What do I mean when I talk about mental health?  We all have an idea about what mental health means.  I come at it from more of a cognitive and brain health perspective.  Simply put, how well am I thinking.  For me there is a lot that goes into that, beyond say being able to do complex math.  Mental health for me means how well can I focus and maintain my attention, think clearly and creatively, problem solve and of course manage stress.  My goal is a mind that can function well across many different contexts.  For instance, at work, home, and under stressful conditions.

So there are two general areas I am going to focus on for building mental health.  One is giving my brain a mental workout, like reading an article, doing some sort of brain teaser or even picking up my guitar and learning a new song.   The second is restorative, like meditation, or mindfulness, or even just breathing exercises.  I use an app called Inner Balance that monitors my Heart Rate Variability.

My goal is to either use the app, go for a mindfulness walk and/or do something to exercise the brain every day.  Above is a screen shot from today!

God Bless and see you tomorrow!