Taking care of our mind isn’t a topic we usually discuss with our friends, family or neighbors in casual settings. While taking care of our physical health is an important part of our culture, we tend to neglect our mental and intellectual health in the process.
As a lifelong learner, avid reader, and researcher, I have done a lot to take care of my intellectual health, and the health of my brain. However, when I experienced a severe mentally traumatic event in 2017, I was totally unaware of the impact it would have on my intellectual capacity and brain functions. For the next several months, I found it nearly impossible to read or comprehend even basic information. It felt like I was dealing with a foreign language I could not comprehend. I couldn’t remember a simple task list without writing it down, or even the three items I needed to buy at the grocery store. I had a difficult time remembering what day of the week it was, or even recalling a family event I had attended several days before. I recognized my brain was trying to sort out the mental chaos and cope with the trauma I had experienced, but I was unprepared for the how long the healing process would take.
With professional help, I learned early on that I needed to find other outlets for my energy and ways to give my brain time to heal. Exercise helped me the most, along with finding new hobbies. Patience was key to my efforts. I experienced the frustration of not being able to do the things I did before and having to find other ways around them or other ways of coping with tasks I could not easily perform. I searched for meaning and found valuable lessons during the recovery process. I learned to be more patient with others and myself. I learned to have greater empathy for others who were angry. I recognize now that anger is often the result of extreme frustration and grief. I discovered that it is not possible to look at someone and “see” that they have suffered from some sort of mental or physical brain trauma or injury. That for those who have never experience this, it is nearly impossible to comprehend. The support that is needed to heal is critical and often not well understood. How we proceed to take care of our intellectual health is equally critical to our healing process, and for many it is a lifelong journey.
Our brain and how we learn to care of it is unique to each of us. Some people find that meditation, yoga or exercise help the most. Others discover that puzzles and games help to sharpen our intellectual capacity. What matters most is that we make some effort to nurture our intellectual health and have patience for the process.
While physical activity, diet, and mental stimulation are important ways to care of our brain, it is equally critical that we seek support and social connections. Building strong social and emotional networks with others through personal relationships and support groups can be vital for our intellectual health. The importance of these connections is well documented in a large body of research. Infants and children who do not receive sufficient social and emotional connection with adults fail to properly develop mentally. In extreme cases, they even fail to thrive despite proper nutrition. Social and emotional connections are equally vital in adulthood to continue to nurture and care for our mental capacities.
With a new understanding of the importance of self-care in healing and maintaining a strong mind, I encourage others around me to stop for a moment and think about how you intend to care for and build a stronger mind.
Nurture your mind:
- Seek and practice some form of mental stimulation
- Find a physical activity or exercise you enjoy to do several times a week
- Pay close attention to your diet and eliminate foods that do not treat your body well
- Build and strengthen your social networks
- Seek out and join support groups in person or online
- Spend time in nature or with animals
Author: Rachel Bauer
Editor(s): Seid Suleyman
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