Leo's Liberation

Embracing Stillness: Exploring Blank Mind Syndrome and Practical Self-Care Strategies

• Leo's Liberation • Season 1 • Episode 1

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Ever found yourself standing still while the world whirls around you, your mind a complete blank canvas? As we embark on a journey through the intriguing realm of "blank mind syndrome," I invite you to explore the art of people-watching with me. Imagine sitting at a bustling airport or a vibrant park, observing the ebb and flow of human emotions and interactions. From adults trudging through exhaustion to couples riding the waves of their relationships, and children who are lost in wonder, each glimpse into these lives offers lessons in empathy and understanding. Let's unravel why some people might seem like they’re operating on autopilot, and how this disconnect between mind and body serves as a gentle nudge toward compassion for the unseen battles others face.

Life gets hectic, and self-care often falls by the wayside. But fear not, as we dive into the necessity of carving out moments of respite amid daily chaos. Picture this: before you tackle the world or get wrapped up in family responsibilities, you steal just five minutes for yourself, taking a moment to breathe, reflect, and recharge. Whether it's a quiet pause in your car or a leisurely drive home, these small acts of self-care can transform your day. Join me as we explore practical tips to seamlessly integrate these vital pauses into your routine, paving the way for stress relief and a harmonious balance between your inner world and the whirlwind of life.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the first episode of Liberating Leo. I am your host, dre, and I'm here to add a perk of positivity to your Monday, to help you mentally energize and carry a good thought with you throughout the week. I'll be here on Friday, also to help you reflect and prepare for a hopeful release of stress going into the weekend. A little bit about myself. There isn't much to tell. Like you, I have stories to tell and experiences to share. I've spent the good majority of my life helping others and now I'm looking to inject a little bit of creativity into the mix by generating this podcast to connect with people on a larger scale and, obviously, keeping things and life larger than myself. Okay, I just kind of want to jump right into the topic here, because these episodes are short and I do want to make sure that I kind of get everything in that I need for you guys, so you can carry on with your day and plus, I know you're busy, so, out of respect for your time, going to jump right in and get to the point. So, basically, you know, I feel like this topic is going to be a good start for our week and our first thought to share together.

Speaker 1:

The topic today is the blank mind syndrome. You know the kind of. Are the lights on thing? Are people able to go through a day or life without thinking? And you know better. Yet I ask myself this question a lot, especially on Mondays. You know how often are the lights on in my head.

Speaker 1:

So you know, during my recent travels I was afforded the time to sit and watch people people gathering in the masses at the airports, parks and other public locations. This is an event If you, if you get the opportunity, don't waste it. I walk around. I see so many people are just like disconnected and checked out from one another because you're trying to mine and carry on with your own business. But you know, we learn from each other by watching each other. That is how we have made it this far in evolution is by watching and learning one another. So you know it's. And children at play. You know learning from their parents and asking a thousand questions. I like to listen to those conversations because they're kind of funny. But you know that makes me think of when I was a kid, and you know pretty much how much of a kid I still am. Adults who wear exhaustion like a mask. You have couples that are falling in love in front of everyone. You have couples who are falling apart in front of everyone, or families for that matter, that may be falling apart, but it's definitely more obvious when you see couples falling apart. You know, people watching is just our way of absorbing, understanding and learning about the world and the people that we share it with, and there's no better way to do it, I think, sometimes other than being in public situations. So basically, it's kind of no different than going on a safari or watching National Geographic to better understand the animal kingdom.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes this can invoke joy, empathy and thoughtfulness, and other times it can invite feelings of anger, sadness, irritation. But every now and then I do observe a person who appears to be hollow and this is not meant to sound condescending in any way. Like I say, we have all experienced this. But every now and again I do witness a person condescending in any way. Like I say, we have all experienced this. But every now and again I do witness a person that I feel is this way, like they've kind of checked out and I've watched people move or just sit sometimes and there's a sense within me that says no one's home right now or the light isn't on. The reason I've chosen this as a Monday morning topic yet again I know I'm beating a dead horse on this one is because we all have had a Monday where it has felt like a Monday.

Speaker 1:

You get out of bed, you get ready for work. You don't want to do any of these things, but you get out of bed, you get ready for work, you make it to work and you realize, oh, I left my brain at home and you kind of feel lost without it. So it's, it's one of those things that doesn't really self-correct until the end of the day or until Tuesday morning. Sometimes it takes, you know, sometimes it takes the entire week for your brain to catch up with your body or your body to catch up with your brain. But it's, it's. It's something that we've all experienced. And you know, I don't care how good you are if you're the, the director, the CEO, um, you know, the highest ranking person in your office, or if you're just the worker bee, or the person in between in the middle um, we, we've all had this happen and work and personal lives either, or um. So basically, that synergy between the mind and body is definitely something that we depend on.

Speaker 1:

So, uh, you know a little side story there. You know, kind of sitting at the gate waiting on flight, yet again during those travels, there was a lady. She was sweeping the floor, a young lady doing her job, had her headphones on and basically she was kind of sweeping around my feet and over my feet, somewhat got a little bothered by, but not bothered enough to make a scene. You just kind of watched her and thought to myself what is going on in your head that you have swept over another person's feet without even minding the fact that they're there. And it's not like I was intentionally trying to be in the way, you know, and I figured this person has to clean a building that is occupied by thousands of people that are constantly moving and unaware of their presence, also throughout the day. So maybe this is how they've adapted on, you know, performing their duties and getting their job done to keep the facility clean so that way we can utilize it. So you know, there's again, it's kind of one of those things where be careful, you never know what's going through someone's head or what they're going through as to why they do the things they do. So, again, that is why I've chosen this as the Monday topic right now.

