Mental health

What is the norm or standard for measuring mental health? The problem of mental health is very difficult to assess precisely because of the nature of the mind. The mind is something which cannot be seen; it's manifestation very often can only be observed when a direct action has been made as in the case of a man in a rage. He might be seen ordinarily as a mild-mannered man who never causes any trouble, and a blowout will not be predicted at all if we just base our assessment from purely external behavior. He might be seething inside, a facet of his character or personality that will not be known even to people close to him unless they have a telescope into his mind.

By all accounts, we know that the human person exhibits many mental traits or propensities. He shares many of these with animals but there are some which can only be termed as higher mental propensities. A person can be driven by lust or greed or any of a number of emotions or feelings. It is said that the senses alone can drive a person to pursue countless things that appeal to him. His motor organs are another source of motivation whether it be for satisfying bodily needs like thirst, hunger, action and exercise.

Deep inside a person's mind, thoughts are created and destroyed not without affecting his life. His mind may take possession of these thoughts and amplifies them to the point that they may be termed as obsessive or compulsive. It may not come to that but still it could still command him such that he would have an attraction or aversion to any number of things or even ideas. A person's state of mental health therefore is dependent on many factors which contribute to the making of his personality or character.

Ordinarily, there are natural checks and balances which enable the individual person to function within the norms of society. However, there may exist events or happenings which have a deep impact on a person's psyche that ultimately change him for the better or the worse. The more obvious examples are physical or emotional trauma which do have deep effects which might not be readily seen externally. Another type of event is sometimes called religious experience which also affect profoundly the individual and not always in a good sense.

Peace of mind

Something which has become a rare commodity nowadays is peace of mind. This is especially true in urban areas where a large number of people share a relatively small physical space. One would think that living in a densely populated area would increase one's chances of increasing one's circle of friends. This is not the case and it has served to erode the one area in human life which fosters peace of mind. One feels secure when surrounded by people that one knows. One can confide in friends who would be sympathetic. Family is always a given when talking about comfort and security but we find more and more that there can exist conflicts between members of the family. In the light of family conflicts, would people would rather seek comfort at home or take their chances with strangers? How does one find real peace of mind? Alcohol and drugs have become the bane of society precisely because this. Peace of mind is difficult to find. Alcohol and drugs offer the numbing quality of oblivion and cause unhappy people to become even more unhappy when they get hooked on these vices.

People need people. This is not just frue in song but in real life. The need to communicate, to reach out, to belong, to be part of something is an inner need that doesn't seem to be served by living alone in a big city. In a big city, there is the added danger of being mugged, raped, assaulted and harmed physically. This is truly an irony.

Small wonder that more and more people socialize through the Internet. One doesn't have to leave one's home to be with someone. In the millions of chatrooms in cyber space are millions of souls seeking connection and meaning in others who feel the same need. Sad to say, predators that abound in the streets also have their counterpart in Cyber Space who find plenty of prey in the Internet. The anonymity of the net makes people even more vulnerable because they would tend to let down their guard and be ensnared by the glib words of someone who may be pretending to be what they are not. Add to that the overwhelming need to be loved or needed and you have a recipe for pain. How is one to find peace of mind?

Peace of mind is just that. It exists in the mind. One cannot find peace of mind outside of oneself. Trying to find happiness and satisfaction in people or things would only set one up for disappointment and betrayal for it is a fact that people look for their own advantage and people in need of loving are very vulnerable to predatory advances. Things might bring a measure of satisfaction to a person but this is merely transitory because toys become boring very quickly. How then is one to find peace of mind? How is one to achieve that very difficult Holy Grail, so to speak?

One must look inward to find peace of mind. One must realize that the very thing that drives a person to look for satisfaction is desire. The desire to be happy and satisfied drives a person to run here and there looking for that ephemeral quality. It is a real paradox. The need for peace of mind drives a person to find happiness externally. Failing in this again and again one must realize that real happiness is to be found inwardly by looking deep inside oneself.

Meditation involves shutting out the noise of the outside world and to tune in to the internal world. It involves looking at one's mind and trying to make sense of it. It involves watching one's thoughts and realizing them for what they are: mere thoughts, expressions of desire. The mind has been described as a thought machine which takes input from external and internal stimuli triggering the mechanism of desire. Each thought therefore pushes the self to run after the object of that thought. This goes on endlessly without let-up. Little wonder then that peace of mind seems to be something unattainable. It is unattainable for those who chase after it in the external world. People and things cannot give one peace of mind. Peace of mind can only be won after a heroic struggle in one's inner arena.

