Emotions for Mental Health

The slight differences between emotions that develop poor mental health and those that build mental health.

INTRO

For so many of us, we eat the right things, we exercise regularly, and do all the things in life that the health blogs suggest and our doctor recommends, yet years later we find ourselves dealing with health or mental health issues. So we may ask ourselves, what did we do wrong? It seems like we did what everyone else did, but why do I have these health issues? Admittedly it can be quite difficult to differentiate between the path to mental wellness and the path to mental-un-wellness when the difference is only 1 degree off. And that one degree difference is the difference in your emotions. Emotions are the foundation for mental health. Emotions are defined as the current state by which you operate in. So we want to clarify the key differences in emotional states that can determine the rest of your future.

What are emotions?

Emotions are created by the organs, are transmitted electrically all throughout the body, and are interpreted by the limbic system in the brain. The result is that your thoughts and decision making will be subject to the flow of electrical currents through your body.

 

This is kind of like the government structure of a republic. Where each neurotransmitter that is expressed is representing the 10 trillion cells that are all trying to signal their needs to the centralized government, the brain. A real example of this is if the liver is irritated by something such as excessive alcohol intake, it will create an electrical signal to the adrenal glands for them to produce a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter will then make the person angry, leading to reduced cognition and increased impulsiveness with a need to protect oneself. Most people are unaware of this relationship, and will just wonder why they always get in drunk bar fights. But with this knowledge, you can find the root of any behavioral issue and resolve it with more precise methodologies.

What are bad emotions for mental health and why are they bad?

Here in this diagram you can see that such emotions as resentment, euphoria, worry, and many other emotions are bad for mental health. The reason why they are bad is because every emotion has a certain electrical pattern in your body and requires a different amount of physiological resources. The emotions that have the most disrupted electrical pattern and require the most resources are what we consider to be bad. These are physiological resources that could be going to your brain to create emotions like fun and joy and be used for laughter and play. But instead they are taking up considerable amounts more energy, increasing stress, and reducing the functionality of the immune system. So by engaging in these emotions, there really isn’t any benefit.

Are these emotions really that bad?

One thing to watch out for is filtered water through reverse osmosis. This special filtered water became a health trend in the mid 2000’s but later the companies were sued because they found the water was so pure that it was devoid of any minerals or electrolytes, and it changed the gradients of the body in such a way it was pulling electrolytes out of the body and causing severe health problems. Everything in our body works on gradients, too pure of water can actually pull vital electrolytes out of our body and cause harm. Also, if we consume too much water, it can have the same effect.

The other really important factor regarding hydration is the use of stimulants. Because stimulants like caffeine along with many other plants or drugs can have a diuretic effect (losing water retention), that we can lose valuable electrolytes in the process. Our body will prefer to hold onto the more essential minerals, but still, with every drink of coffee, some will get lost. For this reason, it is really important for those taking caffeinated beverages, nootropics, or any kind of stimulant, to ensure that one is consuming a proper amount of minerals and electrolytes.

Are these emotions really that bad?

You might see a few in the diagram that “aren’t as bad as the others”, but based on the pathology of mental diseases, they are. Something like euphoria will feel great in the moment, but the euphoria comes from a significant unbalance in neurotransmitter expression. Many people will take illegal drugs to put themselves in a state of euphoria, but keep in mind that they are drawn to this feeling because their neurotransmitter expression is already insufficient. For what ever reason their body is lacking performance in that area, forcing it to work harder doesn’t work. It’s like whipping a stage 4 cancer patient for not running the mile at a record pace. Remember that each organ has its own limited resources and equilibrium. Any drug taken will not get you high or cause you to be in euphoria. A drug can only turn on a switch in your body that is already there. If the switch isn’t being turned on there is likely a reason for it. Likely there is something broken that needs to be fixed, most likely the liver, large intestine and spleen based on the stress patterns of people living in highly productive societies.

There are other emotions you might see like ‘happiness’ on the bad list, and you might think, wait isn’t the American dream to pursue happiness? Yes, indeed that is the American dream. But have you ever wondered if what everyone else is doing is the best way to do things? Pursuing happiness sounds great, but it assumes two things: firstly that you will never actually reach it and secondly that happiness must be pursued. If we take this in comparison with an emotion from the positive list like joy. Joy is not something that we pursue, it is something that create from within, so it is always available to us. Happiness is a reaction to our environment like when we get a gift from a friend, or eat delicious food and is limited to the positive experiences that you can have. In contrast you can feel any amount of joy whenever you want (assuming you have good mental health). So if one were to move from pursuing the idea of happiness to creating joy from within themselves at this very moment, we would see a significant improvement in neurotransmitter expression, emotional health, as well as reduced stress on the body and mind. This is the one degree difference that over years can separate kids who played in the same school-yard to eventually go down two completely different paths until they one day meet and one is a successful doctor, and the other is begging for money to buy more heroin (real life story from team member).

Conclusion

If you were to make a one degree change in our course now, what would it be, and where do you think it will get you? We won’t know the answer for sure, but what we do know is that whatever you practice is what you will get good at. If you practice resenting others, or unforgiveness, guess what you will get really good at. So if a long time ago, maybe that one year that was just miserable, you started practicing worry. And now you have become an expert at worry. You worry about finances. You worry about your career. You might even worry about whether your uber driver will get you there in time or if they will ever remake the last season of Game of Thrones. Most of us started practicing very difficult emotions a long time ago until it became something so well rehearsed that we can execute these emotions at free will. Meanwhile some of the emotions on the positive list go unpracticed and left behind. Because of this snowball-like effect, a one degrees change in one’s emotions can lead to a completely different mindset only a few years down the road. With that being said, right now is a moment of decision. What emotions will you begin practicing? What will your mindset be in a few years? Will you be still struggling with the same drama and the same grudges, or will you be on to a more easy-going and fulfilling life? What tools will you use to get there?

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