Mental fitness

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Mental fitness

Mental fitness is a mental health movement that encourages people to intentionally regulate and maintain their mental health through friendship, regular human contact, and activities that include meditation, calming exercises, mental and aerobic exercise, mindfulness, having a routine and maintaining adequate sleep. Mental fitness is intended to build resilience against every-day mental health challenges to prevent an escalation of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, and help them cope with the escalation of those feelings if they occur.

"Mindfulness based Mental Fitness Training is an effective method which can be used to enhance the ability of personnel to combat stress."

Research shows that mental fitness can be enhanced by mental exercises and training in mental fitness techniques

The difference between Mental Fitness and Mental Health

Mental fitness is not a new term. It was described as early as 1943 by the US Military as the aim of orientation and adequate preparation of soldiers to face mental challenges on the battlefield, as distinguished from mental health which is a passive state of being.

"...mental fitness... reflects itself in eagerness for training, desire to achieve efficiency at arms, determination to use that efficiency in the destruction of a personal enemy."

Troop morale was seen as a command responsibility and mental fitness tools were used to contribute to the building and maintenance of morale among troops.

Colonel WH Wilbur quoted from The Infantry Journal used an analogy to describe the mental fitness of troops and its value:

We frequently hear this remark: "They will learn to take cover when the first bullet comes," or, "Don't worry, those men won't do it like that when they are actually in combat."

Men who learn from the first bullet will only learn by fear and that is the wrong way. They will scuttle to earth and figuratively put their heads in the sand like ostriches. Some will be wounded or killed by the bullet that is supposed to teach them. Fear leads to panic. Confidence, which is so essential to success, is never found where fear is.

Mental fitness, in the modern context, treats mental ill-health as the enemy combatant and advocates for an active approach to resilience against mental health challenges.

Why mental fitness is important

Mental fitness is important to facing mental and physical health challenges, especially as people age, as a tool of recovery from mental ill-health or a prophylactic measure against mental ill-health. Achieving a sense of peacefulness can reduce tension in both body and mind by challenging neurons in the less-dominant area of the brain. This part of the brain controls feelings of self-confidence and optimism and increasing neural activity there can boost emotional wellbeing, boost memory, calm mental activity and bring a feeling of peace and contentment.

How to be mentally fit

Mental fitness is something that can be improved over time in much the same manner as physical fitness. Various programs exist to improve our mental fitness though people can also work on their own or in informal groups.

Lifelong learning

Mental fitness can decline in elderly populations and lifelong learning is shown to improve mental fitness in that population, leading to positive outcomes for the learners as well as their community.

Cognitive training programs

Cognitive training programs focussed specifically on mental fitness are also effective in elderly populations.

Indicators of mental fitness

Measurement

Mental fitness is considered to be a measurable characteristic, though there is debate about how to do this, with some academics sceptical of self-reporting as a measurement tool.
Measurement of mental fitness focusses on four critical vectors: strength, endurance, flexibility and team, deliberately named to be analogous to physical fitness terminology.

Mental Fitness scale

Korean researchers have proposed a mental fitness scale that measures mental energy, empathic communication, flexibility and self-assurance as a robust measure of mental fitness. The results of the mental fitness scale were measured against the Beck Depression Inventory, Negative Affect Scale and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and found to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing positive mental health.

External links

• The importance of mental fitness
• Gotcha for Life - empowering all Australians to start the conversation

This article "Mental fitness" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Mental fitness. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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