What Shapes Our Mental Wellbeing?

 

Our well-being is not only shaped by our inborn biological predispositions but also by the world around us—including both our history and the current states of our personal, social, and cultural experiences. This mix of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural influences creates schemata—particular neurological pathways responsible for our individual as well as collective tendencies to think, feel, and behave in specific ways. While this is a perfectly natural process that helps humans organise knowledge and provides a reference framework for understanding the world and surviving within it, in some circumstances, an imbalance between negative and positive life events can result not only in maladaptive patterns of thinking, feeling, or behaving but also in difficulties accepting life’s inevitable existential realities.

 

How Can Therapy Help?

 

While the success of therapy depends on many factors—such as the therapist’s approach and the client’s unique characteristics and circumstances—scientific research highlights therapy’s powerful role in supporting neural plasticity: the brain’s natural capacity to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections.

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In essence, therapy can help the brain “rewire” itself, shifting from unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving toward healthier, more adaptive ones. This transformative process may involve:

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• Developing awareness of the root causes and automatic patterns underlying one’s own and others’ thoughts, emotions, and behavioural responses.

• Reframing maladaptive perspectives by challenging irrational or unhelpful beliefs and cultivating more balanced ways of understanding oneself and the world.

• Cultivating acceptance of difficult emotions or mental states that may resist change, while supporting them with healthier perceptions and coping strategies.

• Exploring deeper existential themes, including acceptance of life’s universal challenges and the discovery of meaning and purpose.

 

Through these processes, therapy not only alleviates emotional distress but also fosters forgiveness, compassion, personal growth, resilience, and a deeper sense of self-understanding.