weighted based on my own (professional) opinion of what matters most.
Tally your points and see how you stack up. Then, challenge yourself to raise your score over the next week. Finally, do some individualized but real research and notice your actual experience. Did your mental health improve?
Modern Life Is Taking a Toll on Mental Health
One of the luxuries of my job as a practicing psychologist is that I get to hear the behind-the-scenes, real deal, inside scoop from so many people. That allows me to see how truly similar we are - our fears, our joys, our longings, and our needs. Every so often it seems that everyone is struggling with the same thing...at the same time.
This week was one of those times.
It seemed like every time I turned around, I was having a conversation with someone about how hard it is to juggle all of the competing demands, the sky-high stress that creates, and the toll it's taking on quality of life and wellbeing.
Truth told, I've felt the crunch this week, too. It seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all of the things I want to do and, like so many others, I trimmed from the places that are actually supportive of my wellbeing.
That's a slippery slope.
Why I Hate Talking About Mental Health, from a Psychologist
It's that time of year again...Mental Health Awareness month.
As a practicing psychologist, I am quite literally in the business of mental health.
And yet, I hate it.
Not my job. I am fascinated by the brain, and I love helping others learn how their minds work and using that information to shift their life experiences.
I hate the term "mental health."
And don't get me started on "mental illness."
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