What It Means To Be Human In This Strange And Complex World

Sometimes we can forget that we are flesh and bones with complex ways of interpreting and navigating our worlds. I’ve recently started some training blending arts and psychotherapy and yesterday we questioned what it means to be a human being and investigate what really shapes our mental well-being?

What would you say? Less Instagram? Good conversations with people you love? Healthy food? All of these have an impact but we learned there are 6 emotional systems that need to be optimally activated for us to experience good mental health. When either of these emotions are out of sync, under or over-stimulated it has a dramatic effect on our state of mind and well-being. They are as follows:

*Rage* - are you able to comfortably express yourself wholeheartedly and say no if you need to?

- Under-activated - unable to address and express our angry or feelings

- Over-activated - easily triggered or blaming others

*Fear* - are you able to voice your fears and take action to alleviate them?

- Under-activated - constantly taking radical risks, put yourself in deep danger

- Over-activated - anxious and constantly worried, can face panic attacks often

*Panic/Grief* - can you express sadness, cry about a powerful loss, and let go?

- Under-activated - suppressing feelings of loss, not able to cry, buttoned up

- Over-activated - depression, helplessness, neediness in relationships?

*Care* - are you able to feel warmth, empathy, and compassion for yourself and others?

- Under-activated - not able to see the suffering in others

- Over-activated - not able to care for yourself due to exhaustion from supporting others.

*Seeking* - do you have a sense of purpose and passion? Feeling bored or unbothered?

- Under-activated? - unable to stick to things, boredom

- Over-activated - addicted to social media or other distractions versus finding new pursuits and experiences

*Play* - are you able to be spontaneous, playful, find the fun and giggles?

- Under-activated - unable to joke, have fun or be open to spontaneity

- Over-activated - fidgety, not able to be calm or serious

It really clicked for me after class, if I’m being honest for the last couple of months I’ve definitely had a deep dip in my mental well-being and I can say wholeheartedly that I was out of sync in a major way across a few areas. Whether it was dealing with (and sometimes not) deaths of significant friends, feeling funky and fearful about the future, and little to no feelings of play in and out of work.

Hopefully, this can give you pause for thought. Knowing that the top three of these systems can suppress the last three emotions helped me to see what little steps, conversations, meditations, and actions I could take to increase my mental well-being.

Which areas for you feel out of balance? What areas could you start to address over the next days/weeks to shape you and your mental well-being?