Your hand instinctively reaches for the phone even before you've completely woken up. Checking a notification leads to checking more messages, browsing social media, replying to emails, and even reading the news. It's only after fifteen minutes that you realize your day has started following someone else's schedule.
What makes such a habit so hard to break?
The first thing worth pointing out here is the fact that people are predisposed to uncertainty and novelty. Over the course of one night, a number of notifications accumulates, giving rise to a feeling that something is waiting to be checked. Anticipation triggers the activity of the brain's reward centers, making each action feel like a step towards finding something interesting, helpful, or rewarding. Since the content of notifications is unpredictable, there's motivation to keep checking.
Another factor behind the addiction to notifications lies in our desire to feel connected. A message from a friend, some work-related information, or just an interaction via social media satisfy this desire to feel accepted and validated. Although such things aren't negative per se, starting the day with getting input from the outside world makes us reactive rather than proactive.
There's also the matter of cognitive overload. Just moments after waking, one’s mind could already be bombarded by all sorts of headlines, unread emails, commercials, and opinions before we get to have the time to even process our thoughts. All these can result to stress, loss of concentration, and difficulty in prioritizing things that really matter for the whole day ahead.
One does not have to forego his mobile device just to break away from the habit. One can try delaying his notifications by 15 to 30 minutes before responding to them. Use this time period to stretch, to hydrate, to breathe deeply, to journal, and simply relax before the digital world calls your attention.
As how one starts his day will dictate how he would spend the rest of it, one must take the opportunity to break away from the habit. One doesn’t have to allow notifications to tell him where to direct his attention first in the morning. His inbox, messages, and social media accounts can wait a few minutes.
Mental disorders do not only influence feelings of an individual but can have an effect on how people think, interact with others and perceive the world around them. It is true for all mental disorders, from anxiety and depression to burnout syndrome and others. Regardless of the type of mental disorder, it is very likely that such a period will have some long-term consequences which are often negative but, sometimes, can be surprisingly positive.
When suffering from mental illness, a person faces a number of problems that were easily managed before. Such problems as being unable to perform daily routine tasks and feeling overwhelmed, withdrawal from family and friends, lack of interest in hobbies and activities, concentration problems, feeling detached from self, decrease in self-esteem and self-confidence are common symptoms of mental illness.
Mental illness is able to change the perception of the world around the individual. Safe experiences may start to appear uncertain to the person; the trust to oneself can be lost. Many individuals start being extra-cautious and sensitive about stressful experiences. This kind of reaction is rather natural when coping with overwhelming experiences.
However, recovery is not just about reverting back into the person that one used to be. For many people, it involves becoming a whole new person, someone who understands themselves better and is more aware of the things that trigger certain reactions and stresses. Moreover, such individuals value sleep and personal space and become more compassionate, more empathic and resilient in relation to other people experiencing similar problems and hardships.
The consequences of mental illness remain even if one has started feeling better and no longer experiences its symptoms anymore. It is quite common to feel anxious about the possibility of relapsing and to experience some shift in terms of self-confidence or outlook on life. Nevertheless, recovery implies not about getting rid of one's past, but about being able to live with it.
A crisis of mental nature can alter the personality of an individual but it certainly does not mean that this individual is not valuable anymore. Quite contrary, it helps one to realize one's strengths in the process of recovery.
How many times have you experienced mental fatigue without putting in a lot of physical effort? You are not alone! In today’s world where everything moves at breakneck speed, we use up all our energy processing notifications, talking, advertising, news updates, environmental sounds, and an enormous amount of content that we receive on social media.
When we are overstimulated, we receive too many stimuli for our brain to comfortably process. Overstimulation is different from physical exhaustion since it often manifests itself through irritability, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, restlessness, and even a desire to move from one task to another without accomplishing anything. Moreover, you can start reaching for your mobile phone by pure habit, but once again feel tired after looking at what you’ve been watching for some time.
Our contemporary lives hardly provide us with opportunities for our brains to relax. We start our day by getting notifications from different devices and applications, we spend a large amount of time using screens, we balance between many activities, and we finish our days watching the same content on our screens. The result of this is that our brain remains permanently stimulated and thus cannot really relax.
The great thing is that you do not have to create complete silence in order to help your brain relax, what you just need is some moments of recovery. Short pauses in the usage of screens, spending time in nature, meditation or simply sitting and doing nothing can all serve you well.
In a world that strives to grab your attention all the time, creating still moments does not mean being inactive, but is absolutely necessary sometimes.
I was going through a very hard time, I had friends and family around me but could not get myself to talk to them about anything. And then I started reading and researching about what therapy is and how it helps. On one fine day, I came across this website, and just took a random test. Ever since then, mindyatra has been my go to stop for whatever I need, be it venting out, relaxing, or just reading comforting blogs. I hope you have a great experience with them too! Thank you Mindyatra
people often tell me I'm "too quiet" or that I never express how I feel. I want to but I don't know why its so difficult.
Does anyone else feel this way?
Your worth isn’t measured by:
• Your grades
• Your salary
• Your followers
• Your achievements
You deserve kindness simply because you’re human.
Ideally, emotions and expression should match. When we feel happy, we smile. When we feel sad, we cry or seek comfort. However, real life is much more complex. Many people learn from childhood to hide certain emotions. Boys may be told not to cry because it appears weak. Girls may be expected to remain polite and calm even when angry. In many cultures, openly discussing emotions is discouraged. As a result, people often learn to suppress, disguise, or minimize what they truly feel.
This emotional disconnect becomes part of daily life. Someone may laugh in social situations while feeling lonely. A student may appear confident but secretly fear failure. A person may express anger when the real emotion underneath is hurt or insecurity
Bridging the gap between feelings and expression begins with acceptance. Emotions are natural human experiences, not weaknesses. Suppressing emotions may provide temporary comfort, but long-term emotional health requires honesty and communication.
One effective step is practicing open conversations. Instead of hiding emotions behind vague statements, people can express feelings directly yet respectfully. Saying “I feel overwhelmed” or “I felt hurt by that situation” creates clearer communicationAs a result, many people compare their real emotions with the edited lives of others. Someone feeling anxious or lonely may believe everyone else is happy and successful. This comparison increases emotional isolation.
Social media also encourages quick reactions instead of deep emotional conversations. People communicate through short messages, emojis, or temporary posts, which may not fully capture complex emotions. While technology helps people stay connected, it can also reduce meaningful emotional expression..
In a world where appearances often matter more than honesty, emotional expression requires courage. Yet true connection begins when people feel safe enough to reveal what they genuinely feel inside