Mental Fitness

Mental fitness. Mental fitness can be defined as having and maintaining a state of well-being and cultivating awareness of how we think, behave and feel.

 

As with physical fitness, mental fitness has far-reaching benefits. But what does it mean to exercise your mind? Can the brain do crunches?

 

We know the importance of physical fitness. And we have many options to develop it: with a trainer at the gym, or walking and running outside. We each have our own blend of activities to maintain the health and well-being of our body.

 

The result? You develop muscles that help you function better in your day-to-day life. You are stronger, leaner, have more energy or endurance, and are less prone to accidents and injury.

 

Functioning at a higher state of health, you are “fit.” Fit to respond to the demands of every day (carrying shopping bags, running after pets and children) as well as being more able to enjoy life. Developing optimal health can bring more positive emotions, less stress, and a sense of achievement.

 

The good news is, you can enjoy similar benefits from developing your mental fitness, too!

 

How does mental fitness help?

Just as physical fitness provides us with an increased ability to respond to life in all its richness, mental fitness helps in the same way. It provides us more space to choose how to respond to a situation, whether that situation is a forethought, an external stimulus, or a feeling. As a result, we are less likely to sustain (or cause) emotional and relational injury.

 

Consider what happens if you find yourself in an argument with your spouse. Your spouse says something in anger that is hurtful. When we’re in a reactionary mode, we fire back, straight out of the core of that hurt. Your arrow lands, and your spouse responds in-kind. And so on, leaving you both feeling out of control and strained.

 

When you are more mentally fit, you recognize that you have a choice when that first angry statement comes your way. Mental fitness gives you the ability to pause and respond in the way you would like, in the moment, rather than having to reset or mend fences later.

 

In some ways, it’s like accessing the wisdom of hindsight in the present moment.

 

How does fitness help mental health? When we’re mentally fit, the way we interact with the world is different. It isn’t just one interaction with a spouse. It is the cumulative effect on our emotional health.

 

Imagine being less reactive in all of the hundreds of interactions we have every week. As the example above shows, we are choosing how to be and how to respond, rather than ping-ponging from one reaction to another. Over time, that adds up to a lot less stress and negative emotion.

 

In the same way that our physical fitness also affects our mental health, our mental fitness ultimately affects our physical health and wellness.

 

How does mental fitness work?

Our brains carry thoughts along neural pathways. These pathways are like ruts that have been created and reinforced over time. If you always take the same route to work, you may notice that you can get there on “autopilot.”

 

When we repeat a certain thought pattern many times, that neural pathway is reinforced, and the thinking becomes automatic.

 

While a daily routine can be good, when it comes to our thought patterns, we need to be aware of what our routines are and what pathways we’re inadvertently reinforcing.

 

The issue with automatic thinking is when it causes us to react in ways that are unhelpful in the current situation. Our reactions are based on well-worn pathways to past emotions or triggers.

 

As you build mental fitness, you have the awareness, mental strength, and agility to identify options and choose another route. What would I like to have happen here? Where would I like to go? Too often, we are acting, speaking, and thinking automatically or unconsciously.

 

Automatic thinking comes from our survival brain, the limbic system. It is constantly scanning the environment for threats and has been throughout evolution. We inherited the limbic system from chimps and it can protect us. But in the modern world, it can give rise to thoughts and actions that hurt us, too.

 

It is the human part of the brain that we can develop and re-program. With the same deliberateness that we strengthen certain muscles or fine-tune a movement, we can create neural pathways that better serve us and benefit our lives. This is the essence of what we mean by mental fitness training.

 

Why it’s important to pay attention to your mental fitness

Our chimp brain produces a negativity bias — we have one positive thought to every three negative thoughts. This can result in cognitive errors.

 

Common biases include “all or nothing” or polarised thinking, where we label situations as absolutes. We say, “she never listens” or “I am always late” instead of addressing the present situation.

 

Assumption is also rooted in the chimp brain. We store unconscious bias here and jump to conclusions without looking for evidence first.

 

Mind-reading, or believing we can guess the feelings or thoughts of others, is another cognitive error — we suspect a threat and aim to protect against it. We also fall into language that carries obligation and guilt, such as must/should.

