What is mental health anyway? Who decides that…I mean aren’t we all individuals wearing big people pants and can do what we want when we want it? Yes. Well, yes with a big but. It sounds right, that we decide what’s good for us and that’s what’s mentally healthy. That can be a true statement. But if we step back lots of times, it’s not us consciously deciding for ourselves, is it?
“Well what do you mean, I’m deciding what I’m doing, aren’t you?” I can say that I am, but are you? (That is provocative…provoking you to think).
Ok, now, I will be pretty specific.
For our ENTIRE lives, since the second we are born, our cute little brains are receiving information…like a lot of information. I mean our brain is a giant filter taking in every single thing out there, in us and on us and filtering out almost all of it so that our delicate consciousness won’t be driven mad by the feeling of clothes on our skin or our own heartbeat, you get what I’m saying. This is a big subject so I’ll leave that for a future post.
Back to it… So we receive this information through our senses. It’s like raw footage, if you will. Our brains then decide for us what that means. It’s really what it does for a living. Our brain is a meaning making machine. It’s supposed to help us with shortcuts in life, I guess that can be helpful, the brain knows what its job is. Keeping us safe and able to react quickly to perceived dangers.
But what are these short cuts?
There are a lot, but here we focus on the one that can get us where we want or can stop us from ever getting there. Our beliefs.
Small undramatic word you think? Maybe, on paper, but no doubt, I mean zero doubt, your beliefs led you through your day, controlling every emotion you had, likely all your decisions and even your thoughts.
Let’s talk about them.
This is my first post. I’m going to cliffhang it right there and come back for some more fun soon.
Thanks!