Mindapples is a social movement to find a 5-a-day for our minds.

The original 5-a-day campaign encouraged us to take care of our bodies through simple daily activities, and we want to do the same thing for our minds. We want to open up a new, positive conversation about how we can take better care of ourselves, simply by asking everybody the question: “What’s your 5-a-day?”

A healthy mind is the most important thing we can ever have. We spend most of our lives trying to affect how we feel, and most of us have direct or indirect experience of how important it is to stay mentally well. Yet for most people, mental health = mental illness. While the physical health world promotes healthy living for everyone, mental health continues to languish in the public imagination as something just for “sick” people – with all the judgements and isolation that this creates.

But we all have mental health – we just don’t usually notice it until it wrong. So if we can care for our bodies by playing football, or eating an apple, then what’s the equivalent for our minds? We go to the dentist, but we also brush our teeth – so how can we take daily care of our minds too? And can’t mental health be more that just “curative” or “preventative”, but fun too?

Mindapples is dedicated to promoting mentally healthy living for everyone, by encouraging each of us to take better care of our minds. Rather than telling people what to do, we’re asking everyone to pick their own 5-a-days and share them with the world, using the power of the internet to build a community of people supporting each other to do simple things to look after their minds. We want people to have more control over the health of their minds. We want to know what works for you, so that we can learn from your experiences. And by asking a question which everyone can answer, we hope to open up a mainstream conversation about mental health in which everyone can participate, and make having a healthy mind something aspirational and enjoyable for all.

So, over to you. Have you had your mindapples?

Andy Gibson
Head Gardener, Mindapples