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!