Mental and Emotional Health

Here's a topic you don't hear much about in the survival world. There is some discussion about mental health under an emergency situation - dealing with stress short term, normality bias, shock and such. Yet like physical fitness, the stronger your mind is going into an emergency, the better you will fare.

The brain is, in my opinion, the most fascinating and amazing organ in the body. Nobody really knows how it works. Much of what we do know is simply theory, which is the same as saying it's an educated guess. Nonetheless, some things are facts. Work the brain and it becomes healthier, faster, more flexible, and stronger.

Emotional health is tied directly to the brain, of course, however it is my opinion that emotional health is much more in the realm of the non-physical. Emotional health is related to how you think about things. How you process information that really matters to you. How you perceive the way other people interact with you and what it may or may not mean.

As alchemical as that may seem, the basics of exercise still apply to emotional health. Find your weaknesses, find a way to strengthen them and practice those ways frequently until the desired result is achieved. Once you reach your desired level, keep up the maintenance to stay there. It is my opinion that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the best ways to do this. You can do this along with a professional, much like hiring a personal trainer for working out, or you can work on it by reading about it and putting what you read into practice.

I would recommend that you do talk to a professional first, to get you started. Just like when you join a gym and they do an assessment and provide you with a training plan.

I think the toughest thing about emotional health is that most people think they are just fine. They think that possibly because they've always been that way. It's not like you were an athelete in high school and then you look in the mirror now and see that you have moobs.

One way to assess your mental health is to check if you are generally happy about life. Are you having fulfilling relationships? Do you wake up ready to face the world more often than not? Don't over think it. But if you suspect that you have room for improvement in your mental and emotional health, talk to your health care practitioner.

I'll have to do a podcast on this someday.