In honor of Mental Health Day I wanted to make a post on mental gardening. Here in Oklahoma, we’re officially in fall, and the weather is starting to cool down, which means our first frost and freeze of the season is approaching. I wanted to do a garden this year, but that didn’t happen because life got in the way. For the most part, now that we’re in fall, the gardening season is quickly coming to an end. We can still plant some things here in Oklahoma but not many things will survive heavy frosts and freezes. I can do some indoor gardening, growing some sprouts and microgreens though! Too, something I can do all year round is mental gardening. I think of the Garden of Eden and how the Lord told Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth and tend to the garden. And there’s an object lesson there. We need to have dominion over what comes into our minds and not ruminate on things that can harm our mental health. Science has revealed that our thoughts influence our emotions and feelings.

When we’re beholding good things, our brain will release “happy hormones” oxytocin, serotonin, and other neural chemicals into our bloodstream. If we behold bad things, our brain will release stress chemicals, cortisol, and adrenaline. These stress hormones will make us feel anxious and depressed. Our bodies will go into fight-flight mode because when our mind perceives something as dangerous, our body will start to pump out stress hormones to prepare our body to take flight, fight, or freeze to protect us from danger. Our brains cannot differentiate between real and perceived danger either.

Paul tell us in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

When we have the mind of Christ, this gives us a fertile Eden mind with healthier brain chemistry. I want to put a disclaimer and say I don’t believe in toxic positivity though. I believe in acknowledging our issues, lamenting to God and praying through the Psalms which helps regulate our nervous system. It’s just as unhealthy and destructive to keep things in as it is to continually behold negative things.

Jesus showed us in the garden of Gethsemane how to lament and how to pour our hearts out to God. After Jesus prayed to his heavenly father he came forth, strengthened with holy dignity on his countenance. He had power, love, and a sound mind. Power comes from the Holy Spirit who desires to redirect our attention from beholding bad to good. Power, knowing we can have a victor mindset vs a victim mindset.

The enemy loves to make us have a victim mindset. To make us think that we’re lacking in some way. We need to remind ourselves of the truth that all our needs were met before the foundation of the world. To outside appearances, it may sometimes seem like we’re lacking in something, but we can always go to the throne of grace in our time of need. We’re saved by grace in every time of need. We can have power love, and a sound mind when we internalize the love that God has for us and that nothing can separate us from his love. This frees us from having a victim mindset.

Romans 8:35-39

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God desires that we take our thoughts captive and renew our minds to the truth.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

It’s helpful to refer to a list of cognitive distortions and see if maybe we’re having any cognitive distortions in our way of thinking. The Bible doesn’t call distorted thinking cognitive distortions but the concept is there. The Bible calls cognitive distortions vain imaginations and cautions us to be sober minded by taking our thoughts captive and renewing our minds to truth.

Science has shown that our thoughts only last about 90 seconds unless we’re ruminating on that which is making us feel the way we’re feeling. This is powerful to know and shows us that we have to a great degree power over how we feel. If we keep ruminating on toxic things our brains will keep pumping out stress hormones and we will become emotionally flooded so we will not be able to think straight because when our limbic brain is activated and we’re in fight or flight mode, our prefrontal cortex goes offline, making it where we can’t think straight.

Our prefrontal cortex is the executive part of our brain. It takes about 6 seconds for our prefrontal cortex to catch up to the emotional part of our brain which is why pausing instead of reacting is so powerful. Suppose we see something in our environment and perceive it as a threat, the limbic part of our brain will be activated and it takes about 6 seconds for our prefrontal cortex to catch up to the limbic part of our brain. So when we pause instead of reacting, we can instead respond and make decisions based on reason and logic that’s constructive vs destructive.

We are essentially pulling up weeds and sowing seeds of truth by taking our thoughts captive and renewing our mind to truth, and as we do this, the Holy Spirit will water these seeds, giving us a flourishing mind and brain and healthy brain chemistry where oxytocin, serotonin, and other happy hormones will help keep us in a healthy state of mind.

Gratitude, praise and thanks is very powerful for our mental health. Our creator created us to be in a continual state of gratitude, praise, and thanks and to behold whatever is pure, holy, and good. As we practice gratitude, praise and thanks our brain will release happy hormones.

Too Lamenting is very powerful for our mental health. I don’t believe in toxic positivity as talked about in my last post as it isn’t in the least bit healthy. I grew up not knowing how to express myself so I would hold things in and this would cause havoc on so many levels. When we lament, we are taking our problems and emotions to God, being completely raw and vulnerable with him while pouring our heart out to him. It’s healthy to have a good cry too, so never feel ashamed for crying! The word emotion comes from the word emovere which means to move. Our emotions are not meant to stay in our body, they’re meant to be worked through and expressed. As we lament and express ourselves, this will release our emotions so they do not stay stagnant in our body. The Bible says Those Who sow in tears will reap in joy. There are many health benefits to crying. It releases stress hormones, and it releases oxytocin, and endorphins. It also helps reset our nervous system, bringing it back to homeostasis.

How sad it is that many young boys and even girls are taught that crying is not acceptable. You cannot have healthy brain chemistry and a healthy mind when you neglect this very important aspect of emotional health.

God brought a friend into my life about 3 years ago who taught me how to cry feel my feelings and be honest with my feelings. I’m forever grateful for her and for God using her to be a vessel to help me in my healing journey.

Praying through the psalms is very helpful and I love the book of psalms because it teaches us how to truly pour are raw emotions and feelings our to God knowing that the king of the universe hears us and is mindful of our suffering. God loves when we take our cares to him trusting that he hears us and will help us in our time of need! He’s faithful, just and true in all his ways and he makes our issues his issues.

God desires that we stay sober-minded and this doesn’t mean just abstaining from alcohol. What it means is being mindful of what’s going through our mind and keeping our mind healthy so that our prefrontal cortex runs the show vs just the emotional part of our brain where both the prefrontal cortex and emotional part of our brain are integrated harmoniously. It means to live by truth and not vain imaginations.

The subconscious mind controls 95% of our behavior. When we’re mindful of our thoughts we can have more control over our feelings and emotions. It takes practice to be self-aware but it like any other skill can be developed to where it becomes second nature. Another helpful tool is reconceptualizing and finding the silver lining in things. Reconceptualizing is so important because it helps reframe things so that we can become at peace with difficult moments. It’s not denying our reality that things may be difficult but it helps us see things from another perspective, which will give us resilience.

To summarize

Mental gardening. Our thoughts are seeds and our thoughts create our emotions and bring forth a life of their own. Emotions only last around 90 seconds unless we’re ruminating on the thoughts that’s creating the emotion which is why we should take our thoughts captive (don’t ruminate) and renew our mind to truth.

Emotions are just a chemical reponse to our reactions of our perception of things. Feelings follow emotions and happen as we process our emotions.

But too we shouldn’t deny our emotions and we will have Gethsemane moments. Praying through the Psalms helps. God teaches us balance. To be honest with our feelings and not run from or numb them but to pour our heart out to God and tell him how we’re feeling but then hand it over to him. To be raw and honest with our humanity, but not let our emotions overtake us to the point of instability.

Lament and release.

Reconceptualize and seek perspective.

Perspective is powerful. The enemy wants us to confuse perseption for reality and hold us hostage to victim mentality. All things in life is an opportunity for growth.

Life may be hard but God is good and what the enemy means for evil God always turns around for our ultimate good.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.