#nervoussystemhealth #vagusnerve #brain # Nervous System Health The term "mental health" conflates the brain and mind concepts in a not so useful way (see [[mind is a process of the brain]]). "Nervous system health" honors the fact that the mind and mental processes are just little programs running inside the physical system of the brain and body. The mental process of depression, for instance, cannot be separated from the physical system, including overall physical health and activity, gut health, and subconscious wiring in the brain itself that is contributing to the conscious symptoms. Mental health implies that a mental process can overcome it. We expect people to "get over it" or train their minds in some way to conquer them. Funny enough, most treatments for what are called mental illnesses are actually physical, whether it's drugs to treat the brain itself, or therapies which are often rooted in somatic experiencing which is more physical. Much of our "mental" health actually relies on proper functioning of the vagus nerve which is part of the autonomic nervous system. Gaining mastery of the autonomic system and increasing vagal tone can alleviate or eliminate many symptoms of diseases like depression. It's possible that in the future we will see depression as a primarily physical disease, rooted in gut health and poor vagal tone, rather than anything that has to do with the thinking mind. Nervous System Health brings attention to the body. A system that must be considered in its totality in order to become whole.