The mental health community is an every growing, ever changing world - and with new knowledge, comes new terminology. "Mental fitness" is one of those terms - essentially, the intentional and deliberate effort to take care of your mental health. This helps you have and maintain an overall state of wellbeing, all while cultivating awareness of how we think, feel and behave. There are four main categories of mental fitness, each adhering to a particular aspect of importance in our overall mental wellbeing.
1) Emotional: Emotional wellbeing is, of course, extremely important to your mental health! The Emotional category includes self-acceptance, self-esteem, resilience, and the ability to manage strong emotions and stress. Knowing your capabilities, and knowing you can trust yourself to act on them accordingly, is extremely important to emotional wellbeing.
2) Social: Social health is another key component of overall mental wellbeing and mental fitness. Your friends are important! Friends remind us that we are not alone, give us a break from the monotony, and hold close positive emotional bonds with us. Strengthening your friendships and making sure to spend time with the people you love can boost your morale! Friends and loved ones provide companionship and support - and often, people who have strong social networks are both physically and emotionally healthier, leading to a better quality of life.
3) Financial: Financial health matters for everyone. In today's capitalist society, money talks the loudest. Because of this, money related stress has been experienced by most of us at some point! But Financial wellness isn't about hitting a certain financial goal, or having a particular amount of money - it's about feeling in control of your finances, being capable of handling potential financial setbacks (blown tire, broken windshield, hospital visit, etc), and being on track to achieve personal life goals we've set for ourselves financially (i.e, own a house).
