It is generally agreed that one reliable way to measure one’s intelligence is via aptitude tests like IQ scores. And a person’s IQ typically remains fairly consistent throughout adulthood.
Various brain exercises including puzzles as well as eating nutritious foods and getting proper sleep can also help you to maintain optimal use of your brainpower.
So how is it possible to become “smarter”? Well, the answer is by utilizing the raw brainpower capabilities you already possess and harnessing those cognitive abilities. Check out the various mental models that were developed by author Michael Simmons. These models are ways to look at reality to help make better decisions.
In the graphic below he has broken down 12 ways to improve methods of using the brain power that you already posses.
By taking these and developing the ways that you can make the most of their potential, and then by mixing them with one another synergistically, the potential for improvement is limitless.
You can also click on the link below for a larger resolution version, or visit Michael’s Medium page for more…
Singer Grimes made a cameo and was present alongside partner Elon Musk on the recent Saturday Night Live episode. The artist posted photos taken backstage, including with musical guest Miley Cyrus, a few days later, adding that she was recently hospitalized due to a panic attack.
This isn’t the first time Grimes has been open and shared information about her mental health issues, explaining in a 2012 interview she struggled with bad social anxiety and sometimes experienced panic attacks.
Grimes played Princess Peach in a Super Mario type themed sketch. It was also revealed the two went to a crypto-themed after party. Its not exactly clear if social anxiety or other factors played into those situations.
The artist also posted the following on her Instagram page:
Forgot to post these cuz I somehow caused myself to have a panic attack and went to the hospital yesterday which tbh was quite scary and I suppose it’s a good time to start therapy 😑😑😑. But nonetheless – wowwwww @mileycyrus is good live and so chill! So grateful to the SNL team for being so kind and letting me sneak in as princess peach snd so proud of my beautiful E (which I know will upset the grimes fans so I apologize in advance) but he killed it
National Alliance on Mental Health
Grimes sharing her struggles only helps to highlight the reality that millions of Americans face daily with mental health issues. The month of May also happens to be mental health awareness month. Now you are not alone. If you are struggling and need support. The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., ET. 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org
Unlike what they say about missing sleep, stress can build up over weeks, months even years. True to the “silent killer” moniker it can eventually kill you. After basically the entire world has been in an extra stressful situation due to covid and the economic fallout from the preventative measures taken to stop it, we all need to begin finding ways, not only to reduce the current stress levels, which are likely high, but to work off the effects of the accumulated stress that has been building for at least a year.
And that is not accounting for the “normal” stresses we all face individually in our own worlds, lives and due to our own unique problems.
Enter the practice and lifestyle benefits of yoga. Estimates of the origins of Yoga peg the beginnings at at least five thousand years and believe the practice could have been developed as long ago as ten thousand. The study of yoga goes beyond just the familiar “pretzel poses” and encompasses a way of life and philosophy that is universal.
According to the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” (wikipedia: Sutra in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.) there are eight “limbs” to the path of yoga:
1. yama (moral restraints) – how we relate to others 2. niyama (observances) – how we relate to ourselves 3. āsana (posture) – how we relate to our body 4. prāṇāyāma (breath extension) – how we relate to our breath or spirit
5. pratyāhāra (sensory withdrawal) – how we relate to our sense organs 6. dhāraṇā (concentration) – how we relate to our mind 7. dhyāna (meditation) – moving beyond the mind 8. samādhi (meditative absorption) – deep realization and inner union (quoted from http://ashtanga-yoga-victoria.com/what-are-the-eight-8-limbs-of-yoga/)
As can be seen from the list above there are many levels of thought and action that can all coalesce to form a bulwark against stress and to improve the enjoyment of life as a whole. Wherever you begin and at whatever level your journey brings you to, any interaction with these thoughts, actions and choices can enhance your life in some way.
Even the simplest meditation or reflection on our breathing and its connection to our inner spirit can cause an instantaneous reduction in stress and psychic pain. Below we’ve put together a variety of books that could represent a first step toward discovering how yoga, in whatever level or aspect your choose to explore, can reduce stress and help you take a huge step on the road to recovery.
