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How to Maintain a Healthy Mental Outlook

OUR physical health is dependent to a large degree upon what we take into our body. If a person lives on a regular diet of junk food, his health will eventually suffer. This same principle applies to our mental health.

For example, you could liken the things we take into our mind to a type of mental food. Mental food? Yes, the information that we absorb from books, magazines, television shows, videos, video games, the Internet, and song lyrics can affect our thinking and our personality just as literal food affects our body. How so?

Former advertising executive Jerry Mander wrote regarding the impact that television has on our lives: “More than any other single effect, television places images in our brains.” Those mental images, however, do much more than entertain us. The Family Therapy Networker magazine says: “The language, images, sounds, ideas, characters, situations, values, aesthetics of mass media become the stuff of our thoughts, feelings and imaginings.”

Yes, whether we realize it or not, our thoughts and feelings can be subtly swayed by what we watch on television and by other forms of entertainment. And therein lies the danger. As Mander says, “we humans slowly turn into whatever images we carry in our minds.”

Poison to the Brain

Many people who may carefully monitor their physical diet indiscriminately gobble up whatever mental food is served to them through the media. For example, have you ever heard someone say: “There’s nothing good to watch on TV!” Some seem to be mesmerized, endlessly flipping through channels in the hope that something worthwhile will turn up. The thought of turning off the TV never crosses their mind!

In addition to consuming so much time, many shows feature themes that Christians would want to avoid. “Besides profanity,” says arts writer Gary Koltookian, “controversial and sexual topics are making more appearances on screen today than in the past.” Indeed, a recent study in the United States found that scenes with sexual references appear an average of 27 times per hour during prime-time viewing hours.

One is left to wonder about the effect this has on people’s thinking. In Japan one popular television drama captivated so many people that the nation’s media said it provoked an “adultery boom.” Furthermore, authors of the book Watching America say: “Today most forms of sexual behavior are . . . treated as legitimate choices of personal life-style.”

Nevertheless, TV programs that tout sexual themes are only part of the problem. Graphic depictions of violence are also common. Of particular concern are the damaging effects that violent TV programs and movies can have on young, impressionable minds. “When young children see somebody shot, stabbed, raped, brutalized, degraded, or murdered on TV,” says David Grossman, a retired army officer and expert on the psychology of killing, “to them it is as though it were actually happening.” Commenting on this same problem, The Journal of the American Medical Association said: “Up through ages 3 and 4 years, many children are unable to distinguish fact from fantasy in television programs and remain unable to do so despite adult coaching.” In other words, even though a parent may tell a child, ‘Those people didn’t really die; they were just pretending,’ a child’s mind still can’t tell the difference. To a young child, TV violence is very real.

Summing up the impact of “media violence,” Time magazine said: “Few researchers bother any longer to dispute that bloodshed on TV and in the movies has an effect on the kids who witness it.” What kind of effect does it have? “Decades of violent entertainment have succeeded in altering the public’s perceptions and values,” says movie critic Michael Medved. He adds: “It is hardly a positive development for a society when it loses its ability to feel shock.” Little wonder that one writer said that taking a four-year-old to violent movies “is poison to [his] brain.”

This, of course, does not mean that all television programs are bad. The same holds true for books, magazines, videos, computer games, and other forms of entertainment. Clearly, though, much that is called entertainment is inappropriate for those who desire to maintain a healthy mental outlook.

Choose Entertainment Wisely

Images transmitted to our mind through the eyes exert a powerful influence on our thoughts and actions. For example, if we were regularly to feed our mind on immoral entertainment, our resolve to obey the Bible’s command to “flee from fornication” could be weakened. (1 Corinthians 6:18) In like manner, if we enjoy entertainment that features “men who are practicing what is hurtful,” we could find it difficult to be “peaceable with all men.” (Psalm 141:4; Romans 12:18) To avoid this, we must avert our eyes from that which is “good-for-nothing.”—Psalm 101:3; Proverbs 4:25, 27.

Granted, because of inherited imperfection, all of us have to struggle to do what is right. The apostle Paul candidly admitted: “I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members.” (Romans 7:22, 23) Does this mean that Paul caved in to his fleshly weaknesses? Far from it! He said: “I pummel my body and lead it as a slave, that . . . I myself should not become disapproved somehow.”—1 Corinthians 9:27.

Likewise, we would never want to use our imperfection as an excuse for sin. The Bible writer Jude said: “Beloved ones, . . . I found it necessary to write you to exhort you to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones.” (Jude 3, 4) Yes, we need to “put up a hard fight” and turn away from entertainment that incites us to do what is bad.a

Seek Divine Direction

Cultivating a healthy mental outlook is not always easy in this system of things. The Bible, however, assures us that it is possible to remain both mentally and morally clean. How? At Psalm 119:11, we read: “In my heart I have treasured up your saying, in order that I may not sin against you.”

To treasure up God’s sayings means to view them as precious or to place a high value on them. Obviously, it would be difficult to esteem the Bible if we did not know what it says. By taking in accurate knowledge from God’s Word, we absorb God’s thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8, 9; John 17:3) This, in turn, enriches us spiritually and elevates our thinking.

Is there a reliable measuring rod for that which is spiritually and mentally healthy? Yes! The apostle Paul counseled: “Whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things.”—Philippians 4:8.

But for us to receive real benefit, more is required than gaining a knowledge of God. Under inspiration, the prophet Isaiah wrote: “I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit yourself, the One causing you to tread in the way in which you should walk.” (Isaiah 48:17) Yes, we not only need to seek divine guidance but also need to act on that knowledge.

Another way to benefit morally and spiritually is to call on Jehovah, the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2; 66:19) If we approach our Creator in sincerity and humility, he will listen to our entreaty. And if we “search for him, he will let himself be found.”—2 Chronicles 15:2.

So is it possible to maintain our mental health in this violent and immoral world? Indeed, it is! By not allowing our minds to be desensitized by this world’s entertainment, by fortifying our thinking ability through a study of God’s Word, and by seeking divine guidance, we can maintain a healthy mental outlook!

[Footnote]

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“Many children are unable to distinguish fact from fantasy in television programs”

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“Decades of violent entertainment have succeeded in altering the public’s perceptions and values”

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Lowering Your Risk of Heart Disease

The Nutrition Action Healthletter suggests the following steps to help you lower your risk of heart disease.

• Stop smoking. Quitting today can cut your risk of heart disease within a year, even if you gain weight.

• Lose weight. If you are overweight, losing as few as five to ten pounds can make a difference.

• Exercise. Regular exercise (at least three times a week) helps to lower bad cholesterol (LDL), keep blood pressure from rising, and keep off excess weight.

• Eat less saturated fat. If your LDL is high, switch to leaner cuts of meat and try 1-percent (low-fat) milk or skim (fat-free) milk instead of 2-percent milk.

• Limit alcohol consumption. There are indications that those who drink red wine in moderation may reduce the risk of heart disease.

• Eat more fruits, vegetables, and other foods rich in soluble fiber.

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TV violence is like poison to the brain of a child

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Children sometimes imitate the violence they see on TV

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Parents can help their children by providing a variety of good reading material