Hi guys
In the 1980s, there was a survey about the mental wellbeing of people
There was this one question that went
“How many people have you discussed with the
important things in life during the past 6 months?”
Back then the most answers they got was…
Three
Three people
That same survey was conducted again in 2006
By then the most answers they got was…
Zero
None
People either stopped talking about the important matters in life
Or simply had nobody to share it with
This is quite a lonely and detached era to live in
Psychological counselor Yi hyun-soo wrote in her book
using the phrase “Singleness of the Soul” to mark this phenomenon
So, are we all victims of this possibly loneliest time in human history?
Well, I love it how Yi hyun-soo puts it
“You can be happy on your own”
“You can be happy also～with the company of others”
But remember, it’s…
You can be happy ALSO
Not, you can be happIER…. with company
At the end of the day
no one is responsible for someone else’s happiness
And you are responsible for making yourself happy
But life is shitty
I’m just gonna say it
Life is full of shitty things
So how do we cope with the shittiness of all this?
I’m being so irreverent today
In the book ‘Mind Power’ by James Borg
he mentioned that the brain is like a 24-7 pharmacy that dispenses chemicals
such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins
These are positive drugs for the mind, if you will
They make us feel more confident, calm, grateful
mostly tethered to positive emotions
And they increase on occasions such as
when you’ve accomplished a task and receive the recognition you deserve
When you’re running laps in a park
sweating like a pig
No offense to pigs
When you hug someone
or… some thing
Yes, surprisingly according to science
hugging pets and stuffed animals work too
And so we have the inherent capability of self-heal
The key is how to initiate it
We definitely can’t give orders to the brain like
Hey, brain
Gimme some of that dop…
dop～amine～
You know what I mean?
Dopamine
The body has a self-protection mechanism
which prevents us from interfering with
and endangering our life-support system
BUT
There is a way to work around it
There is a way to indirectly influence the brain
to secrete those positive neurotransmitters
There is this verse in the Bible which I quote a lot
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else,
guard your heart for everything you do flows from it”
It used to make a lot of sense to me
But now
it makes a whole lot more sense to me
knowing the science behind it
Hear me out
The chemicals released in your brain contribute to your mood
The emotions you’re going through
determine which chemicals the brain dispenses
When you’re relaxed, happy
serotonin
When you’re stressed
stress hormones
And those chemicals further strengthen the mood
We can’t command the brain
At least not directly
But we can switch up our emotions with our thoughts
By consciously thinking
And so～
Thoughts affect your emotions
Your emotions affect the brain in which chemicals to release
And the chemicals in your brain affect your mood
And so～
“Guard your heart”
AKA your mind, your thoughts
“for everything FLOWS from it”
Makes so much sense
If you’re in a slump or stuck in some sort of negative emotion
Try this for starters
Change the direction of your thinking
Now I know you might be thinking
“Well that’s a bit general”
Fair. It does sound a bit general
And to be honest, a bit cheesy
But this is a commonly used method in cognitive therapy
Once again, in Yi-hyun soo’s book which is titled
‘So We All Have a Pharmacy in Our Head’
She says it sounds more complicated than it really is
where there are basically just three directions of thought
Positive
Negative
And neutral
Positive thinking is the best route to
get your brain releasing those good chemicals
But the good news is
You don’t have to force yourself into a positive mindset
to get that same result
You don’t have to fake a smile
But actually, putting on a smile does make a difference
according to Paul Ekman
Maybe we’ll talk about that in another video.
But you don’t have to force it
when you’re really not feeling it
‘Cos even by thinking neutrally
Well, that produces the same effect on the brain
as thinking positively
You don’t have to be in an
all jolly, hyped up status
for your brain to release serotonin
The fact is
as long your mind is in a peaceful status
as long as you’re feeling safe
the brain will secrete serotonin
And that’ll help lift your spirits
Your goal is to reach a peaceful mind state
which is much easier than trying to stay positive.
So here’s an example of neutral thinking
Let’s say you just got pinned to the wall by your boss
for not meeting your annual target
Damn, I just got my ass whooped in there
She’s got a point though
Still a lot of room for improvement
I think I’d better get my act together
Now that is positive thinking
Not only will it help boost your mood
but it’ll also help you improve
But sometimes you just need to
allow your emotions to get off the hook for a second
Sometimes all you need is a little room to breathe
This is how neutrally thinking works
Damn, I just got my ass whooped in there
Like…
What’s wrong with her?
Might have had a bad day or
had a fight with her husband last night
Who knows?
I don’t care
Life goes on
And just by thinking so
your emotions are already back in a
more calm and relaxed status
And the result
serotonin
help lifting up your mood
Personally, whenever I’m having a bad day
And it’s really getting to me
Sometimes I just try to lighten up by trying to be silly
I don’t give a dang
Just to help rewire the mind
But of course you can come up with your own
more elegant way of doing so
Change the direction of your thought
Remember
Everything FLOWS from the heart
Thoughts are life
Peace