To mark World Mental Health Day, MindSpot is shining a spotlight on its groundbreaking Big 5 project. This project aims to identify the key things people can do, each day, to improve and maintain their mental health. The initiative is proving so effective and universal that it has the potential to help people across Australia and beyond.

You might have heard of the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', but what can we do each day to look after our mental health?

The truth is that for a long time, it’s been unclear exactly what a person needs to do to look after their mental health, and how often they should be doing it. Thanks to the team at MindSpot, the answer to this question is now becoming clear.

“Our researchers have recently pinpointed five proven activities that support better mental health”, says Professor Nick Titov, Executive Director of MindSpot.

“The Big 5 are a mix of actions (behaviours and ways of thinking) that are the building blocks for achieving and maintaining good mental health.”

“And as we mark World Mental Health Day, we want to share the Big 5 with as many people as we can so that people can take steps themselves to feel better and more resilient”, Professor Titov says.

A game-changer for mental health

The research journey began with the creation of a comprehensive list of actions linked to mental health. The team then surveyed 6,000 adults, asking them how often they did these things every week. Each person’s clinical symptoms of anxiety and depression, along with their overall satisfaction with their life, were also measured.

“The results were clear: certain activities consistently demonstrated a strong connection to good mental health, and these activities are what we call the Big 5”, says Professor Titov.

These initial findings have replicated with an additional 15,000 Australians and the results were the same.

“We now have the information we need to look after our mental health in the same way we care for our physical wellbeing”, Professor Titov says.

The Big 5: our building blocks for good mental health

Across all MindSpot’s studies, these five actions were identified as being the key ingredients for good mental health.

1.      Meaningful activities

·        Actions which give us a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction

·        Can be small things; listening to music, watching a favourite show; or larger activities; sports and hobbies

2.      Healthy thinking

·        Having realistic thoughts about ourselves, the world, and the future

·        Keeping perspective

·        Treating ourselves with kindness and respect, even in the difficult times

3.      Goals and plans

·        Having a goal or a plan can not only keep us motivated and energised, it also gives us something to look forward to

·        Stops us from dwelling on past problems

4.      Healthy routines

·        These provide the basic structure which set us up for the day

·        Examples include the routines and tasks we do automatically, like going to sleep, and waking up at the same time

5.      Social connections

·        Staying connected to our family, friends or tribe

·        Regular contact with people we love and value helps us to feel validated, part of a community, and reminds us we belong

Professor Titov says the Big 5 may seem simple and obvious to anyone who reads them – and that’s what makes it so effective.  

“We all do the Big 5, but people with good mental health do them more often. The Big 5 are the things we tend to stop doing when we feel overwhelmed, but they are exactly the things that help to keep us well,” he says.

Crucially, MindSpot’s pioneering research has shown that people who do the five activities at least 3-4 times each week are very likely to have good mental health – a key finding to guide how people care for their mental health.

“And this is why the Big 5 is such a game-changer. For the first time in history, we believe we have found a tipping point and an effective target for us all to work towards.”

Sharing the results nationally and globally

On this World Mental Health Day, MindSpot invites all Australians to explore the Big 5 as a roadmap for good mental health. Their free self-assessment sheet empowers individuals to monitor their engagement with these activities and offers practical suggestions and examples for incorporating them into daily routines.

“The beauty of the Big 5 is that it’s a practical approach that can easily fit into our daily lives. The actions are simple and effective, and they don’t require us to make big, daunting changes to our routines”. 

“Doing these things won’t fix all our problems, and they won’t stop us from having bad days or tough times”, says Professor Titov.

“But the Big 5 will help us stay mentally healthy and boost our resilience so that we can better weather the curveballs that come our way.” 

Visit our Big 5 hub for more information and to download our self-assessment tool.