 

If we remain unaware of them, these cognitive errors can wreak havoc in relationships, at work, on our self-esteem and in all areas of life. Working with a coach can help you to recognize your cognitive errors when they are happening.

 

Adopting a regular meditation practice can also increase your awareness.

 

Although we cannot control the nature of our chimp brain, we are responsible for learning its tendencies and managing it, like owning a dog.

Mental fitness training

Mental fitness training. Brain fitness has basic principles: variety and curiosity. When anything you do becomes second nature, you need to make a change. If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, it’s time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain.

 

Curiosity about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently. Use the ideas below to help start your mental fitness training.

 

1. Play games

Brain fitness programs and games are a wonderful way to tease and challenge your brain. Sudoku, crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain’s speed and memory. These games rely on logic, word skills, maths and more. These games are also fun.

 

2. Meditation

Daily meditation is perhaps the single greatest thing you can do for your mind/body health. Meditation not only relaxes you, it gives your brain a workout. By creating a different mental state, you engage your brain in new and interesting ways while increasing your brain fitness.

 

3. Eat for Your Brain

Your brain needs you to eat healthy fats. Focus on fish oils from wild salmon, nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flax seed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less saturated fats. Eliminate trans fats completely from your diet. Eating healthy is one of the most important mental fitness training you can put your brain to.

 

4. Tell Good Stories

Stories are a way that we solidify memories, interpret events and share moments. Practice telling your stories, both new and old, so that they are interesting, compelling and fun. Some basic storytelling techniques will go a long way in keeping people’s interest both in you and in what you have to say.

 

5. Exercise Your Body to Exercise Your Brain

Physical exercise is great brain exercise too. By moving your body, your brain has to learn new muscle skills, estimate distance and practice balance. Choose a variety of exercises to challenge your brain.

 

6. Read Something Different

Books are portable, free from libraries and filled with infinite interesting characters, information, and facts. Branch out from familiar reading topics. If you usually read history books, try a contemporary novel.

 

Read foreign authors, the classics, and random books. Not only will your brain get a workout by imagining different time periods, cultures and peoples, you will also have interesting stories to tell about your reading, what it makes you think of and the connections you draw between modern life and the words

 

7. Learn a New Skill

Learning a new skill works multiple areas of the brain. Your memory comes into play, you learn new movements and you associate things differently. Reading Shakespeare, learning to cook and building an aeroplane out of toothpicks all will challenge your brain and give you something to think about.

 

8. Make Simple Changes

We love our routines. We have hobbies and pastimes that we could do for hours on end. But the more something is ‘second nature,’ the less our brains have to work to do it. To really help your brain stay young, challenge it.

 

routes to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first. All this will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again.

 

9. Train Your Brain

Brain training is becoming a trend. There are formal courses, websites, and books with programs on how to train your brain to work better and faster. There is some research behind these programs, but the basic principles are memory, visualisation, and reasoning. Work on these three concepts every day and your brain will be ready for anything.

Mental fitness journal

Mental fitness journal. If you think a journal is just for doodling and keeping track of your days and to-do lists, think again. A notebook is also the best way to stay on top of your physical and mental health.

 

Adding a mental fitness journal to your stationery pile will help you log your workouts, meals, and daily moods, so that you can have a tangible view of your progress.

 

Plus, having a place to jot your goals down is especially useful for those wanting to make a lifestyle change, like ensuring you get in a certain amount of cardio or strength training a week.

 

Writing your goals down and sharing them with a friend improves the likelihood that you’ll be successful in achieving your goals. A study found that those who kept a routine log of their health were more knowledgeable about their health and what they could do to improve it.

 

There’s certainly no shortage of mental fitness journal to choose from: You can find short-term, goal-setting journals, or year-long fitness and wellness planners. You can even find journals that’ll help you keep track of your meals, your measurements, water intake, and even your mental health.

 

To help you select the perfect fitness journal for you, here’s a list of some of the best ones out there.

Mental fitness test

Mental fitness test. You’re probably pleasantly (or painfully) aware of your current physical fitness. But can you gauge the sharpness of your mind? In a world where exercise is king it’s important to whip your brain into shape, too.

