Celebrated writer Chetan Bhagat offered his perspective on the significance of mental robustness. excerpts:
I have always been curious about the mind—starting with observing my own life. I have worn many professional hats, and in college, I was an engineering student, so most of my friends were engineering types…. I study people…. My main interest has been understanding their mental states and how they think. You could say I have spent a lifetime researching the mind, because it helps me write better stories. The byproduct is that I also understand how people function internally—how their mental health shapes their lives. Some of my friends are legitimate billionaires—founders of some of the biggest companies who came out of IIT Delhi. And they are billionaires, meaning they actually have a billion dollars to their name. And yet, some of them are not happy. I know at least one who has taken anti-depression medication after becoming a billionaire. I feel like slapping them. How can you be rich and not be happy? How can you be allowed to be unhappy? So I have seen film stars through the films that I was involved in. And some of the film stars are not happy. Some of them are taking drugs.
Why? Why are you taking drugs? Life has given you everything. So clearly fame, beauty, which they have, is not enough. Clearly, money is not enough.
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You may not have a physical ailment—you might not be sick at all—yet you may still not be physically fit. You are not diagnosed with anything, you don’t have disease, but you are also not at your best. With exercise, diet and discipline, you can become fitter and move into the category of physical fitness. We all understand this. It is exactly the same with mental health. Thirty years ago, nobody even acknowledged such a thing. Mental health meant something crazy, and the solution was “slap him, he will be fine”. That was our traditional approach, Today, we are at least a little more sensitive. But many people still think, “I don’t have any mental illness, so mental health does not concern me.” That is where we go wrong. Just because you don’t have a mental ailment does not mean you are mentally fit. It does not mean you are at peak mental health—just like being free of disease does not mean you are physically fit.
In my work as a writer, I need peak mental fitness to create good stories. If I am not mentally fit, I can still write. But the work won’t be great. I won’t enjoy it and I won’t feel fulfilled. The entire experience of life becomes less joyful… If you are not mentally fit, you won’t enjoy being a doctor. You won’t be as effective. You won’t be the best journalist, entrepreneur, or professional you can be. A physically fit person is someone who has no ailment and has optimal physical health, as measured by strength, endurance, flexibility—how much weight they can lift, how long they can run, whether they can touch their toes. We know these markers. A mentally fit person has no mental ailments and has optimal mental wellbeing. Such a person typically describes themselves as happy, driven and positive. If you are not feeling that way, something is off. A mentally strong person, naturally, feels these emotions. I will give you my own example. In 2018, I did not have any mental illness. I was working, writing, giving talks—doing everything successfully. But, inside, I was unhappy, demotivated and deeply negative.
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There is no separate “body” and “mind”. They are one integrated system. When we are foetuses, we are just a cluster of cells—some become the brain, some become the lungs, some become the rest of the body. Everything is connected. Today, science increasingly shows that neurons exist throughout the body—not just in the brain. Even the gut has neurons, which is why we talk about “gut feeling”. If your mental health is off, your physical health is poor, your mental wellbeing will decline.
What do happy people experience? Not all at once, but regularly they feel three emotions: Peace. Contentment. Delight….. Peace is when things feel calm, when your mind is not agitated, when you can simply enjoy being in the moment. Contentment is being satisfied with where you are in life: “I am not the head of the department, I don’t have that car or that house—but I am okay, I am happy with what I have.” Delight is the ability to feel joy from small things.
To be mentally fit, you need to feel peace, contentment and delight. If you are missing them, you may not be mentally sick, but you are not mentally fit either.
Human beings are not designed to thrive alone. We are wired for community. We evolved from chimpanzees. If you have seen the Netflix documentary—Chimpanzee Empire—you will know the worst punishment for a chimp is being thrown out of the group. Once isolated, they simply don’t survive. We are no different.
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Stress is not always bad. In fact, without stress, none of us would achieve anything. Without stress, I wouldn’t have studied for exams. The real problem is chronic stress. Don’t feel guilty. Your body needs it. Without recovery, stress becomes harmful and eventually leads to mental health problems.
There are plenty of tools to manage stress—meditation, cold exposure, journaling, breathing exercises, and more. Research clearly shows these help reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing.