{"id":476,"date":"2023-08-21T04:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T08:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/?p=476"},"modified":"2023-08-17T16:11:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T20:11:33","slug":"the-brain-is-an-organ-of-the-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/2023\/08\/the-brain-is-an-organ-of-the-body\/","title":{"rendered":"The Brain is an Organ of the Body"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is it that lots of people are so reluctant to talk about mental health? We talk about all sorts of health without being in the least bit uncomfortable.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to talk about heart health and being on a medication to lower cholesterol, or digestive health and taking medicine to manage indigestion. People seem quite comfortable talking about physical therapy to strengthen their back after an accident or their leg after an injury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/files\/2023\/08\/human-brain-with-colored-circles-free-vector-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-478\" width=\"252\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/files\/2023\/08\/human-brain-with-colored-circles-free-vector-1.jpg 980w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/files\/2023\/08\/human-brain-with-colored-circles-free-vector-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/files\/2023\/08\/human-brain-with-colored-circles-free-vector-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/files\/2023\/08\/human-brain-with-colored-circles-free-vector-1-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But somehow, we act as if mental health is different. Physical therapy to build up a muscle is fine\u2026. but talk therapy to build up resilience and better manage stress, is not.&nbsp; If you think about it, that\u2019s actually really odd and doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This stigma around mental health keeps people from getting help and feeling better. We don\u2019t tell someone having chest pain to \u201csuck it up,\u201d we get them to a doctor. But often we tell people having emotional pain or high stress to \u201csnap out of it\u201d and don\u2019t encourage them to get the care and support that would help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here is a radical idea. Every time you hear someone minimizing the discomfort of stress or emotional distress (and if you catch yourself thinking it as well), just say out loud <em>\u201cThe brain is an organ of the body.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your brain, where stress and difficult emotions begin, is just another part of your body. It\u2019s ok to take care of your brain, just like it\u2019s ok to take care of your heart or your kidneys. No shame, no blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s decrease the stigma of asking for help with mental health. Whether it\u2019s asking for support from a trusted friend, your family doctor, or a counselor, it\u2019s all ok. It\u2019s just another part of health.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay healthy everyone. Keep thriving!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why is it that lots of people are so reluctant to talk about mental health? We talk about all sorts of health without being in the least bit uncomfortable.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to talk about heart health and being on a medication to lower cholesterol, or digestive health and taking medicine to manage indigestion. People seem [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/thriving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}