We live in a 3-dimensional mortal reality. During our brief blip of an existence, our bodies are boxed in by this physical paradigm. Our minds, on the other hand, have no bounds. They can traverse the past, present, or future via the wormhole of time.

While we exist in the present, our minds are unencumbered by this and are free to soar through the labyrinth of the 4th dimension – time. Musing over past memories and imagining unconstrained possibilities in the future. Although our minds have this degree of freedom, I must add that everyone may not have the same flexible experience; for some of us, our minds are anchored in the past (due to prior experiences) afraid to think/dream of future possibilities.

Like the proverbial iceberg, only the physical tip of our personality is visible to all. The bulk of our identity (who we really are) or the domain of our mind/consciousness – however you may choose to label it, lives in the meta-physical 4th dimension. We tend to focus a lot on our bodies and forget that our mind actually controls our bodies. No wonder we often hear the statement – “It’s all in your mind”

We worry more about our physical, than our mental self. We seldom miss our annual proactive Physicals where the quantifiable metrics of our bodies are tracked and attended to – cholesterol, blood pressure, lab tests etc. Have you heard of a proactive annual Mental (check) ever? We only react to mental health situations – when we have gone way past the red flags, and someone we are close to is visibly suffering.

Every time a heinous event occurs in our society, resulting in loss of life and injuries – the responsible person identified is deemed to have a ‘mental issue’. Preventing such situations requires everyone (including the individual) to be cognizant of personality changes and the little red flags, as they are still sprouting. When someone is in a questionable mental state; since the mind really controls the body – bad things may/will happen to the individual and those around them.

We talk a lot about the importance of Work-Life balance ….. But we never bring up the topic of Physical-Mental balance in our lives. If this is accomplished, work-life balance follows. All the Health care systems we have are razor-focused on our physical health, to proactively prevent conditions that may need urgent medical assistance.

We have to actively exercise control over our mind and harness its power – it will improve our quality of life. What I mean by this is that our mind/thought control can directly influence how we feel emotionally and influence our biological and nervous systems. In times of crisis situations, our adrenaline kicks in as a defense mechanism to energize us for self-preservation. My advice would be to first “calm down” and take a step back. When our body rhythm normalizes, our thought process clears up. Our mind is totally capable of profoundly influencing this recovery. Meditation and other calming methods are critical nutrition food for the mind. A calm mind will result in clearer thinking and ensure objective rationalization versus a knee-jerk response. I know it is easier said than done.

Do a periodic self-assessment, being honest and objective. Do you have a Mental-Physical balance in your life? Are you generally satisfied and happy about yourself and those around you? Is your Transaction Analysis state “I’m OK, You are OK”? If NO, introspection or even some proactive professional help must be sought. Reach out to your near and dear ones in a caring way, at the slightest sign of a drift in personal behavior. Asking someone “How are you doing” will help break down barriers and allow the affected person to open up, and take corrective action. Mental Health should always take precedence over Physical health, just as Life/Family should always trump Work matters.