our stories can be measured in nanometres alongside the years
Of all the euphemisms describing poor mental health, losing your mind may be the most fitting in its reveal of low cognitive efficiency. It’s true, it sounds harsh with derogatory tones but ample evidence supports the way in which cognitive functioning can go AWOL. In real terms, it affects a life in more ways than one as trying to earn money becomes the real chore, with knock-on effects across a spectrum, too. Memory, focus and reasoning to name a few, soon become casualties in a tug-of-war between inner chaos and life’s demands. So, in Chapter 6 of ‘Mental Health and Cognitive Function’, a report tied to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing’, the following was mentioned:
‘Good mental health is associated with greater economic success, better social relationships and reduced risk of physical illness. In addition, it has a significant impact on a person’s performance in the labour market. Individuals with poor mental health are less attached to the labour force, work fewer hours, lose more work days and earn lower wages.’
Luckily, it isn’t set in stone but it’s grip on a psyche can be devastating with issues spanning physical health, alongside matters academic and financial, too. With that comes an impact on self-esteem, meaning the whole affair can drag someone down. So, what exactly determines your mental health as you go about your day-to-day life? Well, we know the answers having heard them before, but it’s worth revisiting again.
A comprehensive 2021 study, ‘The C Factor: Cognitive Dysfunction as a Transdiagnostic Dimension in Psychopathology’ looked at the idea of brain impairment as an ‘intrinsic construct’ across mental disorders as a whole. It’s an interesting angle tapping into ideas from evolutionary biology and psychology and where the disorders categorised into the DSM may in fact be adaptive responses, to evolutionary pressures. There’s a line between evolutionary theory and psychiatry, though, when it comes to the definition of ‘adaptive.’ The former refers to ‘reproductive fitness’ with the latter meaning, behaviour conducive to good health and wellbeing:
‘Regardless of the essential goals for happiness or health, natural selection shapes an organism’s mental and physical mechanisms in response to different ecological conditions to maximise reproductive success. Some behaviours and traits have been adaptive during evolution. However, with the development of social norms, these manifestations may be considered undesirable in terms of mental health and can be defined as psychopathological symptoms, which can also be referred to as pseudopathologies.’
At this end of the evolutionary journey, our knowledge stands on the thousands of years in which we’ve changed and remained the same. So, our fight, flight and freeze responses are there as our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems duel it out time and again, with ‘take action’, ‘calm down’. Meanwhile, most lives are now centred on devices and one in particular, sets the tone in many ways. Yet, amongst things it’s time worn stressors still doing the damage like ostracisation and social ridicule all of which, just happens a lot faster. It’s the internal-external all over again but this time, what will you do about it?
Well, maybe the thing to remember is that you haven’t really lost your mind, if it’s moulding itself to an ancient cry. In fact, that ‘C’ factor is the ‘cognitive price’ coined by researchers to describe inefficiency of thought, word and deed, and as you ran from the proverbial wearing pure animal skin or your day ended with yet more tribal trauma: your mind didn’t have time settle down. With one eye open as you slept in the dark, the simplest of sounds set your heart in your mouth but if you hadn’t lost your mind by then, the next day offered more.
As modern humans, we misplace our minds almost every other day but for those struggling with poor mental health, the loss is far greater than some might imagine. Days, weeks, months and then years as narratives burn hollow, like conjectures around them. Still, what of those dreams: of those plans best laid? You can’t forget them or leave them to rot when they form who you are or what you could be. No; it’s a juggling act, consistent with strength as the past locks down and the future gives options.
‘I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind.’
Edgar Allen Poe
The pandemic made millions ‘lose their minds’, too, with statistics bearing witness to the sheer numbers involved. For some, being sealed in was a fate worse than death where the truth in context leaves the analogy weak.
Well, struggle is an ongoing part of life but losing your mind is a shock if it happens, unless you’ve learned to think differently.
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Images:
Maze Boy, by Qimono, Pixabay – Main Image
Magnifying Knowledge, by Tung Art 7, Pixabay
References:
Claire O’Regan, et al, ‘Mental Health and Cognitive Function’ The Irish Longitudinal Study in Ageing, January 2011, accessed 30th October 2024, https://tilda.tcd.ie/publications/reports/pdf/w1-key-findings-report/Chapter6.pdf
Amitai Abramovitch, et al, ‘The C Factor: Cognitive Dysfunction as a Transdiagnostic Dimension in Psychopathology’, Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 86, 2021, 102007, ISSN 0271-7358, Abstract, accessed 30th October 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102007
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision – DSM-5-TR™, 2022, accessed 30th October 2024, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Disorders-Revision/dp/0890425760/
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Quote – Han W and Chen BB, ‘An Evolutionary Life History Approach to Understanding Mental Health’, Gen Psychiatr, 2020, Oct 1;33(6):e100113, doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2019-100113, PMID:33089066; PMCID: PMC7534052, Theoretical Framework, accessed 30th October 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7534052/
‘Trauma: It’s More Than Just ‘Fight or Flight’, PTSD-UK, 2024, accessed 30th October 2024, https://www.ptsduk.org/its-so-much-more-than-just-fight-or-flight/
Amitai Abromavich, ‘Mental Health Problems Come With An Added ‘Cost’ of Poorer Cognitive Function – A Neuropsychologist Explains’, The Conversation, 7th April 2022, accessed 30th October 2024, https://theconversation.com/mental-health-problems-come-with-an-added-cost-of-poorer-cognitive-function-a-neuropsychologist-explains-177985
‘Stress, Neandertals and US’ Natural History Museum, 4th July 2024, accessed 30th October 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oBf4l2ZK7U
Statista Research Department, ‘Covid-19 Impact on Mental Health – Statistics and Facts’, Statista, 28th February 2024, accessed 31st October 2024, https://www.statista.com/topics/7106/covid-19-and-mental-health/
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