Stop damaging your Mental Health | Psychologist

Five everyday things are quietly damaging your brain — and most of them have nothing to do with your diagnosis. In this episode of the PAN Lab podcast, psychologist Akansha breaks down sleep, diet, exercise, alcohol and stress, and the biology that ties all five to your mental health. The link runs through your mitochondria — the energy factories inside every cell. Mitochondria take nutrients and oxygen from your food and convert them into ATP, the unit of energy every cell uses to stay alive and function. Aur jaise jaise age badhti hai — and with ultra-processed food, poor sleep, alcohol, nicotine and chronic stress — mitochondria get damaged. Jitna mitochondria damage hoga, utni dysfunctions brain mein badhengi. There is a direct link between the health of your mitochondria and your mental illnesses. Akansha covers what actually damages them: ultra-processed and refined food, sleep that is short or poor quality, no movement at all, alcohol — which severely damages mitochondria in your liver and kidney, raising the risk of Alzheimer's, memory loss and stroke — and chronic stress. She also explains oxidative vs reductive stress, and why hammering antioxidant supplements backfires: not too much, not too little. Then the clinical side: medicines are not the only route. The ketogenic diet was discovered 100 years ago for epilepsy and proved life-saving for patients resistant to standard treatment; its impact has since been studied on schizophrenia and bipolar symptoms. Fasting is popular for a reason too — fasting promotes mitophagy, which helps preserve your mitochondria. And even if you have already been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar or depression, these five pillars still matter. You still hold that agency. Sawaal poochiye. Blindly kisi cheez ko follow mat kijiye, aur apne aap ko easily diagnose mat kijiye. For more practical psychology and neuroscience in Hinglish, subscribe to the PAN Lab podcast. ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: diet, gut health and mental health 0:14 What exactly is metabolism? 0:25 Mitochondria: your cell's powerhouse and ATP 0:47 What damages your mitochondria 1:24 The direct link to mental illness 1:51 Oxidative stress vs reductive stress 2:27 Medicines are not the only way 2:38 Ketogenic diet: 100 years of epilepsy treatment 3:00 Keto, schizophrenia and bipolar symptoms 3:20 Fasting and mitophagy 4:04 Pillar 1: exercise and movement 4:17 Pillar 2: sleep quality and duration 4:37 Pillar 3: diet, B12 and iron deficiency 4:59 Pillar 4: alcohol and substance use 5:32 Pillar 5: stress, good and damaging 6:28 Living well after a diagnosis 6:56 Finding the right clinician 7:15 You still hold agency 8:46 Ask questions, don't self-diagnose 9:13 Outro #mentalhealth #metabolism #mitochondria #ketodiet #psychology