Prioritizing Mental Health
Promoting Brain Wellness and Seeking Support
Dr. Carol Malec is an author, researcher, educator and psychotherapist who often shares her journey from being an ICU nurse to shifting her focus to brain health and wellness through explaining that her experiences in the ICU underscored the importance of addressing mental and emotional health in parallel to dealing with physical health needs in order for people to truly recover from health setback or illness.
This led her to pursue further education and research in the field.
Dr. Malec discusses the importance of mental health awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding it that prevents many people from getting the help they need. She introduces the concept of viewing mental health as brain health or brain wellness, a paradigm shift pioneered by Dr. Daniel Amon. Brain health focuses on understanding and improving brain functioning to promote overall well-being. “Accessing mental health help is a challenge for many,” as Dr. Malec acknowledges that the current infrastructure often falls short in providing timely and comprehensive support. She emphasizes the importance of building a support team which can include self as well as a
“team helpful” list of others who are supportive, such as family, friends, support people in allied health as well as, community supports. These resources along with personal self- care efforts can be helpful when mental health resources are in short supply.
Self-support is important overall, and she encourages individuals to achieve this by prioritizing their own well-being, learning how to coach themselves in healthy ways as well as incorporate daily self-care practices. One simple practice that makes a big impact is to evict “the bully in our brain” that self-negativizes and criticizes and creates negative mood states that contribute to poor brain health.
Dr. Malec addresses the question of what individuals struggling with their mental health can do to improve things for themselves. She suggests actively seeking out positive social connections. Talking things out with someone you trust can help you gain
perspective and alleviate emotional suffering. She also emphasizes the importance of lifestyle choices and self-care practices, such as avoiding substances and engaging in activities that promote well-being such as regular aerobic exercise. Dr. Malec suggests that it takes courage to reach out to others, especially during periods of isolation and internal struggle.
Dr. Malec discusses the impact of prolonged isolation and lack of activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. She compares it to the experience of people living in cold climates during winter, where they tend to retreat and become less active. She emphasizes that overcoming this requires a significant amount of effort and patience. Prolonged isolation and lack of activity can lead to physical deconditioning, similar to what happens to patients in hospital beds when illness is prolonged. She suggests starting by taking small steps, such as a walk around the block once a day, taking stairs instead of an elevator, as these small steps can help to rebuild and recondition and can lead to increasing levels of aerobic exercise overtime. Set small goals, achieve them, feel success, and build from there.
Recently, Dr. Malec became involved in a project developing a new breakthrough mental health tool designed for individuals to gain a better understanding of their mental health, with the aim to help alleviate the current strain on mental health system resources. The YMI tool was created by doctors, psychotherapists, data scientists and other experts, as a predictive survey and uses supervised artificial intelligence to generate insights on the degree of how individuals’ genetic expressions, childhood and life experiences affect their mental wellbeing. It then provides resources to connect with qualified experts for treatment.
“The increasing demand for mental health services and the potential for burnout among healthcare professionals has increased,” Dr. Malec says. She believes that the pandemic has exacerbated this issue and there is a need to enhance access to mental health support.
“Right now, individuals are struggling more than ever. There is a ‘rise of the selfdiagnosis’ movement that has been facilitated by the internet. Many people turn to online sources for information which may be inaccurate, mistakenly self-diagnose, and without consulting a professional because resources are scarce, end up in a worse situation. This trend adds to the challenges faced by healthcare providers,” states Dr. Malec.
“I believe and practice personal stress management. I call it the five-point prevention plan for self-care. This plan includes prioritizing self-care through: 1) seeking and maintaining positive social connections, 2) avoiding drug and alcohol substances, 3) maintaining a daily routine of aerobic exercise, healthy food consumption, and good quality sleep to meet personal sleep needs, 4) practicing self-reflection through journal writing, and, 5) cultivating a positive mindset by writing out daily gratitude in an effort to develop new brain neuropathways by using positive self-talk. I really emphasize the importance of rewiring the brain to focus on the positive aspects of life.” says Malec.
It is important to keep your personal approach to managing stress and maintaining mental wellness at the top of your to-do list every day. There is evidence that supports the importance of structured journal writing, avoiding social isolation, aerobically exercising, practicing kindness and empathy with others, and incorporating diet and nutrition for mental health to reduce problems such as depression and anxiety.
Simple Tips to heal Your brain, Improve Mood and Become more Emotionally Healthy
Self-care practices including: regular but modest AEROBIC exercise, healthy nutrition practices that reduce sugar intake and avoid processed foods, slowly eliminate substances that negatively impact brain function such as alcohol and drugs. Additionally put a priority on getting your optimal sleep, start a healthyinformation diet by turning off the negative news, and reduce your time on social media platforms as studies are revealing that these all play
a significant role in mental wellbeing.
Learn how to emotionally self-regulate as it is a prosocial skill that will improve your own mental health by leading to more positive social interactions and improvement in your relationships with others. This can be learned through self-help books, Youtube videos, or good therapy.
Structured journal writing builds new neural pathways and fosters a balanced mindset.
Avoiding social isolation is crucial for positive mental health.
Offer Small acts of kindness or volunteer work, as these can have a positive impact on our wellbeing and lift your mood.
Letting go of long-held resentments through a forgiveness process. This can be directed to ourselves for things we regret or for others. This step helps create conditions for a healthy brain.
Prioritizing mental health and recognizing its significance in overall well-being is crucial. By viewing mental health as an integral part of our well-being, we can shift our perspective and take proactive steps to promote brain health and wellbeing.
This starts with having open and honest conversations about mental health, breaking down the stigma associated with it, and creating a safe and supportive environment for conversation about mental health. By normalizing these conversations, we can encourage individuals to actively seek support and connection when they are facing mental health struggles.
There is research that shows personal efforts which people make on behalf of their mental health and wellbeing can make a significant improvement in their brain health.
People who aerobically exercise, make healthy food choices, develop and maintain positive social relationships, have healthy sleep habits, and feel empowered and in self-control are more able to deal with their life stressors.
Taking an active role in our health and wellbeing also contributes to healing partnerships with health care professionals that can contribute to better outcomes overall.
By actively prioritizing mental health, seeking support and connection, and adopting brain wellness practices, we can create a foundation for overall wellbeing. It is essential to remember that mental health is a journey and everyone's experience is unique.