So efficient and hushed are our brains in their day to day operations, we are apt to miss what an extraordinary and complicated achievement it is to feel mentally well. To appreciate what mental health might be (and therefore what its opposite involves), we might take a moment to consider some of what will be going on in the folds of an optimally-functioning mind. This article is free to read. | | | | | 1. Drawing as Therapy: The Inner Critic The vast majority of us have an ‘inner critic’ – a negative internal voice that admonishes us for our supposed fairings (laziness, awkwardness, cowardice). Draw your inner critic. Give it a name and a face – ones as ugly as the pronouncements it makes. This will help you to recognise them whenever they rear their head. | | | | | 2. Philosophical Meditation Exercise A lot of the reason why we lose our calm is that we have not given ourselves the proper time to think. We hear a lot – nowadays – about the practice of meditation. But there is another approach to consider. Rather than distancing ourselves from our thoughts, in Philosophical Meditation we are directed to set aside time to untangle, examine and confront them. | | | The most curious and hazardous feature of the way we’re built lies in the difficulty we have registering what we actually feel. | | | Our subscription is an ideal gift for anyone who loves The School of Life, has an interest in philosophy, psychology, history, and culture, or is navigating emotional challenges like anxiety or relationship difficulties. Get 40% off a gift subscription for a limited time. | | | Follow us on social media: | | | |
