Many people (especially voiced by ‘Generation Z’) are reporting ‘poor mental health’. Social Media has had a profound effect on this (and other) generations, perhaps as it seems always, to portray the influencer in a positive (rather than realistic) light, naturally leading to feelings of inferiority in the viewer. Although not unique to this generation, an over indulgence in the Social Media phenomenon reinforces this feeling of unworthiness, leading on to feelings of negativity and depression. If you repeatedly reflect upon your own poor potential outcomes, your mind will actually learn that it’s reality. Depression is a manifestation of a negative mind-set frozen in the past. The key to individual happiness is overwriting these negative thoughts and learning to be in the present.
Poor mental health of course starts in the mind, but if you let it, your mind might ultimately help your body to die, but this is not an inevitable outcome:
Three steps to dealing with “negative thoughts”
Step One – “catch the loop”
Negative thinking is not your personality. It’s your brain simply learning by repetition. Whatever you dwell on repetitively, your nervous system memorises. The negative thought you keep having is not the truth it’s just a neural loop
The solution here is surprisingly simple. – Just catch it and name it.
For example if you worry about there being something wrong with you, just say (silently) to yourself “Here’s the something’s wrong with me story again”. This matters because the moment you notice it and name it, you activate your prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for awareness and regulation. When that is activated, the emotional part of your brain literally relaxes, so this awareness pulls you out of the autopilot mode that you were in (have you ever arrived after driving and realised you don’t actually remember how you got there?)
Step 2 – “Shift your Chemistry”
Negative thoughts don’t just stay in your head, they also change your body chemistry. Your cortisol levels change and your nervous system shifts into “fight or flight” mode, which, as you are actually powerless to do anything about the perceived issue in your head, starts to cause depression. You can control and reset this by changing your breathing patterns. Specifically you should think about your breathing and make your exhale longer than your inhale. By simply focussing on sucking in slowly and breathing out more quickly, your system reverts back to a calm mode and your stress chemistry reverts to a more ‘normal’ level.
Step 3 – “Recall, Replace and Repair”
Your brain doesn’t delete thoughts but it does replace them, so once the loop is quiet, your body is comfortable and mind is calm, you can overlay a memory. Just recall the original thought and simply swap it with something short but believable. Not an affirmation that you could never believe like, “I’m healed and perfect”, but something you can accept like, “I’m learning to trust myself” and that’s it. That’s neuroplasticity actually working for you.
