In middle school, we all learn about homeostasis. This idea of a perfect balance within the body applies to basically every biological concept learned thereafter. From your bodies pH to osmosis to protein concentrations, biologically, we survive when our body is able to maintain homeostasis. We learn that homeostasis is a biological concept; however, I personally believe human sciences can mirror (to an extent and with adjustments) the natural sciences. We do not only need to balance ourselves physically – not overeating, exercising just enough, keeping ourselves warm but not too cold, etc. – but we need to strive for balance in our personal and mental lives.
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Maintaining homeostasis mentally is harder than physically, because it’s inside your mind-it’s abstract. Furthermore, everyone’s brains are biologically not at homeostasis. For example, many people who suffer from anxiety have too little serotonin, while some people with schizophrenia have too much dopamine. Nonetheless, your mind is just as important as your body, and it is important to maintain homeostasis of both negative and positive thoughts. So, as someone with a biologically unbalanced brain, here are some tips to help you maintain this homeostasis mentally:
1. Force yourself to be happy. No, we can’t “just be happy,” but we can make ourselves complete certain actions such as the following: smile, even when you’re not happy (the muscles can trick your brain’s chemistry); write yourself love notes and compliments even if you don’t believe them and speak out loud these ideas that you’ve written down (follow DJ Khalid for more information about speaking what you will be).
2. Keep your physical health in check. Mental health and physical health are both important and should be taken care of. Much physical activity is based from mental health and one’s energy and motivation to complete a task; however, changing your eating habits can aid your biological imbalance and your psyche to become more positive and “fresh.”
3. Remember homeostasis is unbiased. This is more of my spirituality and opinion, but I am a firm believer in positive and negative energy (an abstract form of energy sometimes used with the Western concept of karma) being balanced throughout the universe, kind of like yin and yang. When negative situations occur, I think of the bigger picture of negative and positive energy reaching a balance in the world. This concept is similar to the Western idea of karma; however, I believe this “karma” directing these good and bad occurrences is unbiased. No, bad things aren’t happening to you forever. No, you aren’t being punished. You are just in a dark tunnel waiting for the end. You are sitting in the rain waiting for the rainbow to come. Shift you schema to realize that good things will always follow the bad and the bad will always follow the good. Our universe is just like a human body trying to maintain homeostasis and this balance. I mean, without the bad, without the dark, how would we know what is good, how would we see the light? (see I Am the Universe for more on this belief)