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and snxiety are the major factors threatening the mental health of modern man. While there were occasions for stress and anxiety in older times, it is not as acute or as prevalent as today. The pace of the world today as well as ever-increasing tevels of population have conspired to pummel the human psyche like never before. As technology has advanced to enable man to create more products and wealth, it should stand to reason that human satisfaction should also rise to the level of the production of these products which are designed to satisfy men's wants. Unfortunately, this increased productivity has only served to increase man's appetite and craving for more and more consumer products while leaving him largely unfulfilled.

The rat race or the race to be ahead of everyone else has made man more affluent but largely stressed and unfulfilled. This is a real paradox and man has forgotten the real delights of nature and simple living. Man has left behind his real source of power and energy which is nature itself. He has lost touch of his inner self and this has left him more and more alienated from himself and other people and the environment. Tall buildings might symbolize the loftiness of his aspirations but it has also kept him from the natural world. Instead of breathing fresh, oxygen-rich air, he must live in artificial environments which circulate unhealthy air. The natural ionization of the atmosphere that happens during a thunderstorm is unavailable to him as he lives inside airconditioned buildings.

It is no wonder then that man's closest companion is stress and anxiety. This fact reinforces the need to go back to techniques which the ancients have devised to bring the mind's attention to inner peace and find the endless source of inner strength and energy. Learning the techniques of meditation can alleviate stress and anziety.

Depression

One of the biggest obstacles to obtaining mental health is depression. It is now recognized as a disease of the mind although it might be termed as an affliction of the spirit. Under its spell, a person feels weak even when he is a giant of a man physically. When it strikes a man, he has no defense for it because it strikes at the very core of his being and he feels totally hopeless and helpless. it occupies his mind and all he could think about is how low he is feeling. He does not feel like moving about or doing something productive, such exercise he deems useless. He seeks oblivion and may turn to drink or drugs to banish the feeling of uselessness that envelops him. This only makes it worse for him. He feels lethargic and sleepy.

They say that faith can move mountains. A man who is inspired by faith the exact opposite of a man in the grip of depression. One might say that these are manifestations of the same mechanism of the mind but differing only in the flavor or coloring of it. Many peorple exhibit both symptoms and used to be termed manic-depressive but the more modern term is bi-polar disorder. It is not surprising that all of these things are happening in the province of the mind. Western scientists and philosophers tend to dichotomize the human being as being made up of body and mind. Oriental philosophy tends to see a human being as a whole being and view the body as nothing more than the cruder aspect of the mind. In Tantra, the body is called kamamaya kosa or "the food layer". A man therefore seen as having many layers that perform certain function but nevertheles participate in one being.

The body therefore, directly influences the functioning of the mind. In Chinese philosophy, the repository of emotions are the different internal organs. To take an example, the kidneys are seen as the vessel containing fear and is the organ directly concerned with the water factor. As such, a man in extreme fear may lose the control of his bladder and wet his pants. The organ that is related with sadness or sorrow is the lungs. This would perhaps explain why people with good lungs are very energetic and cheerful.

If we accept this theory to be correct then we might perhaps postulate that keeping the body fit through outdoor activities and good exercise can help alleviate feelings of depression. This is not to say that such a simplistic approach is the cure-all for depression. It simply states that there might be a physiological basis for depression and getting the body's energy system moving could flush out the undesirable stagnancy that plagues the body. Coupled with meditation, great strides can be made to maintain a balance in the chemical secretions and energy levels of the different organs of the body thus promoting physical as well as mental health.

Meditation stabilizes the physical processes and promotes harmony in the different organs of the body thereby accelerating healing in the affected portions of the body. Meditation calms down the parasympathetic system and allows the secretion of endorphins and higher-level hormones that creates a feeling of well-being. Very little is known about the pineal gland but in ancient texts, it is credited with secreting a substance they term as madhu which means "honey"

One seldom finds a person who meditates who is depressed or depressive. It appears that meditation causes mental equilibrium to be achieved thereby attaining peace of mind and mental health.

Meditation and auto-suggestion

When one thinks of one thought and keeps on repeating that thought continuously, it can be termed as auto-suggestion. Many self-help courses advocate this technique in order to change or alter one's perception of oneself. Hence, a girl or a young woman may say while looking at the mirror,"I am good. I am pretty". Repeating this process regularly will create an effect in the mind where one begins to see how one is good and pretty. This can also work in the opposite direction, when one thinks of not being good enough or of not being pretty enough. External suggestions can become seeds of self-induced feelings like, when one is told that one is pretty or being told that one is stupid pretty soon one begins to believe that suggestion.

