The Mental Fitness Continuum
As a Health Coach who specialises in Mental Fitness, I empower people to learn the strategies they need to become mentally ‘fitter’. Just as I helped people become physically ‘fitter’ during my 20+ years as a Physiotherapist & Pilates Instructor, it is also possible to help someone become mentally fitter when they are ready.
And just like you can’t go to the gym once and miraculously get a six-pack, you can’t become mentally fitter without doing the work.
What is the work in this case?
It is different for everyone, and part of the journey is figuring out what mental fitness ‘tools’ you would like to have in your own toolbox.
Myself – I like to use Meditation/Mindfulness, Yoga/Pilates, bush walking, climbing mountains, Breathwork, creating, gardening, community involvement, eating well, 8 hours+ sleep a night, and have used talk therapy/CBT and counselling in the past. My husband likes to do Ironman events, so many of his tools revolve around exercise, and my brother goes Fishing.
The trick is finding the tools that work for you.
Once you have these mental fitness tools in your toolbox, and you’ve learnt how to use them – then it is possible to move your self ‘up’ the Mental Fitness Continuum.
What is the Mental Fitness Continuum?
The Mental Fitness Continuum is an idea fast gaining momentum both here in New Zealand, and around the world, after being introduced as a concept by Jimi Hunt – a Kiwi mental fitness change maker who now divides his time between NZ & Mexico (www.jimihunt.com).
Mental health researchers across the world agree that mental illness is often overindulged in our society, whereas mental health gets less attention than it should. Gordon Allport (1937) mentioned in his studies that mental health and illness are not two independent constructs. They are two poles of a linear sequence and keep moving throughout the lifetime.
Jimi believes that the title ‘Mental Health’ needs to be re-branded as ‘Mental Fitness’, and that this concept is not binary – in that we are not either mentally ‘healthy/fit’ or ‘not’. Rather Mental Fitness sits on a sliding scale – ie. a Continuum – that we all travel up & down depending on many variables.
‘Mental Health’ needs to be re-branded as ‘Mental Fitness’, and that this concept is not binary – in that we are not either mentally ‘healthy/fit’ or ‘not’.
We are all somewhere on this Continuum at any one point in time – sometimes down near the lower end towards severe discomfort, and other times we are closer to the upper end when life is ticking along well and you are relatively content.
Generally most of us would prefer to spend more time nearer the Happy/Content end of the Continuum, and having a bunch of ‘tools’ in your Mental Fitness toolbox gives you a better chance of achieving this.
Collecting and using your mental fitness tools gives you a strategy to maintain, or improve your place on the Continuum.
Are you curious about learning some new Mental Fitness Tools to add to your existing ones?
I can help you..
– Ree Xx
