An open letter from our CEO
May is #MentalHealthAwareness Month, and I wanted to take a moment to share with you why this month is so important to me and our company.?
Did you know...?
Most of us are aware of the?mental health issues plaguing?our society, but how many of us have looked at the data? As a clinical epidemiologist, I enjoy being quantitative, so here are a few numbers for the United States:
Why we need change
Before I ventured off on this journey to start 2Mynds, I was a medical scientist. In academics and industry, I built statistical models and simulations that helped optimize clinical trials. Many of these projects informed decisions?on optimal treatments for?diseases in communities, including mental illnesses. However, the focus seemed always on therapy, not prevention.?I also realized that an important?paradigm shift (prevention over rehabilitation) that happened long ago for physical fitness was yet to happen for mental fitness.?This is when the?idea for 2Mynds was born.
The paradigm is shifting... slowly
To this day, interventions for?mental health are?90% therapeutic and whatever is done for prevention is mostly informing?rather than transforming. But changes are happening. While?most people still seek help after mental problems have occurred and they rarely train their mental fitness like they train their physical fitness, more and more people are involved in meditation and group-based wellness programs.?Still, change is slow. This?is not surprising, because a paradigm shift not only needs the realization that change is due, but it also requires the conditions and resources to make it happen. Here at 2Mynds, we are?an innovative start-up as well as a social venture.?We not only work hard on building the awareness that mental fitness must be approached differently (more similar?to physical fitness), but we also provide?the mental fitness system (Flow 255) to make that?happen.
Let's make a difference!
Watching motivational videos, reading books, journaling, consulting psychologists, yoga,?and meditation are all great activities for our mental well-being (just to name a few). However, they aren't mental training. To truly manage our mental battles and perform under stress,?we have to train our minds under progressive overload to achieve an adaptation response. In plain terms, we have to train mental skills under some level of stress to?see results!?That is why Mental Health Awareness Month?is so important: we need to use it to raise awareness not only about the importance of addressing mental challenges but also about the importance of addressing them in a way that is sustainable and functional. For example, making stress your friend instead of making your life stressful.
Here are some steps to take charge of?your #MentalWellness:
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I hope it inspires you to take action for your own mental health and encourages you to help others to do the same.?
Sincerely,
Leon Bax
2Mynds Founder & CEO