 

That starts when you test your cognitive skills so you can judge your baseline brainpower. And it’s trickier than you might think.

 

Instead of counting push-ups or running speed, you need different means to assess your memory and cognitive skills. Luckily, there are metrics you can measure to see where you’re at. And plenty of resources exist for gathering data on your brain.

 

Take the first step and familiarise yourself with the mental fitness test

 

1. Assessing Your Short-Term Memory

Your short-term memory is an easy cognitive skill to test. And quick, too. Short-term memory lasts for about 30 seconds—one minute at the most—and only stores about five to nine items of information.

 

You use this type of memory for a phone number before you dial, or the confirmation code on a plane ticket.

 

There are dozens of online quizzes and mobile phone apps dedicated to improving your short-term memory. But, first, it’s important to see where you’re starting from so you can track progress.

 

To appraise your current short-term memory capacity, you can complete tasks that involve recalling a series of numbers or letters from a master list.

 

2. Put Your Working Memory to the Test

Knowledge stored in long-term memory and information from your environment combine to create your working memory. Reading, cooking, driving, and mental maths all require working memory.

 

These tasks take the rules and skills stored in long-term memory and apply them to solve new problems.

 

Attention and concentration are also made possible through working memory. Your brain uses working memory to help you focus on work and ignore distractions.

 

Testing working memory can be fun. Activities like Sudoku and search-and-find games put your brain to work filtering out competing sources of information. They challenge you to focus your attention to complete a task.

 

Another good assessment of working memory and attention is the Stroop test. You use this type of memory to identify words and colours with variable rules.

 

3. Look at How Your Sensory Memory Stacks Up

A final component of memory you can carry out a mental fitness test involves your senses. Your brain is always receiving sensory information. Scent, sound, taste, touch, and visual data enter the brain and are stored in your sensory memory for a very brief period of time.

 

When you test this kind of memory, you do it one sense at a time. A common evaluation is called a change blindness test. It plays on your sense of sight and requires your brain to tell the difference between two very similar images.

 

4. Test Your Cognitive Skills

Cognition may be the most subjective brain metrics. By definition, cognition is the sum of all the processes going on inside your brain. Language, thought, judgement, and memory are all part of cognition.

 

Your cognitive capabilities are as unique as you are. So, in an effort to create a measurable standard, there are tests available to summarise your cognitive strength.

 

Some cater to specific groups of people (young children, for example), but a few can be applied to anyone looking to gauge their overall cognitive abilities.

 

Inductive reasoning tests task your brain to identify patterns and find meaning in large amounts of data. Games that ask you to guess the next in a sequence of numbers, letters, or shapes are examples of this sort of test.

 

A situational judgement test is another evaluation of cognition. It’s often administered in questionnaire form, asking you to judge the best or most appropriate response to a given situation.

 

Job applications and interviews often utilise situational judgement testing to narrow down a list of candidates.

 

Intelligence tests are a common form of cognitive skills assessment. These are tricky, because many factors influence a person’s intelligence, including education, nutrition, environment, etc. But the Miller Analogies test (MAT) is a reliable version. The MAT uses analogies to evaluate your logical and analytical reasoning.

Mental fitness program

Mental fitness program. Warming up the muscles is essential before exercise – and it’s no different for your mental health workout. With this program, the main muscle groups are self-esteem (core stability) and boundaries and vulnerability (your psychological range of motion).

 

The mental fitness program will help improve your overall mental health and help build;

 

1. Self-esteem:

Everything in the Mental Health Workout comes back to self-esteem — it’s the foundation, the core stability. If that’s out of shape, everything else is problematic. Self-esteem is fundamentally how you feel about yourself and something very few others see because we’re so adept at pretending.

 

Exercise 1: Look in the mirror, observe and repeat three times: ‘I notice I feel (_____) about my (_____) and I accept myself anyway.’

 

Exercise 2: Watch the self-talk. Use the mantra ‘I am equal’. You’re not going to diminish your own self-respect. Take shame, blame and power out of the equation.

 

2. Boundaries and vulnerability:

If your self-esteem is your core stability, then boundaries and vulnerability form the range of emotion protecting it.

 

The more practised you become at feeling vulnerable and managing it through boundaries, the more flexibility and opportunities you will have. You’ll then see a reduction in anxiety and panic.

