How your environment affects your mental health

Mental health is a topic that is taboo but today we are going to discuss it. 2020 is a year when everyone remembers that the covid-19 virus infected the entire world. All across the globe, we had to stay inside. This lockdown had drastic effects on everyone’s mental health.

Imagine staring at four walls every day With no end in sight,( well most don’t have to imagine) like they do in the penitentiary. This is not how humans evolved to be. We evolved to frolic outside and feel the rays of the sun on our face, to socialize to hug, to be close to one another, all this, wiped away with covid 19.

This global solitary confinement has caused widespread depression and feelings of loneliness. Many relationships have ended because of the unhealthy mindset brought on by the pandemic.

Fear is at an all-time high and the mental health of everyone in the world is in question. In these times while we practice social distancing, we still need the closeness of others.

Negative effects of Covid 19 on mental health

First living in constant fear is not good for the mind. We become afraid of simple tasks that we used to do such as opening a door for someone or shaking hands or even giving someone a hug. Human contact seems to be removed from the equation and causes us to feel depressed,

Another negative effect on the mind is social media. Because we are all locked inside we do the easiest thing to escape our misery. We go online. The problem with this is that the majority of news promoted online is something negative, whether it is about the virus or deaths from the vaccine. It could even be conspiracy theories surrounding the virus.

It is easy to get sucked into a negative whirlpool before you even start your day. Negativity is easy to sell. Tell a story about someone getting stabbed, shot, or run over and all eyes on you. But a post about giving to charity or planting a tree and you will pretty much get crickets.

Positive effects of Covid 19 on mental health

We have a lot more time to spend with family. It seems that with all the drawbacks that the coronavirus brings it does bring a few positives. It has caused a lot of people to reflect on their job and how it affects and is affecting their mental health. whether you are commuting to work two to three hours a day, you probably never stopped to think do I really need this job? Or better “what am doing with my life” or here’s another one am I being appreciated at my job?

The pandemic has made it so everyone has started reconsidering their life choices. Letting go of unnecessary stress from their lives. You should use this as a time of reflection and introspection. Many people who had been locked into a rigid work have finally taken the time to smell the roses. They get to spend time with loved ones, laugh and cry and develop a stronger human connection.

Some have started cooking more instead of eating junk. This improves their health for the better. It has been proven that constant consumption of greasy foods inhibits mental clarity. I myself must agree that my mind seems to feel more focused, the cleaner I eat. Generally, when I eat out I tend to feel tired because my body is spending a lot of energy trying to break down the food.

The world environment that we live in today has forced many to develop mental resilience and mental toughness. It has forced us to have a more evolved level of thinking surrounding our work and our mental health. Realizing that money is not everything because if you have all the money but lose your happiness it would end up being a miserable existence.

Your environment is stronger than your mindset

Always remember that your environment is stronger than your mindset. Always align yourself with and surround yourself with people who will influence you for the better.

Remember you form your reality from your surroundings. You cannot help the environment you were born into but you can change your environment. You can control the words you put into your mind.

Listen to motivational speakers, surround yourself with inspiration. Read motivational books. The greatest gift you have in your arsenal is imagination. As the great scientist, Einstein always said “imagination is more important than knowledge”

Remove yourself from stressful environments as this will improve your mental health. A healthy mind is one that is free from worry, focused, at peace, and has the ability to think clearly.

The reason your surroundings are stronger than your mindset is that we trust what we can see, smell, hear, touch and taste. In other words, we trust our senses, with this logic in mind all these senses are highways to the brain and mind.

What we hear influences us one way or another, what we see becomes an experience. In order to reprogram our minds to have a more positive outlook, we have to feed it with the right foods while eliminating the junk.

Try listening to something motivational for a change and turn off your minute-by-minute news notifications. Especially if you are isolated. There is a reason solitary confinement is considered one of the cruelest punishments for prisoners. It cuts them off from interaction with others and this has a negative effect on their mental health.

You being under lockdown and quarantine is similar to solitary confinement. However, you make it worse when you constantly feed your brain junk that actually makes your day worse.

The mind hates problems it can’t solve

Humans are problem solvers so when you put your brain in an environment where it is receiving non-stop problems in the form of news about something negative that happened. Such as crime being on the rise or a major natural disaster. Your mind subconsciously processes the data and tries to figure out if there.is.anything that it can do to change the situation because obviously, you feel negative about hearing certain news because there is no way you can solve the issue you get frustrated. frustration is a negative emotion.

Getting many negative notifications every day is filling your mind with unsolvable problems and negatively affecting your mental health.

Conclusion

So how does your environment affect your mental health? Is it negative or positive? Share in the comments below. If you liked this article you can check out my other article about what covid 19 can teach us about depression and if you got this far consider signing up for my email list, I promise to not spam you. All in all, have a great day, and looking forward to you becoming a regular reader.