Six Ways to Boost Mental Immunity
How to Help Your Psyche Hold Up
Mental immunity is not just something that our bodies have. Our psyches also have mechanisms in place to protect us from external threats. However, mental immunity does not make us invulnerable. It simply gives our psyches the ability to cushion the blows in order to prevent any dangerous trauma. The painful collisions with reality are just as inevitable as infections and inflammation. Most of the time, we can't avoid them. But we can help our psyches get through this ordeal with the least amount of damage if we follow a few simple rules.
Be prepared for problems
There are three rules of physics by David Deutsch. The first is that problems are inevitable. The second is that problems are solvable. All you need is to find an algorithm that suits the specific situation. And the third is that any solution creates new problems that you will also need to solve. But before you start looking for a solution, you need to turn on your awareness. In stressful situations, our limbic system, which regulates fear, anger and other emotions, reacts to what is happening before we have time to realize it. To reduce risks, it is necessary to shorten the pause between the spontaneous reaction and the activation of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self-control. Find in advance a simple and effective method that allows in emergency cases quickly take yourself in hand. For example, use the simplest breathing technique with a short inhalation and a long exhalation - it launches the parasympathetic nervous system.
Manage the flow of thoughts
When there are no specific tasks in the brain, the network of passive mode is turned on and the "wandering mind" begins. Instead of purposeful reflections, consciousness fills the stream of associations. In and of itself, this is neither good nor bad. But in critical situations, this stream can turn into a cascade of self-reinforcing negative associations. Unlike conscious thoughts and representations, they have no specific content, but there is a powerful negative emotional charge that makes you suffer. It is impossible to directly control the wandering mind. But there is a way to set the overall direction of movement. Periodically train to block negative associations and focus on positive ones. In a critical situation, this skill will come in handy.
Conduct a social edit
This is how the creator of the psychological resource School of Life, Alain de Botton, refers to the process of correcting our social environment. Communication is not a luxury, but an important resource for mental survival. We need contacts with other people not only for support, but also for orientation. Comparing our psyche with others, we restore the mental balance. Or, on the contrary, we lose it. To remove false orientation from life, de Botton advises to pay attention to the people who take you out of balance and reduce communication with them to a minimum.
Admit your vulnerability
The typical reaction to a personal crisis is the desire to be alone with oneself. And this is quite natural if it does not turn into prolonged isolation. Closeness and silence are one of the worst ways to solve mental problems. Talking about experiences weakens the pain of emotions. By hiding our problems from others, we deprive our psyche of this support. Usually, this is due to the fear of vulnerability. It arises because vulnerability is often associated with weakness. Try to transfer this concept to another associative series - closer to openness. As psychologist Brené Brown says, being psychologically vulnerable means being able to open up.
Be easy on yourself
Mental problems are a serious test, and we should not underestimate them. But we should not exaggerate them either—too much respect for the disease only plays into its hands. What a horrible world it would be if we stopped seeing the funny and absurd aspects of it. And yet in our mental conflicts with reality, they are always there. It is no coincidence that mental problems so often become the subject of comedies and jokes. Humor helps us psychologically distance ourselves from difficult experiences in much the same way as describing our problem from the third person. Yes, it does not solve the problem itself, but acts simply as an analgesic. But it works.
Stop undervaluing your ordinariness
One of the first signs of mental problems is the feeling that you are not worthy: of a good job, of relationships, of success, of a voice. At the root of this mental distortion is underestimating the Ordinary. Think of the idea of the British psychotherapist Donald Winnicott, who proposed the concept of the "good enough mother" - not perfect, but quite capable of being a mother. You may not be perfect either, but you are good enough to be yourself. This does not mean that for the sake of mental health you should give up ambition. But for any start you need a reliable support, and you have it. If we take into account the demons we fight every day inside and outside, your ability to lead an ordinary life is already an extraordinary achievement