 

Exercise: Identify the boundary that needs setting, imagine and practise what you’d like to say and do to set that boundary, then go back to the situation or person and set it. Feel the feelings, hold your position. This can be the hardest part.

 

3. Daily workouts

If the weekly workouts create a holding space, the daily workouts are programmed to strengthen your relationship with yourself. These are where you work those smaller muscles and understand your reactions, feelings, thoughts and what you need and want. This involves:

 

1. i) Mindfulness per day

People confuse mindfulness with meditation. They’ll say ‘I can’t quieten my mind’, but really it’s about choosing where your focus goes. It allows you to have authority over what you concentrate on.

 

It’s energising and refreshing, which is why I liken it to hydration and a chance to realign your focus.

 

Exercise: Practise mindfulness by doing a body scan, focusing on something soothing, slowing down, adopting self-acceptance or being aware of distractions.

 

1. ii) Connection per day

Ultimately, the basic human need is belonging and being with other people and so many of us struggle with it. After a year of being separated, it’s going to feel like hard work because all those muscle groups are out of practice.

 

Exercise 1: Connect with yourself. Each morning, ask yourself, how am I feeling? How am I going to work with that today? Then stay connected to that for 24 hours.

 

Exercise 2: Connect with others. Assess what you need and want from others so you feel seen and understood. Get to know your triggers, be conscious of your attachment styles. and make contact and listen to others — to understand rather than to respond.

Mental fitness app

Mental fitness app. Between an uneven economy and a pandemic with no clear end in sight, it can be difficult to get yourself in the right headspace. Even so, there are several apps at your fingertips ready to help improve your mental wellbeing.

 

Here are some key ways that mental fitness app can improve your life in 2022 and beyond.

 

1. Exercising more than the body

Several apps out there are designed to help users track their workouts, but very few go one step further. Proper exercise can do just as much for the mind as it does the body, but not if you run into common pitfalls such as overexertion or letting it become a source of stress.

 

Tools like Habit List can help you set regular goals that go beyond traditional workouts alone, making it easier to keep up with other crucial activities such as drinking water or taking regular breaks at work.

 

If exercise is cramping your schedule, try embracing the 7-Minute Workout format and app in order to stay in shape without harming other aspects of your life. Physical fitness can be a clear path to mental and overall wellness, but only when done correctly.

 

2. Offering much-needed escapes

Between social distancing and mandatory quarantines, even those that can get away for a vacation may find their trips more stressful than relaxing. Technology can offer the possibility of “escape” not to some faraway place but rather to a digital space.

 

That’s the idea behind Healium, a VR program designed to improve the mood states of and increase relaxation in its users. By using the power of VR to transport people into a stress-relieving environment.

 

Healium has been shown to decrease moderate anxiety by a factor of one third. Even as traditional “escapes” become more possible again, the opportunity to put on a headset and suppress anxious feelings will remain invaluable.

 

3. Making meditation accessible

Another popular and highly effective way to grab a hold of some calm in a turbulent world is through regular meditation, which can have a significant impact on overall mental fitness. But even just being able to squeeze in a session here or there can make a difference during stressful moments.

 

The market is just about flooded with meditation apps to choose from, but those who are just starting to seriously consider the importance of their own mental fitness should opt for a beginner-friendly option such as Headspace.

 

While a number of other popular apps will work just as well, Headspace’s basics course is a great jumping-off point for those needing some early guidance.

 

4. Enabling an attitude of mindfulness

Of course, meditation isn’t the be-all and end-all of mental fitness — it’s just one component of the larger “mindfulness” lifestyle. Self-improvement, focus and tranquillity are all key steps on the path to mental fitness, and mindfulness can help you achieve them.

 

 

In the high-stress year of 2020, it was no surprise that people sought to improve their mental fitness through apps. A lot of fitness apps saw a truly unprecedented number of downloads.

 

5. Improving sleep patterns

Anyone who’s ever suffered a lack of it knows just how important sleep is to mental health. It may sound strange, but sleep apps can help users calm down before bed and track trends in their sleeping patterns as well, making it easier to look for improvements.

