RECENT REPORTS CITE that Namibia has one of the highest suicide rates in Africa.
Although financial distress has been confirmed to be one of the leading causes of people taking their lives, it is time we look deeper into the matters of the mind.
Caroline Leaf, a metacognitive neuroscientist who has studied the mind for nearly 40 years, says “75% to 98% of mental, physical, and behavioural illnesses stem from toxic thinking”.
These statistics are alarming and cannot be ignored. Although Men’s Mental Health month has ended, both men and women must recognise and prioritise the importance of maintaining a consistent and healthy mental lifestyle to function effectively in life.
According to the National Science Foundation and Joe Dispenza, people “think 60 000 to 70 000 thoughts every single day, and 90% of those thoughts are the same as the day before”. The National Science Foundation further confirms that 80% of our thoughts are negative. Imagine just how many excessive, negative, repetitive thoughts we have daily.
WHAT ARE THOUGHTS?
There are various definitions of thoughts, but I find pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s description to be more comprehensive.
He says: “Thoughts are “pictures of the mind. They are specific, descriptive imaginations of the mind, which are based on information received through the senses.”
He says they are a stream of images with constructive or destructive possibilities, functioning with or within human emotions.
“They are also conscious, mental constructions of your mind based on imagination and information.”
Human beings can base their thoughts on the imagination and images they choose to dwell on.
The thoughts/pictures they dwell on can either be healthy or toxic. Continuously building toxic thoughts leads to negative, intrusive thoughts that bring fear, anxiety and depression. Leaf cites that “intrusive thinking can be defined as uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts that can overwhelm you”.
These thoughts can come in the form of disturbing images of, for example, seeing yourself die in a car accident, or contracting a deadly disease like cancer, or worse, taking your life.
When you constantly allow yourself to excessively worry and consistently imagine negative scenarios in your mind, you are creating negative thinking habits, which give birth to negative, fearful and destructive intrusive thoughts that can overwhelm you and affect your entire life. Some scientists also found that diseases are sometimes produced by the imagination.
While intrusive thoughts can feel overwhelming, there is positive news. Negative and toxic thinking can be changed. Our brains are designed to transform thoughts through the process of reconceptualisation. This process allows one to reimagine and recreate and reframe the negative picture you imagined or believed in your mind, to a more positive and healthier one. This process, according to Leaf’s neurocycle programme, can take a total of about 63 to 80 days.
It is important to recognise that you have the ability to control your mind.
You possess the power to choose which thoughts to focus on and which to disregard. Think of your brain as a computer hard drive. For years, you have been storing information on this hard drive, and now that you realise some of this information is not serving you well, it’s time to delete those files and create new ones. While a computer may quickly delete files, the brain does not work as fast, especially when the thoughts are deeply rooted. However, with time and effort, you can erase the old patterns and create new ones.
Starting the journey of maintaining healthy mental health is not easy. However, nothing is impossible. Just invest in healthy thinking habits.
*Morna Ikosa is a columnist with a passion for holistic wellness and sustainable development. She is also a published author. You can reach her on micommunicationscc@gmail.com
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