Some Of The Best Things You Can Do For Your Mental Health
The following practices will help your mental health. Adequate sleep tops the list. Avoiding drugs and alcohol also tops the list, yet it is what so many of us turn to in times of stress. It is the worst thing to do because it deregulates mood, and wreaks havoc with all systems of the body, to include sleep.
The avoidance of drugs includes all or most prescription drugs, especially addictive drugs. These include sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs in the class of benzodiazepines, SSRI’s, and addictive pain medication.
I realize some people seek help with certain things by going to doctors. They may need relief, and are prescribed drugs to help them function. Many people can regulate the amount of medication they are taking, without seeking more. But over time, if the drug is addictive, you will physiologically stop getting the same results, without increasing the dosage. Psychological dependance occurs concurrently with physical dependance.
Sooner or later, the addict will have to go through withdrawal, followed by a period of recovery. Just because a doctor prescribes a drug, does not mean it won’t harm you, or that it is not addictive.
All drugs require careful and long term gradual weaning, especially if you have been on them a long time. This includes SSRI’s, opiates, and benzodiazepines. Each drug, to include nicotine, alcohol, and even caffeine will require a plan, tailored to the individual, in order to get free of it.
Addiction is a form of bondage. We do not get true liberty until we are free of it. We do not get the comfort of peace and hope through addiction. The mood elevation is temporary, and is followed by a crash. True freedom comes from having hope and stability without any mood altering substances.
Steroids contribute to severe mood swings, and can create serious problems with your health to include high blood pressure, heart attacks, and liver and kidney problems.
Many supplements can be dangerous. Herbal detox tea blends can cause kidney damage in a week. Weight loss herbal blends can cause liver and or kidney damage. High doses of vitamin C can cause kidney stones, and damage. Creatinine, protein drinks and supplements, and collagen are all nephrotoxins.
For anyone who is prone to kidney stones, it is wise to avoid all high oxalate foods, and avoid taking too much protein. Most physical illnesses, including cancers, begin gradually. If changes in diet, stress management, and sleep are made, it may help prevent an illness from becoming full blown. Our mental health affects our physical health, and vice versa.
Ibuprofen, and basically all NSAID, are harmful to kidneys. Ibuprofen can also make older people more susceptible to stroke. NSAIDs cause problems with your gut, and alter the gut biome.
If you take any medication at all, be sure to be very cautious with supplements, because even harmless supplements can cause interactions with certain medications. If we are suffering any kind of ill effect, or drug interaction, it is likely to have an adverse effect on our mental health.
I do believe there are many beneficial supplements, from natural plant derivatives that have powerful antioxidant, antibacterial, anti fungal, and antiviral properties. We just have to be careful, do the research, and take them in small amounts. Even too much green tea can be harmful.
For instance if you take Matcha tea, which is what I exchanged for coffee in the morning, you should only take one teaspoon of it a day. If you buy a good grade Matcha tea, and then make a latte with almond milk, you get a dose of caffeine and a pleasant drink.
One cup of Matcha tea has about 50 mg of caffeine, while a cup of coffee has 100 mg. If you drink two or three cups of coffee a day, you will likely experience withdrawal when quitting, typically headaches and upset stomach. This tells us how much it affects our system overall.
Diet, with a focus on gut health is mandatory when it comes to mental health. Drugs interfere with gut health as well. For optimal gut health, we need a good variety of whole foods, with lots of fibre. Most people think of fibre as being in fresh fruit and vegetables, which is true. But don’t underestimate the value of whole grains, to include seeds.
The range of whole grains to consume is more than we realize. Wheat bran, oat bran, cracked wheat, hemp hearts, chia seeds, amaranth, cracked wheat, buckwheat groats, steel cut oats, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, barley, millet, quinoa, and rice.
A significant number of these grains can be bought in bulk and mixed to make a ten grain breakfast cereal. That way you get lots of fibre, omega 3’s, and B vitamins along with many other nutrients. It will also give you a good blend of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
Exercise and fresh air is a no brainer. Everyone smiles more when the sun shines. Whatever you can manage to do outdoors, is probably going to make you feel better.