Speaker 1:

So this kind of led me into reading and I went to. I found an article. I found a couple of articles actually, and one was walking without awareness, but that's a totally, somewhat of a different topic. It does fall into lines with the blank mind syndrome, but not really the same thing, in a sense, because blank mind syndrome is basically moments when an individual experiences a sudden emptiness of thought or mental blankness. The phenomenon can make it difficult to focus, recall information, articulate ideas, and it's more common than one might think. Yet again, we all go through it. And this is all from Calmcom, c-a-l-m. Calmcom. There's also a Calm app that you can download on your phone. It will actually give you a second to kind of think and breathe. If you need that, just meditate. We all need moments like that throughout the day. So understanding blank mind syndrome basically is just where you feel empty and devoid of thought, making it hard to process information or respond promptly. You can.

Speaker 1:

This can occur during conversations, while working in social settings or leaving individuals feeling disconnected or frustrated. I have this happen all the time when I talk to people. You're talking and you're carrying on a conversation. You forget what you're going to talk about or what you're going to say. If you're interrupted or the thought just leaves your mind mid-sentence, you can no longer remember what it was you were talking about.

Speaker 1:

You know, they say the possible causes of this are basically stress and anxiety, information overload, sleep, sleep deprivation, depersonalization, which is a psychological response where one feels detached from themselves, often linked to trauma or severe stress. You know, we all know stress can do some magical things, usually bad things to the body, but stresses, uh, usually are. It can be our enemy, it can be our friend, um, you know, sometimes it gets us moving, sometimes, in most cases, it breaks us down. Um, but you know, yet again, it kind of goes back to be careful. You never know what somebody's going through, especially on a monday morning. You don't know how they spent that weekend, what happened to them, how their vacation went. Um, I would just say, let's do the human thing, check in on each other and just say, hey, how you doing? And mean it. Don't just say it just to say it. Actually mean it with intent to actually sit there and listen if they want to share with you for a moment how things are going. You know, just be prepared for what you may hear and hopefully something that you can assist with.

Speaker 1:

So medical conditions are another thing. Obviously, you know you have people who may be going through cancers, people who take uh behavioral health medications. These things can all um affect your, your way of thinking, because the stress levels are high and also the the medications uh can sometimes do things to your body and to your mind that you know most people don't have to experience. So, obviously, these things that perfect our uh affect our performance, whether we want them to or not. Uh, they do lead to increased frustration or self uh consciousness, potentially exacerbating stress or anxiety, which keeps making it, making the matter worse. Uh, some ways you can actually mitigate this obviously is. I think these are things that we all know about, but we fail to practice. That's the funny thing is, we know about these things but we fail to do them.

Speaker 1:

Um, you know, mindfulness meditation is not saying you have to sit there with your legs crossed or in a quiet room, for you know an hour meditation can happen and you know five minutes. If you have it, um, just go in the bathroom um, or shut your office door or just walk outside and just breathe for a second. Um regular exercise. Uh, go for a walk. I try to get it from my desk every hour on the hour and go for a walk, a 10 minute walk, if I can afford it. Some days I can't, but I try to at least just to get out the office and get some fresh air, if the weather permits. Also, adequate sleep, that's another thing. Yet again, the world's kind of just moving constantly. You know you get the healthy diet and limiting the multitasking and the professional support always look for a, a counselor. People kind of frown on this, but it's not something you really have to frown upon.

Speaker 1:

You know the big picture here is basically self-care. Self-care is one of the things that can help you kind of keep that blank mind syndrome at bay if possible. And the best advice I can give you here in the last 45 seconds is when you get to work, you know, don't feel like you have to rush right in, don't feel like you have to get right to it. You know, if you have five minutes to spare, sit in the car for five minutes, breathe, meditate, pray, do whatever you have to do, and then you get out and you walk in. You do your thing.

Speaker 1:

I know people, some, some of us have those jobs where, as soon as you walk in, people are in your face asking you questions and making demands. Um, but you know, hey, can you give me five minutes to go put, put my things down, get set up so I can get ready for the day? You know, take that second to breathe, because that may be the last chance you actually get to take a, take a moment for yourself throughout the day. And you do the same thing when you get home, before you get out of that car and go inside and engage your family. Take a second out, breathe in that car or drive a little bit slower to get home, but give yourself time to think and, uh, you know, take care of yourself. Okay, all right.

Speaker 1:

Well, that ends it. So, uh, I'm going to leave you with that thought guys, self-care for the week, uh, that's our first episode, obviously, and just take care of yourselves. Take out a second to breathe, five minutes if you can, before or after your day is ended, and just breathe, breathe, reflect and, you know, embrace, embrace the moment for a second, just embrace everything else for a second before you actually encounter or try to engage anything. Um, all right, I'm Dre and I am looking forward to talking to you guys here on Friday. Take care of yourselves. This is a liberating Leo and uh, we'll be back on friday to help you reflect and release that stress. Take care, thank you.