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Writer's pictureKinjal Ramnani

The conversation around mental "fitness"

Kinjal discusses mental "fitness" and how to best achieve and understand this state of life.


Fitness is a journey to healthy wellbeing. Generally, being fit complies just with how attractive we look, i.e. physical fitness. During the pandemic, we saw a surge in mental fitness talks. It's not something that applies only to celebrities or famous individuals, but rather, to all people. This means we seriously need to talk about it.


Being mentally "unfit" is an umbrella term that generally implies changes between stability and instability. Even before the pandemic, students found themselves at the brunt of this problem. Adjusting to high school and university life makes any student prone to be a part of this dilemma. Students that are not from the "majority" group find it difficult to survive and therefore isolate themselves.

We need to be aware of how our emotions and interactions influence our behavior when we're in "traffic."

It is especially true and important to consider that physical health plays a vital role in situations with mental health. Being active, both physically and mentally, strengthens us. For example, getting out of the house and meeting friends gives us a purpose, both physically and mentally.


Now, it's important to discuss the Act-Belong-Commit formula. Let's look into this with a traffic light illustration: The red light represents seeking professional assistance in a crisis. The orange light represents us seeking feasible opportunities to manage ourselves and situations better. The green light represents what's working well for us. Just like this system, we need to be aware of how our emotions and interactions influence our behavior when we're in "traffic." For instance, a red light is clearly telling us that if we continue driving, we are in consequences of risking lives. Our body is only able to manage a finite amount of stress before a crisis.


Learning coping strategies and having ways to manage the demands of life and studies give us opportunities to reflect on what works for us and helps reinforce positive action.

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