Looking ahead to 2025, I feel more than ever we are living in times of such change and uncertainty, which means it is up to each and everyone of us how we deal with that. I mean, it has always been about self-care (in my book), but living in these times I think this has become even more important. And particularly post-covid, when so many more of us were on our own and perhaps learned to look at life a little differently … maybe in a more jaded way? And we need to be careful of that. None of us are immune to developing anxiety or ‘mental health’ conditions, and I think these things can really creep on us.
I’m going to use myself as an example. I use social media ie. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram – for business but I also enjoy using it to engage with my local community. I am also involved with our local music scene, and found myself watching a video of a performer I had just seen perform live who I really like. He had mentioned during his performance that he had recently separated, but during this video, he went into a lot more depth, saying he had become psychotic and was walking around the house with a knife – albeit to protect his family. And he was saying how he had reached out to counsellors and was going to the gym, so he was really aware of what had happened and was trying to do something about it.
Now because I am not on socials a lot, and I choose really carefully what I watch (I don’t feel the need to keep up with the latest mainstream news and politics), I found after I have watched this video that I felt quite disturbed by it, and wanted to help this person as much as I could. So I sent a comment with my thoughts and letting this guy know how well liked he was. But my point is that in hindsight, I realised I had just had an experience of how we all feel when we see and feel people suffering. It really has to be right up there with one of the worst things humans have to try to deal with.
And I know there are a lot of things we can do to help us manage this type of stress, but I think right at the top, we can make different choices, and particularly with regard to media, we can choose what we watch, read and listen to. So, I know this is nothing new, but I just think we need to keep reminding ourselves of this .. of keeping a watchful eye on the choices we are making … because before we know it, we can get caught up very emotionally in issues and if we are not careful, we can do ourselves some serious harm, which is evident in the very high number of people with anxiety and mental health issues currently.
So my strong suggestion is that when using social media, try to use it mindfully. Look carefully into anyone who wants be your friend, choose carefully before you Like others, and if you are going to make a comment, really think about it before you post it, as text can often be interpreted in different ways. And then try to be aware, whenever and whatever appliance you are using, how long you are on it. Perhaps even question why you are on it, what purpose is it serving, is it really serving you – or are you serving it and it’s creators.
If you can relate to this, make sure you have a read of our article Staying Positive and Optimistic by Michael Crossland in this issue too – sometimes reading what other people have gone through really helps to put things in perspective too.
Meanwhile also in this magazine, it is so good to bring you a substantial feature on Food & Nutrition. I think we have ticked a few boxes with our article on how deadly diets can cause disease; how the food we choose also affects our mood; eight of the best foods to keep your brain healthy; a different system for how we shop and purchase our food (instead of supermarkets); and how we can change our food systems. I hope it gets your brain juices flowing having a read of these.
And finally, if you ever read articles in The Art of Healing and would like to check their validity, the best way to do this is type the headline of the article into Google, and it should come up with a few sources you can check. You can always shoot me an email as well. Enjoy!
CATE MERCER
Editor/Publisher
The Art of Healing
This Editor’s Note appeared in Vol 1 Issue 90 of The Art of Healing.