 

You can’t be well without mental wellness, and you can’t be fit without mental fitness. Though apps may not be able to get you where you want to be by themselves, they’re invaluable tools for turning your goals into realities.

Mental fitness utc

Mental fitness utc. In England and Wales, the 2017 Government Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health in schools, ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’ clearly showed a need for an improvement in mental health services both in schools and within the wider community for children and young people.

Some key findings included:

 

One in eight (12.8%) 5 to 19 year olds had at least one mental disorder when assessed in 2017

Emotional disorders were the most prevalent type of disorder experienced by 5 to 19 year olds in 2017 (8.1%).

 

Mental fitness UTC. Rates of mental disorders increased with age. 5.5% of 2 to 4 year old children experienced a mental disorder, compared to 16.9% of 17 to 19 year olds.

 

Emotional disorders have become more common in five to 15 year-olds – going from 4.3% in 1999 and 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 2017. All other types of disorders, such as behavioural, hyperactivity and other less common disorders, have remained similar in prevalence for this age group since 1999.

 

It also brought to light public concern about escalating children/young people’s mental health issues and limited resources both within schools / colleges and within the community.

 

Mental fitness UTC. This  has not abated with the pandemic and if anything a greater awareness and concern of escalating mental health issues are even more at the forefront of thinking in education.

Importance of mental fitness

Importance of mental fitness. Physical fitness gets plenty of attention, and for good reason. A healthy body can prevent conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and help you maintain independence as you age.

 

Mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness, and shouldn’t be neglected. Including mental dexterity exercises into your daily routine can help you reap the benefits of a sharper mind and a healthier body for years to come.

 

Mental fitness means keeping your brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. It doesn’t mean training for “brain Olympics” or acing an IQ test. It refers to a series of exercises that help you:

 

• slow down
• decompress
• boost a flagging memory

 

Importance of mental fitness

When you go to bed after a long day, your body begins to relax. But the mind doesn’t always follow.

 

1. Visualisation

Visualisation can help. You can often achieve a sense of peacefulness through imagery, the process of picturing a tranquil scene or location. This practice can reduce tension in both your body and your mind by challenging neurons in the less-dominant area of your brain.

 

The less-dominant side of your brain is the area that controls feelings of self-confidence and optimism. When you think about something other than your daily worries, you increase activity in the neural structures of that area of your brain.

 

Ultimately, visualisation can boost your emotional well-being and calm you down mentally.

 

2. Become mentally fit

Keeping your mind mentally fit isn’t as difficult as getting ready for a marathon, but it’s a good analogy. You can add mental exercises to the many activities you already perform, such as:

 

• reading
• daydreaming
• finding humour in life

You might try the following approaches to increase your mental fitness.

 

3. Stop multitasking

You may think that multitasking enables you to get more things done at once, but it actually creates more problems than it solves. Focusing on one task at a time will improve your concentration and help you to be more productive.

 

4. Be positive with yourself

Positive affirmation is one avenue to increased mental proficiency. Affirmation, or talking to yourself in a positive way, involves strengthening neural pathways to bring your self-confidence, well-being, and satisfaction to a higher level.

 

 

To start, make a list of your good qualities. Remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Set goals for what you want to improve and start small to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

 

5. Try something different

New experiences can also set you on the path to mental fitness. You can fit new approaches into your daily life in a variety of ways:

 

• Try new foods.
• Try new ways to accomplish routine tasks.
• Travel to new places.
• Take a new way to work or the grocery store.

 

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, research shows that keeping your brain active increases its vitality. Doing new things in new ways appears to help retain brain cells and connections.

 

It may even produce new brain cells. In essence, breaking out of your routine can help keep your brain healthy.

 

6. Play games

Games that test reasoning and other portions of your brain are fun ways to keep your mind sharp. Consider these games:

 

• crossword puzzles
• board games
• Sudoku

 

Games are a great way to build up your brain muscle. Even fast-paced action video games may boost your ability to learn new tasks, according to a study in the journal Current BiologyTrusted Source.

 

The study found tentative evidence that video games may increase your attention span, reaction time, and task-switching ability. In addition to video games, try any game that employs the use of:

 

• logic
• reasoning
• trivia

 

7. Read more

Reading is great for your brain. Even as you’re reading this sentence, your brain is processing each word, recalling the meaning instantly.

