RED January is a mental health initiative that started in Great Britain in 2016. RED or Run Every Day is a do it yourself or with your buddies program to promote mental wellness and alleviate mental health symptoms. There is nothing fancy about it and trust me, it is more than just going for a run (something I am allergic to doing). RED January encourages Brits to get outside, move their bodies, and engage nature. The British enjoy a rich tradition of walking and adventuring and RED takes advantage of this. There is an age old British mindset that a good walk heals the soul. RED (literally) takes this one step further.

Winter is historically a time when we slow down, we nest, we hibernate. It is a time when we indulge our unhealthy behaviors. We add a few extra pounds, drink too much, isolate from our neighbors and friends. We become sedentary and watch way too much tv or sit on the computer. To make ourselves feel better we spend too much money, we buy things we do not need. Overall many of us just feel like dung. RED January breaks that cycle and with the help of social and traditional media the message is getting out there, well at least to Brits. Many of the UK walkers, ramblers, and adventurers I know or follow on social media document their daily activities as they work towards their daily goals. To a person, they all share that getting outside and wandering for an hour a day has changed how they feel this winter.

Nine Standards, John had just celebrated his 70th a few days earlier

So why does RED January work? Exercise is a wonder drug. It is an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication rolled up in a 30 minute time frame. However the real magic is when you add nature. Getting outside and moving makes a significant difference and the best part; it can be experienced anywhere in the world. Many of my extremely fit friends never leave the gym. They move their bodies, and that’s awesome, but their brain and five senses are neglected. What does this mean? I burn 900 calories in the gym riding a stationary bike looking at screen projecting images of a mountain road, why is that not the same as a trail run? Well, it’s not. When we go outside our brain is activated, it goes into action. We are consciously scanning our surroundings with our eyes and ears. Our brain is also subconsciously doing the same thing, rapidly scanning stimuli that is either soothing or a threat to us. So when we are outside we are essentially giving our amygdala a healthy workout—unless it senses a lion, then there is trouble and we just need to be faster than our walking companion.

When we venture outside we are really stepping into an environment that is rich with stimulation. There is a texture to nature that cannot be replicated in a gym and the benefits are not reproduced on a treadmill. When we are outside we experience the wind, humidity, warmth, cold, rain, snow. We feel the sun on our skin, we notice the colors in the sky, we hear the trees move in the wind, and the animals that are around us. Nature adds the missing bit to our daily workout. Nature is what makes RED January such a beneficial and important initiative for positive mental wellness.

So for the rest of January let’s do as our British brethren and get out there and move. Let’s adopt their RED January and opt to be outside. So take off the head phones, get lost in your thoughts, and get out there for a wander.

For more info on RED January go to www.redtogether.co.uk. The other UK organization to check out is www.mountainsforthemind.co.uk. I have another post I am working on concerning the brilliance of this organization

So what is Mental Wellness? We all have heard terms such as mental health and mental illness, but what does mental wellness mean and why is it now entering into this space? My favorite definition for mental wellness comes from the Singapore Association of Mental Health. They define it as “Mental wellness is a positive state of mental health. It is more than the absence of mental illness. ... Being mentally well means that your mind is in order and functioning in your best interest. You are able to think, feel and act in ways that create a positive impact on your physical and social well-being.” This is wonderful because it provides a road map for us to help others move forward on their journey. It is clear that there is so much more available to the client then just the cessation of symptoms related to anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, fear, trauma, and pain.

Gray’s Beach, Yoho Head, Maine, November 2019–Jen

Throughout these pages I will explore new ideas and approaches that are being used in the mental wellness field. I do not intend to abandon work related to depth or insight psychology. The knowledge gained in that work is priceless for accessing an authentic life. My purpose with the mental wellness work is to normalize the human experience, remove the stigma of struggling with life, and build on the coping skills that have helped a client get to where they are today, even if some of those skills are flawed. Maybe we will move away from the handcuffs that exist when we diagnose and label clients whose greatest challenge is comprehension of what is normal and misinterpreting cues from their body and brains.

Mental wellness is a strength based, solution focused approach. The helping professions inadvertently thrives on keeping clients stuck. The language used in the field encourages us to identify with our symptoms which only reinforces our paralysis. I have always promoted that therapy is an active process that extends outside of the one hour session. Activating mental wellness is a shift from being passive in our lives to engaging the environment that we choose for us. Let’s see where this may take us.

R.E.D. January

What is Mental Wellness?