General mental health#

Like good physical health, good mental health contributes to good learning performance. There are many ways you can improve and maintain your overall mental health. Some examples include:

• Take time out. Take time out from a busy schedule occasionally. There are many ways to do this. Start a hobby, go for a walk, get some exercise, spend time with friends, take up art, singing, or music, keep a journal, or paint the fence. These kinds of activities can give your brain a welcome mental break and help preserve good mental health.

• Make positive choices. Two people may react to an event in two different ways. Let’s take an example of changing jobs. One person may see this change as a time of excitement and opportunity. The other may see it as a negative and stressful experience. This choice has a significant physical effect on the brain. In the one who makes the positive choice to see the change as an exciting opportunity, the brain releases more neurotransmitters that support that good mood (such as dopamine). In the one who sees the change as stressful, the brain releases more cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol damages the brain. The only difference between these two outcomes (one keeping the brain healthy, one killing brain cells) is the mental choice that each of these individuals made.

You always have a choice in how you react to the events that life presents you. Reacting to events in a negative way is still a choice in itself. Believing you have no choice is just mental laziness.

Good mental health also needs the absence (or control) of a wide range of possible mental illnesses. These can include disorders such as anxiety disorders, Attention Deficit disorders, Borderline Personality Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, Panic Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Phobias. The two most prevalent mental health issues in the western world today though are excessive stress and depression. These are the two I talk about here.

Seven of the top ten causes of death in the USA associate stress as a primary contributor. This includes heart disease, the top killer. Depression is the top ranked disability in the world for those aged fifteen to forty-four years old. Both of these health issues negatively affect learning and memory:

• Stress. Both mental and physical stress causes the body to release cortisol. Cortisol has both an immediate and a long-term negative effect on memory and cognitive performance. Long-term excessive stress can irreparably damage how the body regulates cortisol levels. This can lead to shrinkage in the hippocampus, resulting in irreversible memory performance decline. Stress can also increase the occurrence of depression in those more susceptible to the illness.

• Depression. Researchers link long-term depression to lower levels of serotonin, a key neurotransmitter needed for learning. Depression also negatively affects energy levels, attention and concentration. Both of these side-effects of depression result in decreased learning performance.

If you suffer from either of these two issues, or any of the others listed above, you should seek assistance from a suitable medical practitioner. These are serious illnesses.