Try these 4 things to achieve mental stability and unlock longevity.
"Mens Sana In Corpore Sano" - What are the keys to have a healthy mind? These 4 things had been suggested by the people who had lived to 100 (or close).
This is the third part of the Secret of Longevity series.
In the first part I mentioned about the Netflix series titled “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” which told a story how in some places they have a proportionately bigger number of centenarians compared to the rest of the world. The series went on to search for clues on why these people had lived to their 100 and kept themselves remarkably healthy and happy. What are the secrets of their longevity?
In the second part I wrote about the first 2 secrets, one was concerning their diets and the second one around what kind of physical activities that these folks were doing.
In this post we will see what else contributed to their long and healthy life.
“A Healthy Mind in A Healthy Body”
I have a confession to make.
I don’t have any sympathy for anyone who is hiding behind ‘Mental Health’ and using it as an excuse like a ‘Get out of Jail’ card.
However, I am very happy that mental health has gained significant recognition as a genuine health concern over the last decade.
I welcome the societal shift toward understanding and addressing mental health issues, highlighting the importance of promoting mental well-being and reducing stigma associated with mental health challenges.
In the Blue Zones series it was frequently mentioned and obviously evident that mental stability is a requirement for a healthy, long and happy life.
So how do we maintain mental stability? The people in the blue zones offer some suggestions:
Control your Stress Level
Stress, as it turns out, is how our body responds to threats, which could be psychological, emotional or physical.
When we are under threat, our body releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. It’s an evolutionary trait we inherit from our ancestors way back then.
It’s the body’s ‘Fight or Flight’ response, preparing it to deal with a perceived threat.
Therefore, an acute stress response is good for us, it even protects us.
This is a natural and adaptive response which is short-term. Once the threat is removed, by killing it or escaping it, the body returns to its normal state.
Chronic stress however, is bad. This is the long-term and persistence stress over an extended period of time with devastating effect not only to mental but also physical health.
Finding a cure or offering suggestions on how to cope with stress is outside the scope of this writing, but perhaps I will write a dedicated post on this topic.
But in the meantime, if you feel that you have chronic stress, seek help immediately, never leave it until it becomes a gangrene.
Find support from the right tribe
This is a real story from my own past.
I had a good friend, he hadn’t had the best luck in his life. One day he visited me at my place, he looked really down. As he cried and confessed all his trouble, he suddenly asked me for a knife! He asked me to let him slit his wrist and end his miserable life.
It took all my mental strength to keep calm, I never had to deal with anyone who’s trying to commit a suicide before, I almost dialed 999.
In the end, I don’t know how, I managed to reason with him and calmed him down. He ended up sleeping beside me probably from exhaustion.
20 years later, I can happily say that he’s still alive, and we are still friends and in contact regularly.
Honestly, he was not the first case, though he was easily the darkest one. I had many people came and opened up to me about their problems. I don’t know, maybe I am just good at listening.
The point here, and also what the story of the people in the blue zones clearly told you is this:
Support from others is very important in our life!
And not just any others, the right others!
They are the people who will be there for you AND with you through thick and thin, not just when the situation is preferable and convenient, but especially when things are the darkest.
It’s important that you find the right person, the right community, the right tribe!
And by the way, by this I don’t mean the 10 thousand followers you have on Instagram!
No, they ain’t gonna give a shit about you. Ok, they might give you a ‘heart’ or few and write nice things about your post, but in reality these won’t fix anything.
Find the right tribe, one that will support you, one that can surround you with positive thinking, one that can teach you healthy habits and behaviour, one that can lift your spirit up beyond all the trouble and ultimately make you a better and happier person.
Spend time with others - physically
The Internet era brought us great things. The world becomes much smaller as communication at a long distance is at a speed of light, and always at our fingertips.
But this convenience came with a price.
We all know what it is and are paying it on a daily basis.
Everywhere we go we see individuals glued to his/her mobile phone. We hardly meet and talk to anyone face to face that doesn’t include a screen in front of us.
We are slowly losing this real human connection. And the effect can be detrimental.
Loneliness has become a big problem in today’s modern society. And research had shown that there is a big correlation between loneliness and mental and physical health. It often relates to the death rate.
What the people in those blue zones showed us is, it’s important to keep this real human connection alive.
It’s important to spend some ‘physical’ time with our family and friends, with our tribe, outside the screen.
I admit, it’s not that easy, the addictive nature of social media is just too hard to resist. Many times I feel that it’s just easier to stare at my screen than to deal with people.
But with the help of like-minded tribe, I think we should be able to do it.
Have Faith and Hope and everything in between
I guess this is not just one thing, but a combination of things to answer one question.
That question is this, what are the best things to do in your daily life to have a better mental health?
The following ‘Hollistic and Positive’ approaches towards life were some of the advises the centenarians gave when asked about what’s the secret of their happiness.
Be grateful for every day that we live.
Be less angry about anything. Anger is a waste of energy.
Forgive and forget.
Have fun and find anything to laugh about every day.
Live the present moment.
Hakuna Matata!
Have faith and hope that everything will be alright.
The 4th and the last part of the series will be posted tomorrow. Do subscribe if you would like it to be sent directly to your inbox.