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- Fixing This Should Be Your Top Priority
You’ve called into work sick before.
We all have.
But this was different..
The voices inside my head were out of control.
“dive in front of the oncoming traffic - end the suffering once and for all”..
I had no clue wtf was going on.
All I knew:
My chest was getting tighter.
Breathing was harder.
My palms were sweating.
My head was spinning.
Nausea was kicking in.
The voices growing louder and louder.
A LOT has changed since that awful day. Many years have passed.
However I still feel compelled to write this - in the hopes that it reaches someone who might benefit from hearing my message.
You should know that
A quick Google search will yield tonnes of surface level advice results:
‘How to improve your mental health in 5 easy steps’
‘X amount of tips & tricks for good mental health’
The problem is you're being sold a copy-paste-low-resolution solution (that, at best temporarily treats symptoms and never the cause)
Please don't get suckered into thinking this stuff works.
How do I know? Because I've tried it all (like my life depended on it).
The majority of people writing these articles don't even bother sharing a shred of their personal experience - so there is zero accountability.
If you currently feel or have ever felt:
Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate
Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt
Withdrawal from friends and activities
Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping
Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people
Problems with alcohol or drug use
Major changes in eating habits
Excessive anger, hostility or violence
Suicidal thinking
Any of these (or anything remotely close) this could be for you.
Your Mind = Your Reality
The health of your mind is the single most important thing underpinning everything else in your life.
This is so profound it is worth repeating: actively improving your mental health improves LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE THING in your life.
Research shows good mental health leads to:
improved learning
creativity
higher levels of productivity
better social relationships
good physical health
increased life expectancy
Heightened sense of purpose
Think about it for a moment - does your entire world not revolve around your mind?
Mental Health VS Mental Illness
These are often used interchangebly - they are not the same thing.
“Mental health” is a concept similar to “physical health”: it refers to a state of well-being. This includes:
our emotions
feelings of connection to others
our thoughts and feelings
being able to manage life’s highs and lows
Everyone has mental health and will experience challenges regarding their mental well-being, but not everyone will experience a mental illness.
What Are The Odds?
Before you go thinking this stuff does not apply to you - take a look at these 3 statistics:
In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime.
Half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24
In the United States, only 41 percent of the people who had a mental disorder in the past year received professional health care or other services.
When you have something to do life will not allow you to move foward until you do it. -Iyanla Vanzant
My Story Continued
Fortunately I was able to move on from the panic attack episode.
I didn’t get any professional help after that.
What did I do?
All I could to improve - There is plenty of advice all over the place regarding healthy habits that will in-turn improve your mental health:
Exercise, socializing, being in nature, journaling, mindfulness, clean diet - the list goes on and on.
But..
There was still this one nagging thing.
I felt stuck.
All the habits I was working hard to build would not stick.
I couldn't figure out why at the time..
I now know - that I was treating symptoms on a surface level.
Real change is only possible by weeding out the root cause of your problems buried deep in your mind.
Nothing was sticking, except me. I was stuck.
The Mind-Body Paradigm
For over 400 years people believed the ‘mind - body paradigm’
That they are separate from one another and should be treated as such.
We know now this is not the case:
Same way our body can get injured and need treatment to recover - our brain to can require this
To heal our minds. We have to heal our bodies and vice versa. They are intimately connected
Innovative scientific research (known as epigenetics) shows that our gut health plays a huge role in our mental well being
Even severe conditions that we believe are determined by genetics can be heavily influenced by our environment
We cannot change our feelings. They follow our thoughts which precede our actions (things we can change)
Taking Full Ownership
There are two distinct approaches when engaging mental health.
You can think of them similarly to fixed (passive) vs growth mindsets (active).
Too often treatment is given (without people being aware they have power to affect their own medical conditions).
People are encouraged to passively follow a doctors instructions to suppress their symptoms.
Here's The Deal
I want to empower you with the self healing tools that helped me out of this vicious cycle once and for all.
The problem is - everyone wants a quick fix these days. Their looking for the easy way out.
Ironically, often times this is the very thinking that got us in this mess to begin with..
“Just give me the solution as long as I don’t have to work for it”
This is not some ‘quick fix DIY tutorial in 5 easy steps’
No false hopes and expectations here.
This takes work.
Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light - Brene Brown
How To Do The Work
You made it this far? I am impressed!
Seriously, most people got too uncomfortable and left a long time ago. Maybe you do have what it takes after all..
Well buckle-up butter-cup this is where things start to get diffucult.
Why?
It sucks. It’s hard. It’s painful. It’s scary. It requires vulnerability and humility.
This process is going to break you down to your core - take the fragmented pieces and build yourself back up into a much stronger, wholesome, more capable version of yourself.
There is no other way.
Plunging deep into the darkest pit of your mind is the only route.
Pry open the box.
You know exactly which box - the one you so conveniently hid away under lock-and-key.
That’s not all. You have to examine whatever is in there.
Turn it inside out. Until you understand it - it will continue to have power over you.
Even after having done all this for myself :
It would be naive, ignorant and perhaps even dangerous of me to try and tell you exactly how to go about doing all this.
Leave it to The Professionals
You are not alone and you don't have to do it alone.
Give yourself the gift of guidance.
Here is where I will leave you with the resources to begin your transformational journey
(these are what helped me - keep in mind there is no one size fits all approach)
Self-Authoring Suite (software program) ‘A series of online writing programs that collectively help you explore your past, present and future.’
Founders - Jordan B. Peterson Ph.d and Robert O. Pihl Ph.d clinical psychologists, and Daniel M. Higgins, Ph.d head of software development.
How To Do The Work (physical book) ‘Recognize your patterns, heal from your past + create your self’
Author - Dr. Nicole LePera holistic pyschologist
IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING PLEASE REACH OUT
Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1(800) 273 -TALK
National Alliance on Mental lllness: https://www.nami.org/Home
Bon Voyage
Taking the time to improve your mental health will lead to mental wealth.
There is no greater return on your investment - with that said I wish you all the best on your journey.
Recap main points:
Importance of your mental health
Everyone has mental health & mental illness is surprisingly common
Intimate connection between mind and body
Better to take an active role when it comes to improving your mental health
There is no quick fix solution - travelling the path of most resistance is required
My recommended resources I personally used for life changing results
My friends, thank you all so much for your precious time and making it this far!
I look forward to seeing you back here next week.
Much love.
Namaste.
Have a great day!
-Jason Knauer
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