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Mental health, as it applies to health nutrition and fitness, is the way we think, how we feel and how we act as we interact with our surroundings. Our mental health contributes to our relations with other people, how we make decision, make choices and how we cope with stress. People with good mental health are able to control their emotions, feelings and behavior. Keeping the mind active through reading, playing games, and an active social life contributes to good mental health.

Note your initial reaction to that suggestion. What do you expect when someone wants to talk about your mental health? In our society, people often expect to hear some kind of criticism. The little man or woman inside may be accusing me of thinking you are crazy.

Pay attention—I want to talk about your mental health—your mental and emotional assets. I believe that discussions about anything "mental" in our society should begin with assets—so that all parties come to the table with the understanding that people are not labels.

Any person, who has ever had a condition such as depression, bipolar, anxiety, schizophrenia etc., must separate the diagnosis from their definition of themselves.

So what is mental health?

This question has been a question of hot debate since people began thinking about their thinking. In the past, mental health, as well as health in general, was defined as the absence of a disease or illness.

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This definition would define someone who spends their day doing nothing more than watching television as "mentally healthy" when they have the capacity to do much more. Current definitions of mental health involve behaviors of coping, productivity, and quality connections with others.

1. The World Health Organization definition (World Health Organization 2007):

"A state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."

2. The Surgeon General of the United States definition (Department of Health and Human Services 1999):

"The successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity."