This May, National Geographic is putting a note to Mental Health Awareness Month in the US – with a new campaign that reveals a series of mental health checks in the form of articles, videos, photos and more.
The material includes downloadable phone wallpapers, ASMR nature videos on YouTube, soothing Spotify playlists, and a “How Stressed Are You?” Questionnaire first developed by psychologists in 1983.
The organization also released a series of opinion pieces about a culture of urgency in America that appears to be leading to burnout; efficiency and effectiveness of meditation; and some ways to experience stress.
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“In our always-on world, people are more stressed than ever, and the science is clear that chronic stress has a negative impact on our health,” National Geographic Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lump said in a media release.
“We aim to help people better understand the effects of stress and encourage them to slow down and take time to prioritize their mental health,” Lump also said.
He added that he hoped “these resources will encourage and facilitate that behavior.”
The initiative for NatGeo came out of a deep dive into how scientists have been trying to solve stress for generations because of signs that stress can have life-changing consequences, from heart disease to a weakened immune system.
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In an interview with Fox News Digital, NatGeo contributor Yudhijit Bhattacharjee shared details about his research — noting that “stress is all around us.”
“Stress pervades our lives,” he said. “Stress has some serious impacts on our health, our well-being, even the way our brain works, how our immune system works and so on.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwENDOjnM
Since the coronavirus pandemic, Bhattacharjee, who is based in Takoma Park, Maryland, said it has become “clear” that social isolation is a “huge contributor to stress.”
“When we are very stressed, we are more susceptible to viruses and germs.”
“In the last 10 to 15 years, there’s been a lot more research into how stress affects us,” he said. “We didn’t know, for example, as clearly as we do now, that stress often plays havoc with our immune system.”
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“When we’re very stressed, we’re more susceptible to viruses and germs … and in this post-Covid world, that’s obviously very important.”
Bhattacharjee’s research also looked at how stress can affect adolescents and children.
Aniko Korosi, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, told NatGeo, “Chronic stress in early life has more serious and lasting effects because that’s when many connections are made in the brain.”
Raising their triplets is challenging for Caitlin and Chris Nichols of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Born prematurely, children have long-term health problems. Caregivers of chronically ill children face health challenges themselves. Telomeres – the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes – are shorter than expected, a possible sign of stress-related aging. (Brian Finke/National Geographic)
Experts have discovered, according to Bhattacharjee, that high stress can hinder a child’s brain development.
“Not much attention has been paid to the impact of stress on babies,” he said. “The stress that parents experience in trying to make ends meet, keep a roof over their heads — all that stress ends up being passed on to their children.”
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“And while adults can probably handle the stress and their brains are already fully formed, it’s the children who will end up paying a life-long price.”
Bhattacharjee said NatGeo’s campaign is “drawing attention” to what stress is doing to our bodies and our children, as well as advocating that people “try their favorite ways to de-stress”.
Teaching meditation to young people can make a “huge contribution” to society, said a National Geographic contributor (not pictured). (iStock)
Meditation — a popular stress-relief method — has been more openly embraced by the public and is even being introduced to children in schools, NatGeo reported.
Bhattacharjee hypothesized that programs like these could make a “huge contribution” to society by changing “the way humanity responds to everyday stress”.
“Scientists are learning exactly how meditation ends up helping to reduce stress and thereby help control some of the bad effects of stress,” he said.
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Bhattacharjee considered other activities to be “meditative” in their ability to control stress, such as playing a sport, singing karaoke, spending time with a pet or going for a walk.
“Meditation is kind of a catch-all for a number of contemplative practices, and many of them focus on paying attention to one’s breath and thoughts,” he said.
“I think we need to spend some time alone with ourselves feeling bored in order to increase our well-being,” said one expert. (iStock)
The NatGeo contributor said many people today are living in a “frantic social media environment” while surrounded by issues ranging from the environment to the political – making it an opportune time to pay attention to our levels. of stress and to learn how to calm them down.
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“This constant seeking of stimulation, this addiction to stimulation, is contributing to stress,” he said.
“[Scrolling is] it probably doesn’t help… even if you think it will entertain you. Maybe it’s just adding to our stress load.”
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He added, “I think we need to spend some time alone with ourselves feeling bored in order to increase our well-being.”
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