More than anything, in my own personal opinion and experience, the best thing for mental health is to read and listen to the bible. Doing so has made me understand, and recognize so many things about my own bad habits, and attitudes.
I realize not all people are believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and respect that we all have free will, and the right to make our own choices.
In the past few years the bible has taught me many things. It teaches us to have faith, which takes away worry, anxiety and fear. It tells us to avoid anger, envy and strife. These things bring peace of mind.
The bible teaches us to repent, and seeks God’s grace and forgiveness in our own life. It gives us the capacity to forgive others. It teaches us about renewal. We are new creatures in Christ, and there is continual renewal, as we go through our spiritual journey. We can let go of our own sins, and the sins of others, because each day is a new day. The past gets pruned away. Yes we are shaped by our past, but we can let go of the faulty parts, and replace them with functionality.
It changes our worldview. We know God has a plan. We are instructed to trust in God. We are told not to have fear, and are assured He has blessed us with a sound mind.
You can listen to preachers preach sermons. Some of them are very good, and give us greater insight. But there is nothing like listening to the bible. The entire New Testament is filled with love, encouragement, wisdom, and good advice.
It covers everything from addiction, to tribulation, to being persecuted, to overcoming the fear of death. There is no counselling or secular solution to spiritual needs. We are spiritual beings. We can find peace in nature, and in relaxation, but we cannot fill the spiritual void, or hunger that seeks the sanctity of God.
We rely on the power of words because we have God-given intellect. Words are the baseline for every thought that crosses our mind. God’s word is light, hope, and love combined. We cannot be isolated if we are immersed in God’s word, because He is with us, and we are with Him.
I realize there are people who become sick with religious delusions. Some people think they are getting commands from God. We learn based on what is written in the bible. We are comforted and guided by the Holy Spirit.
We are never given commands by God to cause harm. Nor are we given commands about anyone else’s life. Not long ago I watched a YouTube video where this woman insisted that God told her that her husband was a killer.
Throughout the interview she kept insisting her husband was a killer, and then she would describe the way he looked at her. She said he was having an affair. She claimed to have seen demons in their bedroom.
She had been married for twelve years or so, and it sounds like the marriage was falling apart. Even though she kept saying God told her he was a killer – the guy never killed anyone. He was never abusive toward her physically or verbally. Yet she kept insisting that God told her he was a killer, therefore in her mind, it meant he was a killer.
She was delusional. God does not make false accusations, or give people information like that. The Holy Spirit might warn us in subtle ways. Discernment tells us this was not a true Christian experience, because it was simply not true. Not only does God not give people commands, He is not a liar, or a false accuser either.
I believe the source of this woman’s delusions stem from the difficulty she faced admitting to a failed marriage. She came from a Christian family strongly devoted to the church. Marriage was supposed to be for life. She was seeking a way to explain it, so she did not have to take any responsibility for whatever caused her marriage to fail. It is not about blame, but rather, it is about the fact that all marriages require an exchange between two people.
Perhaps she missed certain cues. Perhaps she made the wrong choice in the first place. Sometimes marriages don’t work out for whatever reasons. Each person has a role, but like it is with all things, they can repent, forgive, and move on. No one can force a person to stay married to them if they don’t want to.
She ended up getting divorced, and thankfully her husband did not threaten, stalk, or give any indication he would harm her.
I was surprised to read in the comment section on her story, how many people believed and supported her claims. The story was not fair to her husband. There are warnings in the bible about people who deceive themselves, and others, when they claim to be speaking for God.
We have to test all spirits, and all directives we are given, with what it says in the bible. We are not supposed to make false accusations. That does not mean we ignore warning signs, red flags, and our intuition. We don’t blindly trust someone who is having an affair, and has been lying about it.
If someone says “God told me such and such” it is a red flag. But if someone says they read about such and such in the bible, then we know it is God’s word, not the person attributing their own thoughts to be from God. We also know that if a person is cruel, threatening or deceptive – it is not of God.
The bible provides the nutrients for our mind, emotions and spirit, therefore it is the optimal support for mental health.
The fruits of the spirit can be found in Galatians 5:22
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 6:6-10
6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.