I have recently done a lot of research on exercising and getting in
shape. After 3 trainers all having different philosophies, all sorts
of experimentation, and many different product purchases, I have
finally found what works for me. It is a combination of Total Body
Workout routines by Chad Waterbury, reading the G.I. Diet, and proper
nutrition which includes greens+, fiber for breakfast and fruit and
vegetable juices. It is a little more elaborate, but you get the
picture. I feel like I finally got that part of my life sorted out and
now I want to work on the mental health aspect of my life, but I dont
know where to start. So my question is this: Is there an evaluation
for mental health? Is there a breakdown of all the functions of the
brain, and a way of testing those functions. Is there a way to make
sure that I am making the most of my mental abilities, and change my
life so that I am living to my best abilities. I know this can be a
hell of a question, and I dont need the answer any time soon, but I
don't really know where to begin, and I hope that your answer will
provide many links to point me in the right direction.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 02 Nov 2006 17:32 PST

onthewayup...

I worked in the field of mental health for 25+ years, so naturally
I explored every conceivable discipline and therapy for improving
my own mental health. While many of them provided good insight and
some degree of improvement, there is a course I took that embodies
the essence at the heart of them all.

One of the most useful approaches currently in use in the area of
mental health is belief management, which comes in the form of 
ratio-emotive therapy or cognitive therapy.

The limitation of these therapies is the difficulty of discovering
the subtle and often invisible beliefs which underlie and oppose
the healthier beliefs we'd like to adopt.


The course I took works with the very basics of the human mind:
attention, awareness, consciousness, will, and beliefs, and 
provides *experiential* lessons, vs word lessons, in familiarizing
you with these essential elements. It gradually leads you to an
experiential clarity that allows you to easily discover the 
transparent beliefs that are sabotaging your experience of life,
and to literally 'discreate' beliefs that are no longer desired.

The process of integrating these tools is elegant and a lot of
fun! The course is called Avatar©, and their website is here:
http://avatarepc.com/

There are a series of free mini-courses in PDF format that will
give you a feel for the course itself:
http://avatarepc.com/html/mini-eng.html

You can learn more about the course here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/avatarcourse.html

You can download a free PDF copy of Living Deliberately, which
makes up half the content of Part I of the 3-part course here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/eliving.html

Other articles about Avatar and the author of the materials,
Harry Palmer, can be accessed here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/download.html


Let me know what you think. If this satisfies your interests,
I'll post it as a formal answer...

sublime1-ga

onthewayup...

Thanks very much for acknowledging my response as a suitable
answer for your question. I'll repost it here for the sake of
future readers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I worked in the field of mental health for 25+ years, so naturally
I explored every conceivable discipline and therapy for improving
my own mental health. While many of them provided good insight and
some degree of improvement, there is a course I took that embodies
the essence at the heart of them all.

One of the most useful approaches currently in use in the area of
mental health is belief management, which comes in the form of 
ratio-emotive therapy or cognitive therapy.

The limitation of these therapies is the difficulty of discovering
the subtle and often invisible beliefs which underlie and oppose
the healthier beliefs we'd like to adopt.


The course I took works with the very basics of the human mind:
attention, awareness, consciousness, will, and beliefs, and 
provides *experiential* lessons, vs word lessons, in familiarizing
you with these essential elements. It gradually leads you to an
experiential clarity that allows you to easily discover the 
transparent beliefs that are sabotaging your experience of life,
and to literally 'discreate' beliefs that are no longer desired.

The process of integrating these tools is elegant and a lot of
fun! The course is called Avatar©, and their website is here:
http://avatarepc.com/

There are a series of free mini-courses in PDF format that will
give you a feel for the course itself:
http://avatarepc.com/html/mini-eng.html

You can learn more about the course here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/avatarcourse.html

You can download a free PDF copy of Living Deliberately, which
makes up half the content of Part I of the 3-part course here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/eliving.html

Other articles about Avatar and the author of the materials,
Harry Palmer, can be accessed here:
http://avatarepc.com/html/download.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can also receive a free copy and/or a subscription to the
Avatar Journal, which is published 3-4 times a year, from this
page:
http://avatarepc.com/html/freejournal.html

Informative articles from from previous issues are available
in the Archives section, along with other publications:
http://avatarepc.com/html/archive.html


If you have any questions at all, please post a Request for
Clarification before rating this answer...

sublime1-ga

I've seen books that are filled with psychological tests. You could
take some of the tests and then work on areas that you feel are
worthwhile.

thankyou so much, that is exactly what i need

I recently read a book by Daniel G. Amen called Making a Good Brain
Great. You might find his book and website interesting.

http://www.brainplace.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Good-Brain-Great-Performance/dp/1400082080/sr=1-1/qid=1162925461/ref=sr_1_1/002-4083773-6136050?ie=UTF8&s=books
Making a Good Brain Great: The Amen Clinic Program for Achieving and
Sustaining Optimal Mental Performance