 

Beyond the mechanics, reading helps you visualise the subject matter on the pages before you, and imagine what voices sound like in the written dialogue. This can also be a great relaxation technique.

 

Reading is a great activity because it can stoke the imagination and ignite so many different parts of the brain. There are endless genres and types of reading material. It’s unlikely that you’ll run out of interesting things to read.

 

8. Take the time

Mental fitness doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. Spending a few minutes on it every day can help you feel better and think more clearly.

 

Remember that relaxation and visualisation are just as important in a mental workout as the more energetic activities, such as memory exercises or game-playing. Try adding one or two activities at a time to your mental workout, such as:

 

• relaxing
• visualising
• affirming
• memory exercises
• game-playing

Mental fitness quotes

Mental fitness quotes. Mental health refers to the state of our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It impacts the way we feel, think and act, making it important in all areas of our lives.

 

Mental health plays an important role in the way we deal with stress, how we relate to others, and the decisions we make in our daily lives.

 

Without positive mental health, it will be almost impossible to realise your full potential, work productively, make a meaningful contribution to your community, or handle the stress that comes with life.

 

Besides seeking professional help if you need it, you should make time to connect with others, think positively about yourself and get physically active.

 

A healthy mental state will help you leverage your Everyday Power to achieve the success you seek and live a purposeful life.

 

Here are some inspirational mental fitness quotes to remind you of that.

 

1. “Mental health needs a great deal of attention. It’s the final taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.” – Adam Ant

 

2. “It’s up to you today to start making healthy choices. Not choices that are just healthy for your body, but healthy for your mind.”― Steve Maraboli

 

3. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Albus Dumbledore

 

4. “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.” – Joubert Botha

 

5. “This feeling will pass. The fear is real but the danger is not.”― Cammie McGovern

 

6. “It is not the bruises on the body that hurt. It is the wounds of the heart and the scars on the mind.”― Aisha Mirza

 

7. “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close

 

8. “It’s not just people who can’t find a job, or can’t fit in in society that struggle with depression sometimes.” — Jared Padalecki

 

9. “It doesn’t have to take over your life, it doesn’t have to define you as a person, it’s just important that you ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness.” — Demi Lovato

 

10. “What does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it empties today of its strength. It does not make you escape evil; it makes you unfit to cope with it if it comes.” ― Raymond L. Cramer

 

Surfing the internet for more mental fitness quotes will also help improve your mental health and confidence

Mental health

Mental health. Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. The WHO constitution states: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

 

An important implication of this definition is that mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.

 

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

 

Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life.

 

On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world.

 

Determinants of mental health

 

Multiple social, psychological, and biological factors determine the level of mental health of a person at any point of time. For example, violence and persistent socio-economic pressures are recognized risks to mental health. The clearest evidence is associated with sexual violence.

 

Poor mental health is also associated with rapid social change, stressful work conditions, gender discrimination, social exclusion, unhealthy lifestyle, physical ill-health and human rights violations.

 

There are specific psychological and personality factors that make people vulnerable to mental health problems. Biological risks include genetic factors.

 

Mental health promotion and protection

 

Mental health promotion involves actions that improve psychological well-being.  This may involve creating an environment that supports mental health.

 

An environment that respects and protects basic civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is fundamental to mental health. Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is difficult to maintain a high level of mental health.

 

National mental health policies should be concerned both with mental disorders and with broader issues that promote mental health.

 

Mental health promotion should be mainstreamed into governmental and nongovernmental policies and programmes. In addition to the health sector, it is essential to involve the education, labour, justice, transport, environment, housing, and welfare sectors.

 

Specific ways to promote mental health include:

• Early childhood interventions (e.g. providing a stable environment that is sensitive to children’s health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats, opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating);
• support to children (e.g. life skills programmes, child and youth development programmes);
• socio-economic empowerment of women (e.g. improving access to education and microcredit schemes);
• social support for elderly populations (e.g. befriending initiatives, community and day centres for the aged);
• programmes targeted at vulnerable people, including minorities, indigenous people, migrants and people affected by conflicts and disasters (e.g. psycho-social interventions after disasters);
• mental health promotional activities in schools (e.g. programmes involving supportive ecological changes in schools);
• mental health interventions at work (e.g. stress prevention programmes);
• housing policies (e.g. housing improvement);
• violence prevention programmes (e.g. reducing availability of alcohol and access to arms);
• community development programmes (e.g. integrated rural development);
• poverty reduction and social protection for the poor;
• anti-discrimination laws and campaigns;
• promotion of the rights, opportunities and care of individuals with mental disorders.

