The Future of Mental Health

Physical health is everyday

Think about how normal physical health is today. You go for a run. You lift weights. You take a walk after dinner. You pay attention to what you eat. Nobody asks you what’s wrong with you because you went to the gym.

Physical health isn’t just for when you’re injured. It’s something you do every day, on purpose, to get stronger, faster, and better.

Mental health is still the emergency room

Now think about mental health. When do most people start paying attention to it? When something breaks. A panic attack. A divorce. A burnout. A crisis.

Thinking that mental health is only therapy is like thinking physical health is only physical therapy. And that’s just not the case.

Physical therapy is important. Therapy is important. But if the only time you worked on your body was after an injury, what kind of shape would you be in?

Start “working in”

This is why I advocate for people to start “working in.” Like working out, but for your cognitions and emotions.

Most people’s minds are constantly trying to solve for their emotions. That’s a lot of energy. That’s a lot of work. That’s a lot of worrying.

You replay the conversation. You rehearse the confrontation. You try to predict how someone will react so you don’t have to feel what you’ll feel. All day, every day, on auto-pilot.

What if that energy went somewhere else?

There’s a better way…

For your consideration

When was the last time you worked on your mental health when nothing was wrong? How much of your day is spent trying to solve for your emotions? What would you do with that energy if you got it back? What would it look like to work in, the same way you work out?