Latest / Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor / Mojo Monday: Becoming Mentally Fit - Part 1 of the Pillars of Mental Fitness

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Mojo Monday: Becoming Mentally Fit - Part 1 of the Pillars of Mental Fitness · Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, It's Carlie Talor here for this week's Mojo Monday.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: So I want to kick off a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: Mojo Monday series on the fundamentals of being mentally fit.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: At this stage, it's going to be around five episodes,
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  Speaker 1: and after you've listened to this episode in particular, if
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: you think there is someone you know that could benefit
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: from what I talk about in the series, please share it.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: This is part of my mission in life is to
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  Speaker 1: help people who are struggling with life, and we all
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: need life skills, we need knowledge so we can make
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  Speaker 1: choices that take us in a direction towards energy, towards health,
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  Speaker 1: towards living life to the fullest. So we hear the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: term mental health all the time. It's become a bit
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  Speaker 1: of a catch phrase for anything to do with our
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  Speaker 1: mental state. And when things get overwhelming and when life
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  Speaker 1: feels too much, the default solution is often that there
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  Speaker 1: is something wrong with us and that we need to
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  Speaker 1: maybe see a psychologist or a counselor and talk through it.
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  Speaker 1: And that can absolutely help. Talking can ease the load,
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  Speaker 1: it can offer clarity, it can get us through a
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  Speaker 1: tough time, but it's not the full picture. And it's
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  Speaker 1: certainly not the only way to move up the mental
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  Speaker 1: health continuum. And that's why I prefer the term mental fitness,
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  Speaker 1: especially when we're talking about the general population. What it
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  Speaker 1: does is it shifts the focus from what's wrong with
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  Speaker 1: me to Okay, what can I do? What can I train?
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  Speaker 1: What do I need to strengthen and build to be
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  Speaker 1: more resilient and flexible in the face of whatever life
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  Speaker 1: is throwing right now. And I just want to be
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  Speaker 1: really clear. For those people who are living with a
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  Speaker 1: diagnosed mental health disorder, and there is certainly a spectrum
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  Speaker 1: of mental health disorders, medication and therapy can be essential.
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  Speaker 1: But even then, if the goal is to live optimally
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  Speaker 1: even with these conditions, whatever that looks like for you,
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  Speaker 1: then talk, therapy and medication alone are rarely enough. And
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  Speaker 1: the research tells us that if you are someone who
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  Speaker 1: struggles to get out of bed or even struggles to
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  Speaker 1: leave the house, I really want you to know that
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  Speaker 1: I see you, So take from this what you can
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  Speaker 1: and shape it in a way that works for you.
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  Speaker 1: I am fully aware that I can't be all things
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  Speaker 1: to all people in a podcast, but I deeply respect
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  Speaker 1: each unique person that's listening, so you decide whether any
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  Speaker 1: of this resonates and how far you want to take it.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to give you the information. It's up to
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  Speaker 1: you what you take from it. So here's the key idea.
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  Speaker 1: Mental fitness is a continuum, and we're constantly all moving
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  Speaker 1: up and down that continuum depending on what life throws
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  Speaker 1: at us. The more mentally fit we are, the better
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  Speaker 1: we can handle the challenges of life, those stresses, the setbacks,
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  Speaker 1: the emotional curve balls. And I know this because when
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  Speaker 1: my son was diagnosed with Cushing's disease, a really really
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: rare disease. He had an active tumor on his peturitary gland,
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  Speaker 1: causing major physical and emotional symptoms. It was a huge time.
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  Speaker 1: It was such a hard time, and it was very challenging.
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  Speaker 1: But I can reflect back on it now and I
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  Speaker 1: don't think I would have coped as well as I
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  Speaker 1: think I did if I hadn't have laid the foundation
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  Speaker 1: of mental fitness. And this matters because your brain and
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  Speaker 1: body are not just connected, they are one. The idea
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  Speaker 1: goes all the way back to the seventeenth century philosophy
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  Speaker 1: with this concept of monoism, which is the opposite of dualism.
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  Speaker 1: Monoism says you don't have a brain and a body.
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  Speaker 1: You are a brain body system, so you are one
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  Speaker 1: integrated whole. Yet we often talk about our mental health
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  Speaker 1: as if it's separate from our physical health, and it's not.
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  Speaker 1: We now know with our question that how we move, eat, sleep,
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  Speaker 1: connect and breathe affects how we think, feel and behave.
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  Speaker 1: And when your brain is tired, your body is tired.
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  Speaker 1: When your body is run down, your brain is too.
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  Speaker 1: So if we want to be mentally fit, we need
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  Speaker 1: to take care of both, not separately but together as
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  Speaker 1: one system. So that brings me to the first foundational
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  Speaker 1: pillar of mental fitness, which is movement and exercise. Now
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  Speaker 1: this may surprise some people. According to the Royal Australian
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Clinical Guidelines for mood disorders,
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  Speaker 1: exercise should be considered a frontline treatment before medication or psychotherapy.
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  Speaker 1: So if that's the case, if that's their guidelines, then
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  Speaker 1: exercise must also be one of the most powerful preventative
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  Speaker 1: strategies that we have and the science is crystal clear
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  Speaker 1: on this. If you're not moving your body, you are
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  Speaker 1: limiting your mental fitness. You are living below your potential.
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  Speaker 1: Your normal may be far lower than it could be.
