Mental diet
When was the last time you ate? What was it? Was it a lousy snack or a fancy meal? How did it feel? Where did you have it? Did you wash your hands before having it? Was it tasty or healthy or both?
We all are so conscious of the food we put in our bodies, we care about its hygiene, quality, and whatnot. From a very young age, we are taught the importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise for a healthy physical being, what they forgot to teach us is the importance of a healthy mental being.
‘Oh no, missy! stop right here, with your mental health education. I’m quite really aware of depression and that other coocoo diseases and I’m sure I don’t have that.’ If you in any way thinking along these lines, ask yourself, Is being disease free is same as being healthy?
With the boom of the digital age, the amount of data an average person consumes has rocketed. But are we questioning the data that is being fed to our brains? Are we controlling it? Can we control it?
I use to be an avid reader and loved burying my eyes in the sea of words. And easy accessibility of the internet has allowed me to read the amount of data, I could only imagine in my dreams. There are e-books, blogs, articles, reviews, captions, posters, infographics ……….and the list goes on and on and on. But are we truly analyzing the data we are consuming? I’m not talking about writing or discussing the last series you watched on Netflix with your next best friend, but actually going back to the data you just consumed in your head and analyzing the effect it had on you. Binge-watching feels great but it doesn’t let the story brew into your brains, it doesn’t let you enjoy the information you just received, and hence we move on to more.
Why analyzing the data you consume is important? Simply because , as for a healthy body one requires a balanced diet, for a functioning healthy mind one requires a balanced information intake. Overconsuming will result in diarrhea or obesity, consuming a single type of data will result in a deficiency of the other vitals you need, and finally, underconsumption (which is not possible) will just leave you irrelevant and dumb.
What if I’m reading a variety of things watching different genres of movies or series, and control my screen time am I good? Well, it is not for anyone else to judge. The only way to judge is are you happy? are your relationships growing fine? Do you look forward to the next day? do you go to sleep at night with satisfaction or wake up excited for the coming day? If not, stop blaming corona or the government and check your diet. I’m in no way pinning the unhappiness with the current political situation or health situation on your mental diet, but look at the general behavior, the shine you radiated is it lost? The smile you display is it forced? And the love you nurtured is it dying?
Comment down amigos the sources of your data feasts. Ciao.
