MENTAL FITNESS
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE MENTALLY FIT? In the same way there are processes and training available to help avoid physical injuries in the workplace, mental health and its associated symptoms require the same level of attention. With workers in construction and trades like welding and fabrication at an increased risk of mental illness, employers and employees alike are encouraged to work together towards positive mental health habits.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians between 15 and 44 years of age, and men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. Workers in construction and other trades—including welding—are even more at risk. Tradies are 70% more likely to die by suicide than their behind-the-desk counterparts. This means that every second day an Australian tradie takes their own life. Despite these alarming statistics, mental health definitely isn’t something that tradies talk about at smoko or after knocking off. But this trajectory can change, with a focus on improving mental fitness. What is Mental Fitness and How Does it Help? Mental fitness involves a state of wellbeing and awareness around how people think, act and feel about their daily lives. Mental fitness is about training the brain to deal with daily stresses without feeling overwhelmed, upset or worried. This unlocks a balance between personal and professional choices. For example, when an employee is mentally fit, they recognise workplace stresses and use time and space to respond in a healthy manner. Mental fitness should not be a destination, it is an ongoing journey that requires community connections and a wide support network.
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Australian Welding
Just as physical fitness provides us with an increased ability to respond to life in all its richness, mental fitness helps in the same way. It provides us more space to choose how to respond to a situation, whether that situation is a forethought, an external stimulus, or a feeling. As a result, we are less likely to sustain (or cause) emotional and relational injury. When you are more mentally fit, you recognize that you have a choice when that first angry statement comes your way. Mental fitness gives you the ability to pause and respond in the way you would like, in the moment, rather than having to reset or mend fences later. In some ways, it’s like accessing the wisdom of hindsight in the present moment. How Does Mental Fitness Work? Our brains carry thoughts along neural pathways. These pathways are like ruts that have been created and reinforced over time. If you always take the same route to work, you may notice that you can get there on ‘autopilot’. When we repeat a certain thought pattern many times, that neural pathway is reinforced, and the thinking becomes automatic. The issue with automatic thinking is when it causes us to react in ways that are unhelpful in the current situation. Our reactions are based on well-worn pathways to past emotions or triggers.
Automatic thinking comes from our survival brain, the limbic system. It is constantly scanning the environment for threats and has been throughout evolution. We inherited the limbic system from chimps and it can protect us. But in the modern world, it can give rise to thoughts and actions that hurt us, too. It is the human part of the brain that we can develop and re-program. With the same deliberateness that we strengthen certain muscles or fine-tune a movement, we can create neural pathways that better serve us and benefit our lives. This is the essence of what we mean by mental fitness training.
