So, what is the difference between mental strength and mental health? So mental strength and mental health, those two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they're really not the same thing. So mental health, when I look at the common definitions around, it's commonly defined as being the absence of mental illness. So, but not having depression, anxiety or another illness does not mean you're mentally strong. In fact, you can actually be mentally strong, even if you're dealing with a mental health issue. Mental strength involves your ability to think, act and perform at your best in any given circumstance, whether there's big challenges present or not.

So the difference between mental health and mental strength is a little bit like the difference between physical health and physical strength and fitness. So let's say that we're going to have a really simple definition of physical health. Okay. Let's say that we define physical health in a really simple way. Physical health is when you have the absence of any illness.

So I'll just keep it that simple. With physical strength, you can have a person that goes to the gym a lot and gets really fit and strong. This person might have great muscle tone. They're also eating well. And so their body is really physically strong, fit and vibrant.

That's amazing. And this person is likely going to be feeling great. But that physical strength and fitness does not mean that you have a guarantee that you won't ever deal with a physical health problem. Still likely from time to time, you'll get a virus or you could even get a serious health condition that, that's just part of life that could still have happen. But even though a health issue, like a virus or something most serious, might make it more difficult to stay fit and strong for this person, they are still able in the midst of that to make choices that do help them stay physically strong, even when they have an illness.

So they could do things like yoga, still keep eating well, they could go on walks. And depending on what's going on for them, they might still be able to go to the gym. And so this is a great analogy for mental strength. So it is with mental strength that if you're mentally strong and fit, yes, it's less likely that you would become mentally ill. In the same way that it's less likely that you're going to pick up illnesses if you're physically strong and fit.

But I mean, the one thing for sure is that you're still going to go through difficult times. You're still going to have heartbreaks and losses and misfortunes, and yes, potentially even mental illness could strike. In fact, at the time of me writing this course on mental strength, I have had the very humbling experience of coming down with an illness that does affect my mental health while I'm writing about mental strength. So it's been a really tricky time for me. But so mental strength does not make you immune to life's difficulties.

But in the midst of any of these circumstances, when you're mentally strong, you will have the tools and the inner resources to navigate through whatever you're facing with the best of who you are. So instead of being crushed, overwhelmed, or beaten up by hard times, you end up digging deeper and drawing on your strengths and virtues so that you come out the other side of it all, wiser, more resilient, more authentic than you were before. So that's the difference between mental health and mental strength.