To understand mental wealth
you need to first understand the mind
and how it works
now you know I like my analogies and stories
it keeps things simple without too much science
and this is how I’m going to explain the mind
imagine your mind is a box
filled with millions of tiny lights and switches
each switch has a wire that connects to the light
and a function, emotion, feeling or action on the other side
Some lights are always switched on
like the ones that control your heart beat and breathing
Some lights are only on when you need them
like when you move or speak
You have daytime lights for when you are awake
and night time lights for when you are sleeping
there are lights for happy thoughts
lights for unhappy thoughts
and so on…
in a balanced mind there will be a set number
and combination of lights on or off
at any one time
thus when the mind is unbalanced
the wrong lights are on or off
some examples:
you are feeling low, life has been sh1tty
and you just can’t be bothered with anything
your lights have probably dimmed
and will shine bright again in a few days
you have gone past the example above
it’s been months since you felt positive
you feel life is getting darker
and you don’t know why
some of your happy lights have probably gone out
and if the majority of your thoughts are unhappy
that’s because they are still shining bright
you might need help to switch those happy lights back on
someone has died
or you’ve suffered from some kind of trauma
maybe you are under loads more stress than usual
the happy lights just went boom
and the coping lights are flickering
a temporary situation means they will come back on
> when they are ready
you need to grieve, rest or recover
all you can think of is dying
the happy lights are out
and those suicidal lights are blinding you
they are the only thoughts you have
loads of other lights have gone out too
rationality, subjectiveness and any life spirit
what if all of the lights come on?
like christmas tree lights
colours and flashing maybe even playing music?
this can be described as mania
where you are doing too many things
and getting nothing done as you are blinded
and that horrible word schizophrenic
or psychotic
people are so scared of these terms
but all they mean is that the person
is seeing, hearing and feeling things that aren’t real
but they are real to the person
hopefully you can figure out
that the combination of lights has got so mixed up
it’s causing confusion in the mind
some sensory lights may be broken
others just can’t switch off
maybe they are wired up wrong
or sending signals to the wrong functions…
I’m not a doctor or psychiatrist
I’m not medically trained or qualified
this is just my way of explaining it
I have read loads of books, reports and studies though
I had to – to try and make sense of it all
I find it helpful to have a picture that I can relate to
and I will be referring to the box of lights
in future emails
Did this make sense to you?
let me know if it does or doesn’t
Carolyne
p.s. I do have a few qualifications in mental health in exercise – I’m just not a doctor xx