The power of repetition has been known to propagandists and advertisers for a long time such that a saying has been coined: "a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth". Such is the power of repetition. Rumours work they same way: a suggestion is made and is accepted by the mind as true and then passed on to another without verifying its truth and is passed on again and again until it begins to sound like gospel truth.

When a child is constantly berated and called "a bad boy", the thought that he is a bad boy will be implanted in his mind and it will serve as a powerful suggestion that he is indeed a bad boy. This will create a low self-image will be dificult for him to overcome. The power of suggestion is therefore something which is not to be taken lightly and should be used only to create a good feeling in people. While corporal punishment has been discredited as an effective way of raising children, verbal abuse has not been widely disseminated as a more insidious form of punishment. Constant verbal abuse will debase a person's sense of self-worth and cause mental anguish and emotional stress.

In order to counter such feelings of worthlessness, very often a person will need the help of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts to uncover the deeply-rooted feelings of resentment and hopelessness. It is a sign that in this day and age, we have not yet learned to promote mental health and peace of mind. We have mastered the art of hurting other people in ways that cannot be seen. The ancients have recognized the principle of non-hurting but this principle has largely been forgotten owing to the rush for fame and fortune and power, to succeed politically and economically. One can help oneself by using meditation and techniques of auto-suggestion to reinforce feelings of innate worth.

Meditation can help develop a sense of self-worth and reinforce the feeling of being important in the universe. This brings peace of mind and mental health. Meditation relies on the power of positive auto-suggestion to work its magic.

Meditation and contemplation

Meditation is often equated with contemplation. Is there a difference between the two? Are the effects the same? Do they both promote mental health and peace of mind? Could we perhaps say that the two terms are inter-changeable? Let us analyze both terms and see if meditation can be correctly used to denote contemplation and vice versa.Contemplation as practiced by the Catholic clergy involves thinking about religious subjects very often centered around Jesus Christ and His passion. Popular topics or subjects of contemplation are also the lives of the Saints. The object of contemplation is to elevate the mind by directing one's thoughts to higher ideas and attempting to raise the consciousness.

One of the effects of contemplation or meditation is lower blood pressure and slower heartbeat. These have the effect of attaining better physical health and peace of mind. Anxiety and stress are associated with high blood pressure and increase heart rate. If left unchecked it can cause damage to the heart and other vital organs. It is therefore observed that in the Monasteries of Contemplative Orders in the Catholic clergy there is an atmosphere of peace and calm that pervades their monastery. This is caused by the mental vibrations of a higher nature caused by meditation and contemplation being done by monks on a daily basis.

Thoughts can have external effects. This is easily demonstrated. Take an angry man tormented by angry thoughts. He begins to shout and berate somebody for whatever reason there may be to trigger his anger. People around him can feel or sense his emotional energy bursting from within him. In much the same way, a child or a baby gurgling with happiness brings smiles and feelings of joy to those nearby. Emotions are not passive things that affect one person alone. They are powerful energies which reach beyond the source to affect others in the vicinity.

I remember very vividly the time when I was around eight years old during the Holy Week, which Catholics around the world observe, when my mother gave me a small booklet which depicted the Passion of Jesus Christ. It had drawings depicting His ordeal at the hands of his Roman tormentors, the forty lashes that He endured, the vile words and calumnies, the heavy cross he bore and his eventual crucifixion and death. I did not fully understand the meaning of all this but I felt intensely the pain that He must have felt and my mother said that He died for the sins of the world. These were concepts which an eight-year-old boy could hardly grasp but it caused me to go deep within myself and and I entered into a world which seemed so real to me. I was not aware of it as being my imagination but it felt like I was seeing Jesus being brutalized for my sins and I felt carried away in the feeling of pain and mental torture. that caused tears to well in my eyes and I found myself sobbing uncontrollably.

I was caught up in this pain and misery for quite a while and I carried on this quiet sobbing until I had no more tears to shed, and a calm feeling came gradually over me as if something had been lifted from my chest. This was my first foray into the world of the mind and it showed me in a powerful way how it could affect and control the way that we feel. I realized that while I was in that state, I could not help but feel the sorrow and passion which I imagined Jesus Christ felt two thousand years ago.

The mind is a powerful thing and the ancients have realized this and devised various forms of meditation to try and make sense of the world beyond the obvious and the material. While what I had experienced could hardly be called meditation, hysteria might be a better word for it, the whole episode left a very lasting impressions on me.

We know now that meditation can help to calm the mind and contribute to our mental health. Many forms of meditation have been suggested and many methods and processes have been devised. There is a general agreement that meditation has a direct and powerful influence not only on the psychological aspects but also on the physical and physiological processes which could be characterized as beneficial to both the mind and the body. Physical health and mental health therefore can be attained from meditating on a daily basis.