 

Mental health care and treatment

 

In the context of national efforts to develop and implement mental health policy, it is vital to not only protect and promote the mental well-being of its citizens, but also address the needs of persons with defined mental disorders.

 

Knowledge of what to do about the escalating burden of mental disorders has improved substantially over the past decade.

 

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating both the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of key interventions for priority mental disorders in countries at different levels of economic development.

 

Examples of interventions that are cost-effective, feasible, and affordable include:

• treatment of depression with psychological treatment and, for moderate to severe cases, antidepressant medicines;
• treatment of psychosis with antipsychotic medicines and psychosocial support;
• taxation of alcoholic beverages and restriction of their availability and marketing.
• A range of effective measures also exists for the prevention of suicide, prevention and treatment of mental disorders in children, prevention and treatment of dementia, and treatment of substance-use disorders.

 

The mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) has produced evidence based guidance for non-specialists to enable them to better identify and manage a range of priority mental health conditions.

How can I improve my mental fitness?

How can I improve my mental fitness?  The mind and body are not separate entities. A healthy body is the key to a healthy mind. Studies show that lifestyle can impact your risk of mental health and cognitive issues.

 

Therefore, the first step to improving your brain’s health is to commit to an all-round healthy lifestyle.

 

It can be daunting to make huge lifestyle changes, so start with small steps and build on them.

 

How can I improve my mental fitness?

1. A nutritious diet

A healthy, balanced diet is extremely important for mental fitness. Unfortunately, a large percentage of people still follow the “Standard UK Diet”, which is high in sugar, additives, saturated fat, and sodium and is linked to poor mental health and cognitive decline, as well as a host of other issues.

 

A diet high in fruit and vegetables is good for the mind. Here are some easy foods to incorporate into your diet:

 

• Leafy greens such as spinach, broccoli, and kale. These contain Vitamin K which is linked to improved brain function.
• Omega 3, found in oily fish and nuts, is associated with brain health and mental wellness.
• A wide variety of fruits. Berries have been linked to a lower risk of depression. Oranges are high in Vitamin C which can fight cognitive decline.
• Eggs are a healthy source of protein and contain various vitamins, such as choline and vitamin B which are linked to brain health.
• Limit your deep-fried foods and sugar, don’t smoke, and keep alcohol consumption low to moderate.

 

2. Regular exercise

Time and again, research shows that exercise is great for fitness and mental health. Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain and helps release endorphins. It can help fight depression and anxiety and reduce stress.

 

How can I improve my mental fitness? The benefits of exercise on mental fitness are far-reaching and include the following:

Improves memory, and helps to delay the onset and slow the progression of cognitive decline.

 

• Promotes neuroplasticity and helps you learn
• Boosts mood and protects against depression and anxiety

 

For healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity spread out over the course of a week, combined with strength training a couple of times a week.

 

However, you don’t need to push yourself to extremes. Even a short brisk walk once a day can make a difference to mental health and cognition.

 

3. Adequate sleep

Trouble sleeping is common in people with mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). People with dementia also experience disturbed sleep patterns.

 

We need around 6-8 hours of sleep per night, and a full night’s rest can help the brain process information, help the body function well and boost the immune system.

 

Lack of sleep can contribute to mental health problems The consequences of sleep deprivation on mental health include:

 

• Irritable mood and exhaustion
• Increased likelihood of developing a mental health condition
• Exacerbated symptoms of existing mental health conditions

 

Early treatment of sleep disorders may be a key to improving your mental fitness.

 

To get a better night’s sleep, establish a relaxing nighttime routine and wind down before you go to bed. Avoid napping during the day, and eliminate screen time, caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.

What is mental fitness and what are the 4 components?

