Discover the 5 factors that impact your mental health the most. Whether you know it or not!
As of 2021, 19% of American adults are experiencing a mental illness. 46% - almost half - of full-time American workers are suffering from mental health issues.
If COVID did one thing positive, it was to bring out the issue of mental health front and center for all of us. Before that, many of us were suffering in silence due to the stigma associated with admitting that we were struggling.
So what to do?
America is the melting pot of cultures. We’ve adopted food and clothing from all around the world. Can we adopt wisdom from around the world too? Especially wisdom that can help with the most pressing issues of our time.
For thousands of years - as long as humans have existed - people have been angry, regretful, sad, fearful, anxious, etc. People have done things that have not been in their best interest.
And just like the modern-day scientists trying to crack the code on mental well-being, wise people from the past have also helped guide human beings on understanding themselves and being happy.
Could we pick up some things from the wise folks of the past and apply them to our present-day lives?
What affects our minds?
Some of the ideas here have been validated by modern researchers, but if we observe, all of them are our felt experiences. Let’s dive in.
1. Food
Around the world, in different cultures, there is a saying along the lines of, “We are what we eat.” Traditional systems of medicine from China (TCM) and India (Ayurveda) place a lot of emphasis on using food as medicine.
What sometimes gets missed is that this is applicable to our minds as well!
When we eat food that is light and easy to digest, we feel light. When we eat stale food, we feel dull and lethargic. If you want, you can do this experiment - for one week, just eat a day-old pizza and nothing else, and notice how you feel.
In fact, just imagine doing this and notice how you feel!
In the same way, how the food is cooked and who cooks it has an impact. We all know that Grandma’s cooking or Mom’s food has a special something in it. It isn’t the recipes or the spices. We can taste the love in their cooking.
Isn’t it conceivable that the opposite may also be true? That, when the cook is upset or angry or sad, the food carries those same feelings?
These days mindful eating is being promoted quite a bit. When we sit and eat, with all our awareness, the food tastes better and our body and mind respond to it better. If we rush to eat or eat while distracted (in front of a TV, or a screen, or while driving), we often end up overeating.
In many traditions around the world, people say a prayer or chant a mantra before they eat. The idea behind these practices is that it puts us in the right frame of mind - settled, grateful, peaceful - before we eat. One of the common pre-meal prayers in southeast Asia is “anna daata sukhi bhava.” Which means, may the one who has provided this food (the farmer) be happy.
So, the practical takeaway from this is to pay attention to what you eat, how you eat, and how that food is cooked.
2. Space
Have you noticed that you feel different when you are in nature versus when you are at a bar?
You go to a place where people have been meditating, and suddenly you start to feel light and pleasant. You go to a place where people have been arguing, and suddenly you start to feel irritated too.
The space we are in has an impact on our minds.
The fields of Feng Shui (China) and Vastu (India) are based on this principle. One of the basic tenets of both systems is cleanliness.
I’m not asking you to get a dozen laughing Buddha statues or do something fancy. Just notice how you feel when you are in different areas in your house/office etc. Notice how you feel when a room is dirty versus when a room is clean.
3. Time
If you have a teenager at home, or if you’ve been a teenager yourself, you know that the turmoil of those years is just a phase. It will pass. Taking this long-term view gives us the serenity to take the ups and downs of the teenage years in stride.
So is the case with our minds too.
If I look back at my life, I can notice how there were different phases. Times when I felt really happy. And, even though the external situations remained pretty much the same, there were times when I felt depressed.
We all have experienced “off” days, and then in two or so days the state of the mind changes!
When the time is favorable for us, even our enemies can come to our help. When time is not favorable for us, even our best friends turn into enemies.
Traditional Indian astrology is based on this phenomenon. Good, authentic astrologers are a rare commodity these days. As a result, the field is pretty misunderstood and misused.
But in its true form, astrology is about measuring time, studying the impact of time on the mind, and then devising ways to counter that effect. It is very fascinating.
4. Company we keep
Have you ever had this kind of experience? Say, you have no interest at all in cars. But all your friends are really into cars. Pretty soon you’ll also start talking about cars.
I noticed this just yesterday. My 10-year-old son has been watching YouTube videos on Minecraft… only because all his friends are into Minecraft. We, on the other hand, don’t even have video games at home!
In self-development circles, it is a common saying that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.
It is not necessary to physically spend time with them, all we could be doing is giving them space in our minds!
The entire marketing industry - direct response marketing, influencers, etc. - all these are based on this principle.
On a more practical level, just ask yourself this question. Do the people in my life uplift me? Do their values align with what I want for myself?
One definition of a true friend is this: If you have a problem and you share it with someone, notice how you feel afterward. If you come away with a feeling like it is the end of the world, then that person is not your true friend. If you come away feeling that it is nothing, and you can overcome it, then that person is your true friend.
5. Wisdom
This is the most powerful influence on our mind. Wisdom that we have heard or imbibed in our lives comes to our rescue when we need it the most.
So, for example, I’m sure you’ve heard that we all will die 😉
Whether someone is rich or poor, whether someone is smart or dumb, whether healthy or sick, everyone will eventually die.
The doctor also dies. The sick person also dies.
When we reflect on this truth, that sooner or later we’ll all be under the mud, then we experience a sense of freedom. Our mind doesn’t get caught up in the small stuff. Of course, it is easy to twist and misuse this wisdom, but you know better 😀
Another example of wisdom is to know that everything is changing. Good times have come and gone. Hard times have come and gone. In fact, it is the hard times that gave us depth and made us stronger.
If we look back at our own lives, everything in it has changed. Our likes and dislikes have changed. Our view of the world and our opinions have all changed.
When we start to recognize this, then we don’t get swayed by the ups and downs of life. If something works out how we want it to, great. If it doesn’t, great.
Keeping in mind all these factors that affect our minds, we can start to do simple things to take care of our mental health. Pay attention to the food. Pay attention to the space we are in. Pay attention to the company we keep. Sometimes NOT pay attention to the mind. And, every once in a while reflecting on the deeper truths of life!
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Something else we can do to positively affect our minds --is to meditate. Meditation counters the unfavorable factors and strengthens the favorable factors. I invite you to a free breath and meditation session online to learn all about SKY Breath Meditation, which has benefited millions worldwide.
Written based on wisdom from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
