In order to empathize with society, it is crucial to understand how the brain works. Understanding how the brain works gives you a better insight into our mental health. Obviously, mental health needs to be a fundamental human right. There should be no debate on whether one deserves access to mental health care and support. Now more than ever, individuals in the United States need to break the stigma of mental health aka brain health.
According to the World Health Organization, one in four people across the globe will experience a mental or neurological condition that requires care in their lifetime.
Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions when it comes to mental health. Those who have not yet been educated on the stigma of mental health are under the impression that those struggling can simply just “snap out of it”, and that is absolutely not the case. Individuals who are struggling with mental health concerns may feel as if they will be mislabeled if they seek help or often they truly genuinely feel that no one can help them. As a society, it is important for all of us to participate in breaking the stigma, and teach individuals that depression is not just sadness, anxiety is not just an overthinker, and OCD is not just a neat “freak.” Some people may look at talk therapy and see it as paying for someone to talk to, which is very inaccurate. Psychotherapy is much more than paying someone to listen. A therapist is trained with years of graduate school to help a person look at unconscious motives that play into their lives and how to reach an optimum state of functioning. It allows one to work through these problems with an objective well trained professional, which can provide one with a lot of clarity. While there are many benefits to talk therapy and we highly recommend that, there are also other alternative methods that rebalance the brain, such as Neurofeedback.
What is neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback analyses and re-trains dysregulated brain wave patterns thereby giving way to a much better-regulated brain. A well-regulated brain brings about a calm focus, where reactive emotions are not the drivers of behavior. When one troubleshoots problems from a calm, emotionally focused state, the decisions made will be mature and not emerge from an over-aroused hyper-reactive brain. Neurofeedback is individually tailored in that each protocol is specifically designed for each client with the purpose being to retrain the brainwave patterns toward normal. The result of rebalancing these brainwaves restores health, healing, and functionality for lasting emotional and cerebral results. Sensors are placed on the scalp to detect physical changes in the brain. Precisely detecting brainwave activity allows it to be immediately analyzed by a computer that then presents sound and video information based on the brain’s performance. Using this feedback, the individual learns to regulate or control his or her brain states. This is helpful because the state of the brain strongly influences how the person thinks, acts, and feels, emotionally and physically. Neurofeedback allows a person to recreate their old ways of reacting to a calmer state that comes from a neutral state. The calm, clarity, enhanced focus, and nonreactivity at the emotional level all create health and restoration for the brain. The brain is not working against itself and it can be in harmony with the world too.
Why does neurofeedback work?
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s natural ability to reorganize itself by creating new neural networks and correcting already existing connections. Neurofeedback takes advantage of the brain’s ability to change itself through neuroplasticity. It utilizes the same learning process that occurs whenever we acquire a new skill. The brain learns by forming better, more enhanced connections between nerves so that the entire nervous system can be better regulated. When we need the fight/flight response the brain can deliver and when we need the calm parasympathetic nervous system to be present the brain can deliver that too..
How other countries treat mental health
Each country tends to treat mental health issues based on the reduction of stigmatization of mental health. Australia is unique in that it has created a National Mental Health Strategy. The strategy is put in place in order to improve the lives of individuals and care for them, promote the mental health of Australians as a whole, attempt to prevent or reduce the impact of mental health disorders, and secure their rights. This prevention model can be very successful since we address lifestyle and can touch on mental health issues at the outset of a syndrome versus putting fires out all the time.
They have the mentality that community-based care brings more benefits than institutional-level care. With Australia steering away from institutional-level care, the number of individuals in inpatient care has dropped to nearly zero. The standpoint of treating mental health conditions in Australia comes from an approach of finding the root of the problem and trying to treat it, whereas in the United States there seems to be a trend of a “quick fix.” With the quick fix, individuals are often directed toward medicine, which can sometimes do more harm than good in the long run. There is a lot we can learn here in the US with the prevention of global health strategies that Australia, New Zealand, and other northern European countries tend to have. Health promotion can certainly play a huge role in prevention and community-based mental health programs which make the brain a healthier organ.
It is important to steer away from quick fixes since it is short-term, temporary and a person’s tendency to relapse can be very high. Mental health conditions have dramatically increased globally after the advent of the smartphone. Social media contagion has become a huge factor in the rapidly rising rates of suicide and anxiety in the US especially post-pandemic. TikTok has been solely responsible for a huge increase in tic disorders among young teens. Imitation can be very insidious and teen brains are very prone to wanting to be like others. The environment we expose ourselves to is just as important as the care we seek for mental health conditions.
In terms of becoming well with mental health concerns, oftentimes individuals need a combination of treatments ranging from psychotherapy to lunch with a friend and being honest and vulnerable with what is going on for you. Taking care of your mental/brain health also involves working out, catching up with loved ones, and/or taking a stroll on the beach. Nature is known to be one of the most healing environments for human beings. Anything that you can involve yourself in that makes you present in the moment, and brings you to a state of mindfulness is always encouraged in order to improve your mental health.
At Healthy Within, we do not diagnose or medicate our patients but instead, curate individualized protocols for our patients.
Contact us for more information about how we can help you get your mind and brain back to functioning at its calm, confident self.
References
https://www.verywellmind.com/depression-statistics-everyone-should-know-4159056
https:/ synergyhealthprograms.com/a-look-at-mental-health-around-the-world