Descriptions are courtesy of bookshop.org and the individual publishers:
A stand alone practice companion and beautiful coffee table book, Yoga: A Manual for Lifeis for anyone interested in yoga, mindful movement and meditation, and exploring how these practices fit within the modern world.
As well as an extensive guide to poses, this book features a number of picture-led sequences with specific targets in mind: to combat stress and fatigue, to ground, to uplift, to inspire creativity and to sleep better.
These sequences are underpinned with essays on yoga’s relationship with different aspects of life, such as yoga and discipline, yoga and self-care, and yoga and difficulty.
Peppered throughout the book are mindful life hacks–simple ways to take yoga’s message of radical self-care off the mat and into daily life. Click here to see “Yoga: a Manual for Life” also available on Amazon.
Are you seeking balance, healing, and a calmer mind? Unlike active styles of yoga that focus on stretching and movement, restorative yoga emphasizes mindful rest by using props to support your body in complete comfort and relaxation–no flexibility required!
Whether you already practice yoga or are just getting started, Restorative Yoga is your step-by-step guide to deepening the connection between your body and mind. Click here to see “Restorative Yoga” also available on Amazon.
Yoga: Relaxation, Postures, Daily Routines
Click here to see “Yoga” also available on Amazon.
Yoga is a popular physical, mental, and spiritual discipline that originated in ancient India.
Various traditions of yoga can be found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, and in recent years Western culture has embraced yoga’s power of simplicity, stillness and mental poise.
This accessible new book focuses on a series of exercises, body motions and self-disciplines that offer the benefits of yoga to everyone.
Featuring specially commissioned practical photography, step-by-step instruction, and an introduction to the entire scope of the system of yoga. Click here to see “Yoga” also available on Amazon.
Restorative yoga offers the body a chance to rest deeply and revitalize. Whether you are feeling weak, fatigued, stressed from daily activities, or simply need to slow down and tune into your body, this wonderfully adaptive practice is essential for well being.
Many of the practices are simple and accessible for people of all ages and in all states of health, using props that are readily available–like pillows and chairs. These deeply relaxing poses help you. Click here to see “Restore and Rebalance” also available on Amazon.
Yin yoga offer remedies to the stresses of your busy yang life. Each restorative pose targets your deeper fascia and connective tissues, helping you experience increased flexibility and improved joint health.
Yin yoga also focuses on deep breathing and longer hold times, allowing you the time and space to clear your mind and enhance your mental acuity.
These meditative poses will help you attain a renewed sense of mindfulness and physical well-being, making them the perfect complement to an active yang lifestyle and helping bring you back into balance. Click here to see “Yin Yoga” also available on Amazon.
Sleep Recovery: The Five Step Yoga Solution to Restore Your Rest
Insomnia is reaching epidemic proportions: more than half of us will suffer from a sleep problem during our lifetimes.
In this practical, compassionate guide, renowned yoga teacher and sleep specialist Lisa Sanfilippo shows how to sweep out sleep saboteurs and rest wreckers, putting in place sustainable strategies that will boost your energy during the day, and help you access a good night’s rest.
As we began this article above sleep was mentioned and, in contrast to our initial statements, recovery is also possible and yoga is one way that improvement, that so many of us desperately seek, is available. We hope you enjoyed this selection of books to help combat stress and ask that you please visit us again and also our sister sites Cherrybooks and InforMinx.
When you don’t suffer from any mental health issues, like that of depression, it can be very easy to have “helpful” advice and well-intentioned interventions you may think will alleviate someones’ depressed mood. Yet the truth is there is no steadfast or correct answer, every person experiences depression very uniquely. Some respond to medications and therapy/counseling great, while others it doesn’t work. Some have found that a change in diet and adding exercise have helped , while, again with others it did nothing.
Whether it is just the beginning of the new year and you want to take healthy and proactive steps to improve your mental health, or wanting to find new ways on how to better manage your depression, the below may be helpful.
A recent article from Cosmopolitan, shared five pieces of advice on depression that the author, Kate Lucey, found useless for herself as being someone who has been diagnosed as having depression.
