4 Simple Steps to Better Mental Health

There are four steps that we regularly recommend to all of our clients. If we were to all do these four things on a regular basis, we would be much better off for it. This post is going to outline what they are and provide some details for each one. The four steps are:

1. Regular meditation practice
2. Regular, novel physical activity
3. Review of nutrition and commitment to improved nutrition
4. Regular participation in a community of like minded people

Regular Meditation Practice

The easiest and quickest way we explain this is with a comparison. Meditation is for your mind what lifting weights is for your muscles. It is difficult at the beginning and begins to get easier as you go and reaps unbelievable benefits. We regularly recommend meditation to our clients and suggest apps etc for them to try. If you are looking for mindfulness meditation, download Medito in your app store. If you’re looking for Christian based meditation, download Soulspace and pay the $18 for the premium subscription. Meditate every day and you will not regret it.

Regular, Novel Physical Activity

At this point in history, we would feel comfortable saying that we are all aware of the benefits of physical activity. The more physically active we are the healthier we are. Generally speaking, people who are physically active have lower weight, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, decreased chance of diabetes, etc, etc, etc. I suspect that there is little we can say about this that you have not already heard. In spite of that, there are two realities we would like to point out. First, physical activity releases a host of brain chemicals that are beneficial for mental health. Generally speaking, the more active you are, the more mentally stable you will be. Second, regular, novel physical activity can help regrow a part of your brain. Your memories are stored in the hippocampus. It is a physical structure in the lower center portion of your brain. It is covered in cortisol receptors. When you become stressed, you body releases cortisol, then your hippocampus sucks it all up. This is a counter productive action because the cortisol slowly destroys your hippocampus and thus your memory. The longer you live with high levels of stress the worse your memory will be. And your hippocampus will actually shrink. But, if you initiate a diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids, regularly meditate (see previous paragraph), and engage in regular, novel physical activity, your hippocampus will actually regrow. And the physical activity doesn’t have to be strenuous. Just be physically active and try new ways of being active and that is it. Go for a walk. Check out a new trail. Try a new kind of push up or workout. It’s good for your body AND good for your brain.

Check Your Nutrition

We are not nutrition experts. What we can tell you is this, the better the quality of the food you eat, the better you will feel. There are a HUGE number of resources related to food and mood out there. They cover all manner of details about what you put in and how it affects your mood. We would encourage all of you to do some research. It will be well worth your time. Take some time and look at what you’re eating and drinking. Is it mostly food that has come to you in the same form it was grown? Or is it mostly stuff that has come in a bag and was made in a factory? We're not judging that but the closer your food is to the way it was grown, the better you’re probably going to feel. Take a close look at your nutrition. See a nutritionist and get some recommendations. Do some research on your own. Eat better food and it will help you to feel better.

Find A COmmunity

Humans are communal beings. Those of us who ascribe to a Christian worldview believe that God created us to be this way. He created us to be in community with him and with one another. For those who don’t ascribe to that worldview, it is still fairly evident we are communal by nature. Over the course of human history we have consistently arranged ourselves in groups and communities and tribes. This is an innate activity. Because this is so deeply ingrained in our reality, it is unhealthy to eschew a community of like minded people. We are not made to be alone. If you are finding yourself spending a lot of time alone or avoiding social activities, make a different choice. Find a group of like minded people and dive in head first. You won’t regret it.

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