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  Speaker 1: We all have a baseline normal, so it's good to
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  Speaker 1: start thinking about what that is. Your stress will be
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  Speaker 1: hard to manage, you'll be less flexible in your thinking,
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  Speaker 1: you'll feel more fatigued, and then the cycle continues. So
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  Speaker 1: what exercise does is it changes your brain. It's one
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  Speaker 1: of the most powerful tools that we have for managing stress,
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  Speaker 1: lifting mood, and improving focus. And in our house, we've
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  Speaker 1: instilled this in our kids so when they have exams,
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  Speaker 1: it's not just about the study. So it's not just
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  Speaker 1: about studying and trying to retain information. It's about moving
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  Speaker 1: their bodies too. So we're taking on that concept of monoism.
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  Speaker 1: Why because when we exercise even one minute, a one
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  Speaker 1: minute burst of intense effort, our brain produces this compound.
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  Speaker 1: It's a protein called BDNF, which is called brain derived
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  Speaker 1: neurotropic factor. You might have heard Paul talk about it
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  Speaker 1: if you listen to his wisdom Wednesdays. And if bd
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  Speaker 1: and F could be bottled or put in appeal, somebody
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  Speaker 1: would be a multi billionaire right now. Because what it
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  Speaker 1: does is it helps your brain grow new cells, it
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  Speaker 1: improves memory and learning, it regulates mood, and it's like
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  Speaker 1: a fertilizer for the brain. So when I say exercise
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  Speaker 1: helps with stress, this is part of the reason why.
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  Speaker 1: And of course exercise reduces those stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline,
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  Speaker 1: which are often you know, which are high when we
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  Speaker 1: are stressed, especially with chronic stress. And it also improves
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  Speaker 1: our sleep and it gives us a break from the
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  Speaker 1: worries that are swirling around in our heads. Now, I
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  Speaker 1: am aware that there are barriers to exercise for many people,
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  Speaker 1: and of course, if you have a health condition or
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  Speaker 1: a disability, often these are beyond your control. But for
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  Speaker 1: the rest of us, the time, the motivation, and the
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  Speaker 1: initial discomfort of exercise, those barriers we can often overcome
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  Speaker 1: in the service of something far more important, and that
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  Speaker 1: is your one and only life. So if you hate exercise,
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  Speaker 1: find something that you enjoy. And that's really important that
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  Speaker 1: what we do is something that we enjoy doing, and
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  Speaker 1: the more we enjoy doing it, the more motivated we
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  Speaker 1: will to go. So there are some really fun options
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  Speaker 1: out there. Pickleball. Actually, I hadn't heard of pickball until
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  Speaker 1: a few weeks ago, but it looks like such a
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  Speaker 1: fun thing to do. And I've got friends who meet
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  Speaker 1: up with their friends on early on a Saturday morning
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  Speaker 1: and they play pickleball. There's cardio tennis, there's group woorts,
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  Speaker 1: there's social sports, or maybe you loved a sport as
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  Speaker 1: a kid, you can go and find a local team
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  Speaker 1: because there are always adults out there wanting to get
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  Speaker 1: together and play their favorite sport. I personally am not
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  Speaker 1: really into team sports, but I am loving and a
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  Speaker 1: bit addicted to CrossFit, which I discovered at the age
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  Speaker 1: of fifty four. Fit is high intensity, which is great,
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  Speaker 1: but you do you go at your own pace, and
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  Speaker 1: the community is incredibly supportive. There's a wonderful culture there
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  Speaker 1: and I personally can't get enough of it. But also
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  Speaker 1: outside of those so that that sort of formal exercise,
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  Speaker 1: movement counts too, And this is something to keep top
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  Speaker 1: of mind if you have a job where you're required
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  Speaker 1: to sit for most of the day, So movement snacks,
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  Speaker 1: short bursts of exercise you can do throughout your day,
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  Speaker 1: they really matter. So whenever I'm at my desk, I
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  Speaker 1: do mainly stand up. I've got to sit to stand desk.
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  Speaker 1: But if I am sitting, I will get out every
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  Speaker 1: half an hour, do a few minutes of some sort
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  Speaker 1: of movement, then get back to work things like housework, gardening,
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  Speaker 1: washing the car. It all adds up. So just make
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  Speaker 1: sure you include some high intensity movement in there to
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  Speaker 1: really reap the benefits of exercise. And if you've got
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  Speaker 1: a smart watch, use that as data. I am every night,
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  Speaker 1: I review my movement throughout the day and you can
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  Speaker 1: set goals on it. And if you don't have a
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  Speaker 1: smart watch and you can afford one, they are really
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  Speaker 1: good because what they do is they give you data,
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  Speaker 1: and that data is really good for checking in to
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  Speaker 1: see how you're going and also for motivation. So that's
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  Speaker 1: it for today. This is the first of several episodes
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  Speaker 1: where we'll break down the pillars of mental fitness, and
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  Speaker 1: I would really encourage you to start thinking about your
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  Speaker 1: own mental fitness rather than mental health and what you feel.
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  Speaker 1: Do a bit of a review and work out what
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  Speaker 1: you think you need to do to move up that
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  Speaker 1: mental fitness continuum. And of course, depending on where you're at,
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  Speaker 1: just start small. You don't want to be taking big leaps.
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  Speaker 1: You want to start small, and it's what you can
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  Speaker 1: do every single time. That's then going to bring up momentum,
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  Speaker 1: and I will be giving you practical tools and ideas
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  Speaker 1: to help you do this so you can build a
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  Speaker 1: life with more energy, with more resilience, and also with
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  Speaker 1: more purpose and meaning. So, as I said, if this
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  Speaker 1: episode helped you, or if you think someone else you
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  Speaker 1: care about could use it, please share it. Let's get
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  Speaker 1: this knowledge out there and these tools into the hands
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  Speaker 1: of more people, because we all deserve to live a
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  Speaker 1: full life and mental fitness is the foundation of personal
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  Speaker 1: wellbeing and that helps make it possible. So I will
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  Speaker 1: look forward to catching you next week. Seeya