Utilize the times when you feel less bad
Communicate with family, friends, loved-ones that depression is a mental health illness
Get a plant / add some greenery to your world
Follow positive social media accounts that make you happy
Allow yourself to feel however you need to feel
I found that each piece of advise above to have a positive or helpful impact on my own mental health.
It is important to first acknowledge the times that you feel bad, awful, depressed, or however your mood declines. Whether that is physically writing it down in a journal or to yourself, making a point to note your change is mood is key. Once you become routinely more conscious about your mood change, you can better utilize the times when you feel OK.
Allowing yourself to feel crummy is extremely helpful as well. It seems common for many, including myself, to try to block out or try to “snap out of it”, when really all that is doing is further sabotaging your ability to actually accept your depression and allow yourself to emote ( a good cry can prove carthartic).
Holistic is a fuzzy term but the whole person really does matter
Adding some green to your life has proven to help mental health. If you are able to get plants in your home, bringing in some greenery is a very good idea. If you have a crazy kitty that decides to eat any plants you bring, I found walking around the neighborhood and focusing on the green plants, trees, flowers, and overall beauty of nature, takes me out of my head and makes a difference at the end of walks.
Lastly, increasing more of things that makes you feel good and less alone is great. Most of us are still living pretty restrictive lives due to pandemic, so social media, or streaming is a large portion of my life. I find when following funny, cheesy, or positive content help to lift up the spirits.
If you are struggling with mental health and need support here are a few resources: (National Alliance of Mental Health/ NAMI.
The Ways in which we Talk to Ourselves is Meaningful
Do you talk to yourself? Of course you do, most people have some sort of internal dialogue, whether it comes in the form of helping you remember a sequence of numbers, talking-out a big meeting presentation or motivating yourself, etc.
Click to see “Chatter“ and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
There is usually some sort of self-talk in-motion within our brains. Some have even gone as far to say that people who frequently talk to themselves have a higher IQ, and could even be considered geniuses.
In an interview, in WSJ magazine, neuroscientist and experimental psychologist, Ethan Kross, who specializes in regulated emotions, provided some additional insight into how we can practice replacing negative thoughts with more positive ones:
“There is a lot of research that shows we are much better at advising other people than ourselves. So it can help to think of yourself as if you are someone else. One way to do this is to use ‘distanced self talk’ and coach yourself as if you were advising a friend. Use your own name. ‘Ethan, here is how you do this.’ Many people do this intuitively without knowing why.”
If you are like me, I self-talk aloud (literally) a lot, which may sometimes get strange looks from others, but it can also be just to yourself, like a whisper. However, when you have a dialogue with yourself, the ways in which we do it is actually really important.
“When we experience chatter we narrowly focus on our problem. What we want to do is zoom out. Think about our experience as something that many people deal with. Think about other people who have experienced something similar and have endured it.”
-Ethan Kross
Experts in psychology have found that people that have more positive and helpful talks, rather than negative or self-sabotaging chatter, have a higher quality of mental health, generally more satisfaction towards life and even have physical benefits like better cardiovascular health.
There can certainly be times where our thoughts and the ways we speak to our inner self could be negative and damaging. Like you make a mistake at work, said something embarrassing to a crush, dropped your eggs as you were about to make an omelet, the list goes on.
“We experience awe when we are in the presence of something vast that we have trouble explaining. When we experience chatter we are narrowly focused on our problems. Experiencing awe shows us how much broader the universe is. And that puts things into perspective pretty significantly.”
-Ethan Kross
There could be a tendency to want to judge ourselves too harshly for not being “better”. Furthermore, our world has experienced some very real instability lately, with the pandemic, which could easily push our propensity for negative self-talk or chatter downhill towards more anxiety and be more “worry driven”.
The negativity we internalize when we self-talk, based on research, makes problems worse, causes stress and is ultimately toxic. Stepping back and trying to see something bigger than ourselves could be one way shift our perspective.
We should instead learn to curb or greatly reduce and replace any negativity with more helpful talks.
