So many people are affected by mental anguish - depression, anxiety, confusion, PTSD, and on and on.
What has happened to us?
There are several components that are required to keep us sane and happy. Fist, we must have decent physical health. Proper nutrition, exercise to keep the body in good shape, capable of performing all the tasks we need to perform is a requisite, but is not enough by itself. Sleep, - enough, and the right kind - is another requirement of physical health that is also needed for mental well being.
One thing that is missing from so many lives today is a feeling of community. We evolved in clans, tribes, family groups that looked out for each other. We knew our place and our role. The outliers were valued for their differences, the leaders and the followers mostly kept to their lanes. The group was stronger than the individuals could possibly be on their own. The world was a dangerous place for an isolated human. And so it is today.
For the past 100 years, the trend has been towards individualism. “It’s all about me” is the mantra. Kids are taught they can do whatever they want, and be whomever they wish to become. But the myth of the rugged individual is just that. Life is a team sport and we don’t respect that enough today. Asking for help is a blessing, for you and for the person who is asked.
The other aspect that is required, is a deep connection to the natural world. How many people grow up in a concrete jungle, no trees, little grass, no bubbling brooks or mountain air to fill your lungs? Their world is the poorer for it. Their psyche is unprotected by the spirits of the forest, the ocean sprites, the creatures great and small who are part of the real world. Our substitute world is so artificial, so fake, so manufactured, - to get us to buy stuff we don’t need
and will never be able to fill the hole in our hearts that is there in all of us.
Purpose is required, a sense that your life has meaning, not just to bring home a paycheck at the end of the week, but to feel a deep sense that your life is important. Dedicating at least a part of your time to helping others is a way to cultivate that sense. Volunteering at a shelter for homeless people, abandoned animals, kids without parents,- others who are less fortunate or who are having a bad time right now, is a good way to establish that sense of purpose.
And finally, but not least, is to feel love in your heart. So many suffer damage to the heart (metaphorically as well as physically) from which they never recover. A closed heart hurts the mind and must be reopened if there is to be true health and happiness. This doesn’t have to be romantic love - that’s fine for certain times and certain people - but opening to the suffering of your fellow man is a form of love (agape) that is cruelly missing for many of us.
Therapy can help, time in nature can help, having a pet can help. So can the use of psychedelics - mushrooms, Ketamine, MDMA, LSD and all the tools many of which have been used for millennia, but have been banned from our repressive culture. In the old days, the entire tribe would have participated on a regular basis in sacred ceremonies using these substances, which they would all experience together. Today we are fortunately regaining access to these
phenomenal mind and heart opening substances.
We mustn’t be afraid to confront our demons - the ingrained cultural ideas of who we are supposed to be that get in our way of actually being complete and fulfilled. Mental health is our right, but so many don’t have it. Do your part, find it for yourself, love yourself AND your fellow human AND the natural world. Start by working on the first component above that seems most do-able to you. Start somewhere, start anywhere. The world needs you healthy!
Carol L Roberts, MD
March 6, 2023