From gym commercials to nutrition TikTokers, physical wellness has been a hot topic on social media. Physical fitness has been pushed as the cure to living a happy, healthier life, but what about the mental fitness that lies beneath the surface?
The movement to take care of our minds is becoming just as significant as taking care of our bodies. According to Mayo Clinic, in 2021, 44% of college students reported having symptoms of depression and anxiety, and, on top of that, 75% are reluctant to seek help. These numbers have caused the conversation surrounding mental health to become increasingly more open in recent years.
Celebrities have come forward to talk about their struggles with mental illness, such as Selena Gomez. In 2020, she revealed to fans that she struggles with bipolar disorder, and has anxiety and depression caused by her physical ailments from Lupus. Selena wanted to expand the conversation around mental illness, but felt some stigmas still needed to be addressed. In 2022, she decided to take the conversation around mental illness a step further and create an outlet for those who struggle with mental health issues like herself. Selena debuted Wondermind, a platform that allows anyone to engage in mental fitness through tools and exercises that will destigmatize mental health and encourage everyone to practice strengthening their mental well-being.
Physical fitness is praised as the key to a healthy well-being, but mental fitness is the unsung hero that isn’t talked about enough. Mental health is your emotional and social well-being, but mental fitness takes your mental health a step further by actively taking steps to improve it. As the conversation surrounding mental health expands through apps like Wondermind, the practice of mental fitness is just as important.
what is mental fitness?
Mental fitness keeps your mind in good shape. Much like physical fitness trains our body to respond to health issues, mental fitness trains our mind to respond better to situations. According to BetterUp, it maintains a state of well-being and increases awareness of how you think, behave, and feel. Mental fitness engages your mind in activities based on your mental health to improve the emotional state you are in. It expands your mental dexterity, or the ability to be flexible in your thoughts and actions, and understand the control you have over your reactions.
Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn, Sacramento State University professor of neuroscience and trauma-informed care, tells Her Campus, “Mental fitness involves training — recognizing abilities, and creating and sustaining coping skills that are brought forth when faced with challenges, adversity, even traumatic events.” Through mental fitness, you can have a healthier relationship with yourself and with others.
why is mental fitness important?
Mental fitness has a direct impact on mental health. Angela Marie Christian, a mental fitness expert and positive intelligence coach, tells Her Campus, “Your mind can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. We need mental fitness to strengthen our mind, just as we need physical fitness to improve our bodies. When you’re mentally fit, you’re able to navigate work and relationship challenges with more ease and you’ll feel less mental stress, such as anxiety, unhappiness, frustration, and anger. Unfortunately, 80% of people score below the minimum level of mental fitness necessary for happiness and peak performance.”
This lack of mental fitness affects how your body reacts to stressors in your life, such as school work, which could cause mental health issues, especially for college students. Christan continues, “Studies show that 8 in 10 college students report high levels of stress. Therefore, introducing and providing education on campus about mental fitness would make a huge difference. Mental fitness is particularly important as they’re adjusting to a new way of life, facing an increase in demands, and worrying about COVID affecting their ability to remain in school.” Through mental fitness, college students could combat the growing numbers of anxiety and depression caused by school.
what is the difference between mental health and mental fitness?
Everyone has a mind, so everyone has mental health. People often get confused about the concept of mental health and may believe the idea that if you are not mentally ill, then you are mentally healthy. However, mental health is a spectrum of your emotional well-being. When it comes to the difference between mental health and mental fitness, one is a state and one is acting on that state. You do not have to experience mental illness to practice mental fitness. According to BetterUp, mental fitness is about more than helping those with mental illness. It is about growth and thinking, and is developed by treating mental health as something you can improve, no matter where you are on the spectrum.
how can i practice mental fitness?
To practice mental fitness, you have to engage in activities that cause your mind to think critically. These activities will help your body strengthen the mind-body connection. Christian says, “To start becoming more mentally fit you’ll need to start observing your mind and creating new neural pathways, which is easier than it sounds. We want to move away from reacting from our ‘survival’ brain and move toward reacting from our ‘thrive’ brain. The easiest way to boost your mental fitness is with a ‘mental fitness rep’: a 10-second to 2-minute focused meditation utilizing your senses.”
During these reps, only focus on the feeling the reps produce. For instance, you can rub the palms of your hands together for 10 seconds and focus on the feeling they produce, or you could focus on the sound you hear closest or farthest away. These meditations utilizing your senses increase gray matter in your brain, or the areas responsible for regulating emotions. When you feel negative thoughts arising, participating in these small exercises can divert from the emotion.
Mental fitness can also be practiced in everyday life. Here are some everyday ways to improve mental fitness:
- Avoid multitasking. Multitasking weakens your brain by reducing your efficiency and the ability to focus on one task at a time. This can lead to stress and impulsive decisions, decreasing your ability to regulate emotions.
- Stay positive by finding the silver lining. When negative thoughts come up, try to find what you can gain from the situation at hand. A key part of staying positive is decreasing negative self-talk. You can decrease this by asking yourself if the negative thoughts are actually true or consider alternative explanations for your negative feelings. For example, the company you applied to hasn’t responded to your email because they have a lot of applicants to sort through, not because you are unqualified.
- Try something different to shake up your daily routine, such as a new recipe or going to a new restaurant. Trying new things causes your brain to make synaptic connections, increasing neural activity — in other words, learning takes place. New activities also release dopamine, which increases motivation and your mood. The more you try new things that put you in a positive mood, the more your body will want to engage in activities that enhance positive thoughts.
Mental fitness bridges the gap between a healthy mind and a happy life. By engaging in activities that boost reactions that increase a positive well-being, you are practicing mental fitness. As the conversation around mental illness broadens and more resources become available, understanding how you can become more mentally fit helps change the narrative surrounding it.