[2021-07-20] Caring for our mental health
If you asked me what I do to maintain my physical health, I would have no problem rhyming off a half dozen things I do regularly to take care of my body:
- I see my family doctor as needed and my oncologists monthly, promptly going for any tests they order and taking medications as prescribed.
- I brush my teeth twice a day and floss every night; I see my dental hygienist every four to six months and my dentist at least once a year.
- I see my optometrist every two years and wear a hat to shield my eyes from the sun.
- I strive to eat well, limiting my consumption of sugars, saturated fats and salt, and foregoing alcohol and caffeine.
- I go for a daily walk, putting on sunscreen before I head out.
- I don't smoke.
While it's not always easy to do everything on this list (and more), it's not hard to know what I need to do to care for my body.
As a society, we all seem to be better trained in maintaining good physical health than in fostering positive mental health. That could be for a number of reasons. First, most of us have enduring relationships with healthcare professionals who help us maintain our physical, dental and optical health, but fewer among us have an ongoing relationship with a mental health professional. Second, we learn about good practices for physical care in school and often emulate our parents in our own choices (for good or bad), but fewer among us learn about good practices for mental care or have conversations with our parents about how to take care of our minds. Third, we have models for enabling good physical health (such as Canada's Food Guide), but not necessarily a readily available and universally agreed-upon model for fostering good mental health.
A decade ago, two Americans—Dr. David Rock, executive director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, and Dr. Daniel Siegel, executive director of the Mindsight Institute—set out to change that. They created a tool akin to the food guide to provide direction on essential daily activities needed for optimum mental health. In introducing the new tool, Rock noted that while advice on healthy food choices is needed to counteract the obesity epidemic,
there's a different epidemic happening out there that's getting less attention, perhaps because it is less obvious than the epidemic of obesity we're experiencing. We're entering an era of an epidemic of overwhelm. A time when too many people's mental resources are being stretched through multitasking, fragmented attention and information overload.
Modeling their approach on the US government's dietary guidelines, represented in MyPlate, Rock and Siegel created the Healthy Mind Platter, identifying seven essential activities to maintain mental health:
- Focus Time. When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, taking on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.
- Play Time. When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, which helps make new connections in the brain.
- Connecting Time. When we connect with other people, ideally in person, or take time to appreciate our connection to the natural world around us, richly activating the brain's relational circuitry.
- Physical Time. When we move our bodies, aerobically if medically possible, which strengthens the brain in many ways.
- Time In. When we quietly reflect internally, focusing on sensations, images, feelings and thoughts, helping to better integrate the brain.
- Down Time. When we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, which helps the brain recharge.
- Sleep Time. When we give the brain the rest it needs to consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.
When I read about this tool in 2011, I recognized my challenge in achieving work-life balance. While I had plenty of focus time (mainly at work), an appropriate amount of sleep time (this went off the rails a few years later) and some physical time (walks with my dog, Freddie), I was much less disciplined in incorporating play time, connecting time, time in and down time into my day.
Since being on health leave to deal with ovarian cancer, I've continued to enjoy focus time (there's nothing like committing to publish a daily blog post to focus the mind), have returned to a more appropriate amount of sleep time, and have increased my physical time. I now have more opportunities for connecting time and play time (Chris and I watch Jeopardy together every weeknight at 7:30). Blogging is a form of time in, allowing me to reflect on my day, though perhaps not quite what Rock and Siegel had in mind. My downfall continues to be down time. I rarely sit still, doing nothing and letting my mind wander.
At the time I read about Rock and Siegel's work, I had recently taken a day trip to Kingston with my family. The highlight of my day was sitting in the park on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, simply enjoying the scenery. I experienced that same feeling last week when watching the sheep at Upper Canada Village. That's not a lot of down time, but I'll keep working on it.
I don't know whether Rock and Siegel's Healthy Mind Platter ever took off. But I love models such as theirs to remind us of the variety of activities we would benefit from pursuing to maintain our mental health.
