“Happiness is a state of mind. The key to happiness is being able to disconnect your life from your perceptions. If you saw things as they really were, you would be happy automatically.”
Frederick Lenz
Overview of Todays’ Post:
In my last post we talked about the “states of mind” and how increasing your connection to your “self aware/conscious brain” through mindful meditation can create great benefit no matter what state you are in.
Today I am going to discuss an “unsettled mind” which is the most common state in anxiety. I will go through in depth how diet, lifestyle, and your emotions play a role in the development of an unsettled mind as well as how to use this knowledge to start improving your anxiety today.
First, a Quick Recap:
MIND UNSETTLED:
In this state the mind may also be weakened by a lack of energy (similar to mind weakened) however in this state the deficiency or lack of energy is at a deeper level. Mind weakened can be brought on by a long work week or a heavy menstrual cycle whereas mind unsettled is brought on by a longer history of overwork, heavy loss of blood (such as an accident or miscarriage), or a sudden illness such as pneumonia.
The mind may also become unsettled when it is disturbed by “pathogenic factors” which is the term we use to describe anything that is in a state of excess (rather than deficiency as described above.) “Pathogenic factors” can be thought of on a physical level as toxins or an excess amount of waste products in the body.
I often see this state of mind in people who regularly “bury” or ignore their emotions by using things like alcohol, smoking, stress eating, or have become “addicted” to passive therapies such as EFT, EMDR, Emotional Release, etc.
I also often see this state of mind in people who regularly eat or drink excessively, especially things like meat, dairy, coffee, alcohol, and sugar. Eating to much of any type of food leads to accumulating toxins and waste products in the body (yes even vegetables) however it happens much quicker with the above listed foods as they are “denser” than things like fruits and vegetables.
The most common signs and symptoms of this state of mind are:
- Anxiety is the most common symptom seen in mind unsettled
- Mental or physical restlessness. This state of mind is often manifested in someone frequently bouncing a leg, stretching, moving from 1 place to the next, and in general always seem to be “on the go.”
- Insomnia. Often with this type of insomnia the person struggles to fall asleep, wakes up throughout the night, and may be prone to excessive dreaming or nightmares.
- Agitation and Irritation. Being “short tempered” is often a sign of an unsettled mind
- Absent-mindedness is common. I find often that people who are unsettled often become hyperfocused on their thoughts, emotions, or their physical body to the point that they are “thinking about life” rather than living it.
- If the “body brain” is unsettled as well there is often breathlessness, a feeling of tightness in the chest, and red coloring or itching of the skin. (Breaking out in hives under stress.)
What Contributes to an Unsettled Mind?
- 3 things contribute the most to an unsettled mind.
- Your connection to your “self-aware/conscious brain” or “center of consciousness” (talked about in the last post and will be revisited in future posts)
- Your physical body which is strongly influenced by your diet, lifestyle, and relationship with food (focused on in this post on the following page)
- Your emotions and thought life (focused on in this post on the 3rd page)
Up Next: The Specifics Affects of Diet on an Unsettled Mind
