Do you struggle to infuse your daily life with mindful moments and healthy habits? In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get swept away in the chaos while on "autopilot." However, living mindfully and intentionally can help elevate your mental state and overall wellness.
Key Takeaways
- Mental state refers to the condition of your mind, including your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs.
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Mental state is dynamic, often adapting to your circumstances, environment, or inner dialogue.
- There are four distinct states of mind: thinking, engaged, critical, and autopilot.
- Mental state can be broken down even further into these categories: love & hate, pleasure & pain, flow & apathy, and anxiety.
Many may equate "mental state" to "mental health," but these two terms aren't synonymous. While "mental health" encompasses the emotional, social, and psychological well-being of a person, "mental state" refers to the state of mind of a person.
Keep reading, and we'll share all there is to know about mental state in 2024.
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What is Mental State?
As humans, our emotions often influence our thoughts and actions. We are beings of feelings, and this is something to be celebrated! "Mental state" is the term that describes the condition of someone's mind.
Your mental states encompass a wide variety of beliefs, desires, or emotions. Often, things like perception, intention, and memory will play a role in your unconscious and conscious states.
However, mental states aren't always constant. They are dynamic, easily adjusting to reflect how you might feel that particular day. It's like the weather - sometimes, it can be sunny and warm, while other times, it can be gloomy and gray.
External and Internal States of Mind
You can focus your mental state either internally or externally. Internal mental states can feel like an inner dialogue. You can imagine it like you're having a conversation with yourself. When you focus your mental state internally, you can easily acknowledge the fact that you are thinking at all.
External focus concerns your surroundings and environment. The sights, smells, and sounds around you can impact your mentality and psychological condition more than you might think. That's why if you're looking to unwind after a stressful week, a pampering self-care day can uplift your mood!
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The last item in this gift set is Tolak Angin, otherwise known as the "get well" Jamu. Traditional Indonesian Jamu tonics are usually made with herbs and botanicals that promote holistic health and wellness. This herbal elixir helps to support your immune function and soothe your stomach. For a healing experience, pair it with our mood-boosting Island Comfort Green Tea.
The 4 Mental States
Because mental state is ever-changing and dynamic, it's nearly impossible to define concretely. However, when you compare external and internal focus with helpful or harmful methods of focus, you can end up with four distinctive states of mind.
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Thinking - Helpful internal
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Engaged - Helpful external
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Critical - Harmful internal
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Autopilot - Harmful external
Thinking involves actively analyzing your own thoughts and feelings. You might be working through a problem in your head or organizing your life mentally. But in today's modern world, it's easy for our brains to kick into autopilot mode. In this state, we might become bored with things we once found intriguing. It's important to find ways to turn the autopilot off and rediscover our love for life.
The 7 Types of Mental State
These four mental states don't fully explain the full breadth of emotional and psychological being. We can further classify it into these seven types of mental states.
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#1 & 2. Love & Hate
Love is an indescribable feeling of intense caring and devotion. Hate is the opposite, embodying a painful state of hostility.
Franz Brentano, a German philosopher and psychologist, argued that there are only three basic kinds of mental states: presentations, judgments, and phenomena of love and hate. This phenomenon can be further divided into two categories: feelings and desires, both of which play a massive role in the overall mental state.
#3 & 4. Pleasure & Pain
Pleasure is another positive state of mind that involves satisfaction and enjoyment. Pain, on the other hand, is a negative or unpleasant state of mind that can be equated to suffering. These can be considered conscious mental states, as opposed to unconscious mental states like innate desires.
The pain/pleasure experience is a foundational aspect of mental state. These types of sensory states involve impressions of external or internal stimuli. However, many of these sensory states lack intentionality, such as pains or itches. Regardless, the relationship between conscious and unconscious states can be tricky to navigate.
#5 & 6. Flow & Apathy
Flow can be considered a complete immersion in the moment. It's a state of mind that is completely absorbed and focused, similar to the thinking (helpful/internal) mental state we discussed before. It can also be considered the most mindful state of mind, and practicing mindfulness is especially important when it comes to bettering your mental health.
Cultivating your "flow" mental state can help you become more in tune with your surroundings and more aware of yourself. When concerning your beliefs, desires, and intentions, "flow" can play an important role.
Apathy is the opposite of "flow." It constitutes a state of detachment and disinterest in yourself and your surroundings.
#7. Anxiety
Anxiety is a delicate state of mind, but it essentially consists of a state of worry over the future or the unknown. If you feel this unease, it's important to manifest mindfulness and positivity!
Final Thoughts
Nurturing a positive and healthy mental state is more important than you might realize. It impacts all other parts of your wellness, from your physical well-being to your emotional health!
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