[BLOG POST] Brain Health and Mental Health

When brain health correlates with mental health

There is a lot of chat in the media lately about how we can improve our brain health as we are ageing. With the rates of Alzheimer increasing drastically over the last 20 years (some research suggesting 145% increase) [1] , neurological disorders being the leading cause of disability adjusted life years & the 2nd cause of death globally and the fact that 1 in 3 person will develop a neurological disorder at some point in their lifetime [2] , no wonder people are starting to give brain health the consideration it deserves.

When we talk about brain health, we often think of good sleep, regular exercise, eating well & minimising harmful environmental factors which are all valid determinants. Although things are slowly changing, the importance of mental health can still be under-looked when addressing brain health.

Having lived experience of tackling life with a neurological disorder for the past 5 years, I’ve seen numerous health specialists, however, I can count on one hand those who tried to assess how I was coping from a mental health point of view.

Whether you have a neurological condition or not, anyone can experience mental health struggles. It does not discriminate and we sadly see our youth navigating mental health problems such as anxiety and depression at a much younger age and in a much greater number too. Another important aspect to note is that if you are part of the 1 in 3 persons developing a neurological disorder, you find yourself at a much greater risk of seeing your mental health decline.

Your physical condition can affect your mental health, but the state of your mental health can also greatly affect your physical health. So in order to achieve a state of brain health, they cannot be looked at independently.

To me it’s a no brainer, brain health and mental health cannot be dissociated.

Nurturing our future mental health begins much sooner than many would assume too. Even whilst in the womb, a range of factors can influence the brain development of an unborn child and therefore have impacts later on their overall brain health including their mental health.

So as we are about to get into mental health awareness week in my wonderful country of adoption that is NZ, I think it’s really important to start looking at brain health in a more holistic way. The well being of our brain, body and mind are closely intertwined and additional consideration needs to be given about how we can maximise everyone’s brain health.

Addressing a range of brain health factors can have huge benefits on:

• Optimising brain structure and function,
• Enhancing overall well-being
• Improving our physical and mental health and
• Resulting in social and economic benefits.

If this isn’t enough to convince you I’d like to invite you to take a dive with me this week and explore how each of the determinants of brain health stated in the recently published WHO position paper on brain health, to which I was a contributor, can positively influence our mental health.

I often say that knowledge is power so now is as good of a time as ever to get started.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35289055/

[2] https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240054561

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[BLOG POST] Comparison, the Thief of Joy

by Veronique Theberge

Comparison between people, aptitudes, skills, etc is a concept that most of us would be familiar with. Of late, I’ve been spending time assessing how the ongoing comparison between the old and new me since encephalitis and acquired brain injury may be affecting my overall happiness and recovery.

The changes in lifestyle, in physical and cognitive abilities and in energy levels has been pretty drastic and to be perfectly honest quite a bumpy ride too. Comparison is no longer between what others can achieve versus where I stand, but between where I used to sit versus what my new reality allows for now. On more than one occasion, this has been really disheartening. It has affected all spheres of my life and comparison reached an all time high on a personal, professional and social level.

Has comparison between and old me and new me been a thief of joy? Absolutely.

As I’m taking a step back to write this blog, I’m thinking about some of the words that I used, about comparisons that I have made between the old and new me, and I can see clear as day how so many of those comparisons would have been harmful. I can see how they would have detracted me from achieving a state of happiness. I can say in all honesty that comparison between the old and new me has triggered several negative thoughts.

Social comparison

Attending social events following a brain injury is not an easy undertaking and I have avoided a fair share of them over the years. One would think that by not attending an event that there would be less ground for comparison, but I found that to be quite the opposite. In fact, I found it has heightened social comparison.

FOMO is a real thing and digital technologies do not let you get away with much unseen unfortunately. It has often made me aware of the immense gap between the number & type of event that I can manage compared to everyone else. When I have put myself out there, it’s often highlighted my newly acquired challenges and the ways in which I have adapt in order to survive the simplest of gathering. Those few examples describe really well how social comparison may have had a negative impact on my overall recovery and wellbeing.

Professional comparison

In the early days of recovery I was extremely lucky to have the support of a stellar employer. They were amazing! We settled on a return to work schedule that catered for my health challenges and we amended the plan as recovery went on. However, limited time in the office and reduced cognitive abilities meant that in order to see some projects come to fruition, some tasks and responsibilities had to be dispatched amongst other colleagues. I understood the reasoning for this, but it felt unfair. It felt unfair that a brain inflammation and its resulting brain injury robbed me of some of my professional aspirations. It highlighted, once again, some of my shortfalls. I started perceiving injustice in my professional life and the culprit was for the most part the new me and its ongoing limitations. I remember all too well comparing my cognitive aptitudes, productivity and the state of my executive functioning between the old and new me…and for the most part, I did not like the state of it one bit!

Personal comparison

With managing limitations left and right and learning to live life as the new me, it didn’t take long for the negative to outweigh the positive between the old and new me. I was more times than not pretty disappointed with the massively scaled down version of the old me. I’ll go as far as saying that at times, I hated this new me. Unsurprisingly, this sort of internal dialogue and belief lead me to think that I was failing all the times. It felt as though I was falling short on so many fronts. Looking back, I realise how harsh and unkind I was to this new version of me which was in reality working harder than ever.

How could the reflection of the person in the mirror be the same yet FEEL so different? Comparison was truly the thief of joy but at the centre of it all were two different versions of ME that I could simply not reconcile.

As I’m reading and reviewing this blog , I so wish that I could have told that person in the mirror something – ANYTHING – to have her believe that things will be ok in the end. That rediscovering and healing myself will happen, but that it will take time and occur in many shapes and sizes. The thing is, I’m not sure that I would have believed then what I know now anyway.

If you are stuck in this exact phase of your recovery, I won’t sit here pretending that getting to know and appreciate the new you will be easy. I get you, I understand the frustrations, I understand the complexity of the challenges that you are faced with and all their associated emotions. I truly feel for you and above all, I wish I had a magic wand to fast track this process ten-fold. I think it’s a journey and that at some stage we come to realise that we have to trust the process.

Tips to manage comparisons

Below are a few ideas that I’ve come across in an article from Psychology Today* that I’m thinking may help you manage some of the harmful comparisons between the old and new version of yourself following brain injury:

1. Recognize that you’re likely using an unrealistic target when evaluating yourself and adjust accordingly.

2. Consider what you’re trying to achieve when making a comparison.

3. If comparisons have you feeling down, spend some time thinking about positives: how much a skill has improved over time, how much worse a situation could be than it is in reality, or others who may see you as a role model right now.

We have to remember that comparisons can go both ways. Finding ways to use comparisons in a positive way can actually be helpful. Again, I’m not saying that it’s easy, but with the right mindset, we can gradually start turning things around.

Final words on comparison

So next time when I ask myself if comparison between and old me and new me has been a thief of joy, I think I’ll tweak my answer in the following way…Yes of some of my joys, but time has been my ally. As the new me started finding its place and purpose, I discovered so much about myself and this definitely translated into growth that would have never come about otherwise. Trust that somewhere along the way, you will start embracing the new you and that comparisons between the old and new you will fade away.

*https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/multiple-choice/201903/is-comparison-really-the-thief-joy

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