This episode is all about the importance of connecting with others and building meaningful relationships. There is a discussion about labels in life and how Covid-19 changed everyday life and workspace dynamics. Mike also discusses his book The Myth Guided Mind, which is all about deep diving into the labels and their impact on our lives. A person can either label themselves or have it done by others; nonetheless, they affect us more than we think.
Background
Mike Hynes is a former psychotherapist who helped his clients deal with their anxiety and depression and transformed them into healthy coping mechanisms. He is also a
Psychology professor, Mortgage Broker, and Author turned Executive Coach and help people go from merely surviving to thriving in their lives. He aims to help them locate their energy and lead a better life.
The motivation behind writing the book lies in the labels humans give themselves as a form of self-diagnosis. These labels can either be positive or negative because they can help one acknowledge themselves and their traumas. However, its downside involves the hyper fixation on those labels and a lack of motivation for self-improvement. Every person has a story containing good and bad parts, with the latter being pushed to the back of our minds. However, those need acknowledgment as well besides the joys and successes.
TikTok, Mental Health and Labels
During the pandemic, there was a surge in TikTok worldwide, with one of the mainly presented topics on the app being Mental health. The presence of qualified medical professionals serves as a connector between individuals and their mental health. However, the downside is the increase in self-diagnosis, which leads people to believe that they cannot do what they want to do. Labels have a significant impact on our thinking, personality, and actions. They can make or break us.
“When our labels become our identity, we feel a sense of belonging with that group.”
Mental Health during Covid
“We are wired to connect.”
The pandemic showed up, and we collapsed into the worst forms of ourselves. The solitary, the fear, the loneliness ate people up. We all got severely disconnected. Not just with the outside world but with ourselves. Human connection and interaction are so important, and being deprived of them can take a toll on one’s mental health. Touch is necessary to survive as humans. Survival systems shut off our future planning as we focus on the now. Physically, emotionally and mentally, feeling connected is important.
The pandemic had people questioning everything. It has brought a challenge into the routine habits that we never questioned as leaders created the 5 Day Regimen in the Industrial Area. There came the realization that there are many more productive methods than the conventional ones. Now, the main focus of the world is to reintegrate into life—the popcorn effect. As humans, we need to acknowledge our feelings and learn to cope with them as these hybrid models are here to stay. We need to be creative and empathetic to secure the future of our workplaces, as masks have aided in hiding our emotions and hindered communication as well. People have become harshly insensitive to the feelings of others during this time.
Mike recommends that the listeners focus on meditation and mindfulness to build a genuine mind-body connection. This practice will help them become more present in general and grab hold of their own thoughts, feelings and actions.
For a detailed podcast on the topic, make sure to subscribe to us at Apple Music and Spotify @RunThriveSurvive by Ciara Carter. I offer coaching services, too, and you can reach out to me at runthrivesurvive.com or patrion.com/runthrivesurvive.
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