Patricia Schmidt

I’m a scientist with a doctorate in Psychology & a focus on Neuroscience. Here are 12 controversial truths about mental & brain health you won’t like—but need to hear: https://x.com/creatorschmidt/status/1900614712741789788

Water does more for your brain than fancy supplements.
Sleep should be your top priority.
Stress isn’t bad for you. It's a tool that activates your organism. Mild to moderate stress is beneficial & helps you achieve optimal performance. But you must change your mindset & acknowledge that stress benefits you. Think of it as a growth opportunity rather than a threat.
A walk in nature solves most of your problems.
Most health & fitness coaches are wrong. They praise exercise & diet (and some of them: sleep). While these 3 are essential pillars for a healthy life, a fundamental one is missing: social relations.
Brain health & gut health are directly related. 90% of your body’s serotonin is produced in your gut, not your brain.
Growth happens in your discomfort zone. Your brain is wired for survival above all else. If you want to grow rather than only survive, you must step out of your comfort zone & stop playing it safe. Fear & discomfort aren’t signals to stop. They’re signals to pay attention.
Toxic positivity harms your mental health. Negative emotions aren’t your enemies. Feeling sad, angry, or afraid is normal. Allow your emotions to happen instead of suppressing them.
Excessive scrolling on social media destroys your brain. It leads to a decreased attention span, increased distractibility, & wrecks your brain’s reward system. Establish clear boundaries for your social media use & stick to them.
Recovery is as important as hard work. Prioritizing recovery is essential for mental health & productivity. It keeps your brain healthy & prevents burnout. You can’t perform at your best if you don’t recover properly.
Multitasking is a lie. In reality, you’re rapidly switching back & forth between tasks. Each switch costs you cognitive resources & depletes them more quickly than when you focus on a single task. Focused work will get you the results you want.
It’s impossible to control everything. There are many things you can’t control. They just happen to you. Stressing over them doesn’t make sense because you can’t change them.

The 1st step is acceptance: Accept that there are things in your life that you can't control. The 2nd step is to change how you think about them. Can you turn them into challenges or growth opportunities? You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it.