Nope, we aren’t talking basketball…

This month we are talking BRAINS!!

Anything, everything, all the stuff, all the chemicals, all of the thoughts that happen in that big beautiful brain of yours!

 

It’s March and we are taking up everything mental health madness!

**Arena crowd shouts and goes craazzzyyy!!**

 

Our brains are an incredibly intricate and complicated organ. It is our command center; processing emotions, pain, senses, movement, every. single. thought. (that alone…oh man), language, and about a bazillion more things. EEK! Talk about busy! So then why do we tend to focus more on the health of our bodies as a whole and not the health of or minds? I mean, if I were that busy I’m pretty sure I’d need a therapy session or 5, a couple spa days, about 20+ naps, some kind words said to me, avocado toast and chocolate (healthy brain fats??), and loads of water.

What’s The Deal With All The Mental Health Stigma??

 

Let’s dive in with some fun facts about your brain:

1. The human brain weighs 3 pounds
2. It is one of the fattest organs in the body (60% fat!)
3. It has the capacity to generate approximately 23 watts of power when we are awake.
4. There are 100 BILLION neurons present in the brain.
5. About 75% of the brain is made up of water.
6. The fastest speed for information to pass between neurons is about 250mph.

 

Wow! Woah! And AWESOME!! And that’s nowhere near all of the fun/amazing facts that we know about the human brain.

 

Now here are few (maybe not so fun) facts involving mental health:%) will experience a mental illness during their  lifetime.

1. 5% of adults (18+) experience a mental illness in any 1 year. Thats equivalent to 43.8 million people.
2. Depression is one the the leading causes of disability, affecting 264 million people
3. The 2019 World Happiness Report found that negative feelings are rising around the world, and the United States is particularly hard-hit with what is being called an “epidemic of addictions”.
4. Loneliness is more dangerous than obesity, and as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

 

Well…that escalated quickly! Yes, yes it did. You see, too many people are too afraid to outrightly discuss all of the various things involving our mental state. So I’m here to just give it to you straight. We are going to spend the month of March talking about ALLLLLLL of it. The good and the bad.

Whether it be on purpose, or just sort of seems to happen, we will be going through everything that floats around in your head. We will do our best to uncover mental disorders, mental state, mentality, mental toughness, and whatever else is speeding around on those neurons.

 

At this very moment…How would you describe your mental state?

 

Or maybe you’ve never thought much about it until now. And I hate to break it to you, that’s exactly where our problem lies. There are very few, if any, check in’s, there is no self-questioning asking, “how am I feeling today?”, there is only wondering if you should be worried about how you’re feeling, but then taking no action. Why? Funny how the one thing in our bodies that does SO MUCH thinking, doesn’t stop to think much about itself.

Hmm, I suppose that’s the paradox in this saga; the thinking brain has no awareness of self.

So then how do we build up our mental awareness?

First of all… Jessica…WHAT?! “MENTAL AWARENESS?!?!” …Is that even a thing?

IT IS NOW!!

Before we really get in on things this month, we must first begin with accountability. How are we to ever grow, upgrade, learn, become better without accountability for our own darn selves? The answer, is- we can’t.

 

The only way to move forward is to know where you are.

 

From parental programming, abuse, trauma, misinformation, and the like, we have to OWN IT ALL. We cannot move forward down a healthier and happier path if we refuse to see, acknowledge, and accept how we got to this very moment in time. Right now, as you are reading this. All of these things have shaped the pathways of neurons in your brain.

I think it’s time to do some rearranging.

 

If you stigmatize something that you yourself need help with, you will never fully accept and take accountability for where you are and what needs corrective support. So as we jump into MARCH MADNESS, I ask you to do it with a mind ready to ask, “how am I feeling today?”, a willingness to be open about all of it, then proceed accordingly.

 

Welcome to MARCH MADNESS, where your brain gains win you the lifetime championship status.

 

 

I love you. GO FORTH.

~Jess