What is mental fitness and what are the 4 components?

Mental fitness means to have a healthy mind. It can also be thought of as the absence of any mental disorder. It includes the person’s ability to enjoy his life without any worries, and remain tension free.

 

We all know the importance of physical fitness in keeping us healthy and vibrant throughout our lives. What you may not know is that mental fitness is equally important. In fact, the two are intertwined.

 

Neglecting your mental health can make you less resilient to life’s ups and downs, leaving you more likely to make poor lifestyle choices. You can only achieve mental fitness if your body is functioning well.

 

What is mental fitness and what are the 4 components?

Just as there are four components to physical fitness—cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility, and a healthy weight—there are four components to mental fitness. These are:

• This includes self-acceptance, self-esteem, resilience, and the ability to manage strong emotions.

 

• Friends are important because they bring companionship, support and enrichment to our lives. According to the Mayo Clinic, people who have friends are generally physically and emotionally healthier and enjoy a better quality of life.

 

• According to a 2016 study, 40 percent of us experience stress due to money issues, often enough to negatively affect our work and relationships. Financial wellness is not about having a certain amount of money at your disposal; it’s about feeling in control of your finances, being able to handle financial setbacks, and being on track to achieve your financial and life goals.

 

• Mental and physical fitness and health are intertwined. You can improve both through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and enough sleep. You can also reduce your risk of developing chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression.

 

What is mental fitness and what are the 4 components? Taking steps to build your mental fitness enhances our ability to cope with stress and improves your physical health, productivity at work, relationships, and overall happiness.

What are the components of mental fitness?

What are the components of mental fitness? The components of mental fitness include:

 

1. Coordination in Body: The body parts should be in a proper coordination with the autonomous nervous system. An emotional change must not affect the body of the person.

 

For example, a person who is not mentally so fit will have an increased heartbeat when he is too nervous, or a low blood pressure when he is extremely sad. But it will not be so in the case of the person who is mentally fit.

 

A mentally fit person should be capable of handling all kinds of emotions.

 

What are the components of mental fitness?

2. Nonverbal Communication: A mentally fit person must be able to understand the non-verbal communication communicated by the person he is talking to. It includes hand gestures, voice tones, facial expressions and postures.

 

He must be able to understand other people’s emotions and feelings to be mentally fit.

 

3. Emotional Balance: The person must be emotionally fit. He should know how to handle different emotions. He should be strong enough emotionally. The person should not get carried away by emotions.

 

4. Response Flexibility: A mentally fit person should be able to think before reacting. Instead of giving a quick aggressive response, the person must first examine the situation.

 

5. Fear Modulation: It refers to reducing fear. The people who are anxious and full of stress tend to get afraid in all situations. The converse is also true. If a person is full of fear, he will become more anxious and stressful in any situation whereas others might just get nervous.

 

6. Insight: A mentally fit person must not regret his past but should happily expect it. He should concentrate on his present rather than worry about the future.

 

7. Empathy: it is the ability to think about other people by putting yourself in their place. This gives the insight of other people. It lets you understand other people’s feelings.

 

What are the components of mental fitness?

8. Morality: Morality means to meet your own requirements without ignoring others’ requirements and to fulfil your requirements in such a way that it does not affect other people’s share.

 

9. Intuition: Intuition is the activity of the right brain. It may be addressed as the sixth sense. It is considered a rough prediction made by the right brain.

Mental fitness conclusion

Mental fitness conclusion. Mental fitness is important to maintaining your brain and your body healthy, especially as you age. There are many types of mental dexterity exercises, and you don’t need to go to the gym to do them.

 

They include active ones, such as learning a new song or playing a game, as well as restful ones, such as relaxation and visualisation exercises. Schedule a mental fitness break into your calendar right next to your workout schedule. Your mind and your health are worth it.

Mental fitness conclusion

When talking about fitness, mental and physical fitness both are concerned and both are equally important. One should not ignore one kind while working on the other. Both kinds of fitness are related to each other.

 

If a person has a fit body without a fit mind it will be of no use because ultimately the person will be under stress, fear and anxiety. On the other hand, if a person is mentally fit but not physically then also it is of no use because the person will feel sick all the time. So, both of them are equally important.

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