Mental Fitness
“A state of wellbeing where we have a positive sense of how we think, feel and act”
The mental fitness roadmap
Essentially, when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, there are 4 key domains.
The first is GREEN, which is where a person is mentally healthy. Here they are taking good care of their mental fitness with things like daily self-care, exercise, healthy boundaries and good social connectedness. Maybe they have always been here, but it’s more likely that they have been down the road map at some point, and learnt what they needed to do to get back to the GREEN.
The second is YELLOW, where a person is reacting to life’s stressors, but still coping. When someone’s in the YELLOW, they’re usually able to contain their distress – that “mask” that we feel we need to wear, to remain professional, is still in place. It can feel hard at times to do it though.
The third is ORANGE, where a person is being more significantly impacted, and is really struggling to cope. This is where the mask is slipping, and people are probably noticing that things aren’t going well. Maybe they are also being impacted by the person’s mental state. In the ORANGE can be experiences like burnout, chronic/high stress, grief and loss, and loneliness. These are not mental illnesses, but can have a major impact on our wellbeing.
The last is the RED section, where someone would meet the diagnostic criterial for a mental illness, and essentially their whole world is now being negatively impacted. Wearing the “mask”, if even possible to do, will probably just add to the overall exhaustion. Others are probably aware of their distress, and possibly getting burnt out by it themselves.
People can and do go up and down the mental health continuum, depending on what is going on for them. However people don’t just ‘dip’ into the RED – this is a space where mental illness has been going on for some time.
Mental Fitness training takes you through the multiple layers and observations associated with each colour, and teaches you how to take action to head back toward, and remain, in the GREEN. It can be done with INDIVIDUALS, with TEAMS, and at a SENIOR ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL (e.g. Mental Fitness for Leaders).
Mental Fitness TRAINING feedback
“After 10 years with the company we talk a lot about this, but it is amazing to see such incredible leaps and bounds. I am looking forward to being more authentic and bringing the training to life!”
— Retail leadership team training
“I wanted to share that I thought the session was very productive & helpful and like most of the other leaders pointed out, good timing also! Thanks again for your very engaging session & look forward to putting it all into practice!”
— Manufacturing leadership team training
“ I liked Fairlie’s relatable personal experiences which she shared; I thought that the DIY videos added authenticity for employees. And I’m keen to extend this (or elements) through to the leadership frontline - what is planned in this respect!”
— Retail leadership team training