Mental Health (Lecturer 1_2) PDF

Chpter One What Is Mental Health An Introduction: Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well- being. It affects how we think, feel and act as we cope with life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. M...

Chpter One What Is Mental Health An Introduction: Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well- being. It affects how we think, feel and act as we cope with life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Psychological health is important with respect to how we function and adapt, and with respect to whether our lives are satisfying and productive. In the end, psychological health and well-being basically has to do with the question: "how are you doing?". While questions like "how are you doing?" or "how is your mood?" capture the essence of psychological health, psychologists have found that it actually involves two separate issues. There is an upside and a downside, both of which need to be considered. The upside involves two factors: is your mood generally positive, and do you enjoy a number of "positive emotional ties." In other words, are you happy and do you have friends? In addition to feelings of emotional satisfaction, a positive mood also depends on whether or not you generally feel calm and peaceful. Emotional health is an important part of overall health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They are able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships. Being emotionally healthy does not mean you are happy all the time. It means you are aware of your emotions. You can deal with them, whether they are positive or negative. Emotionally healthy people still feel stress, anger, and sadness. But they know how to manage their negative feelings. They can tell when a problem is more than they can handle on their own. Social health involves your ability to form satisfying interpersonal relationships with others. It also relates to your ability to adapt comfortably to different social situations and act appropriately in a variety of settings. Spouses, co-workers and acquaintances can all have healthy relationships with one another. Each of these relationships should include strong communication skills, empathy for others and a sense of accountability. In contrast, traits like being withdrawn, vindictive or selfish can have a negative impact on your social health. Overall, stress can be one of the most significant 1 threats to a healthy relationship. Stress should be managed through proven techniques such as regular physical activity, deep breathing and positive self- talk. Domains of Mental Health Social Emotional Psychological Health Health health Figure (1) Domains of Mental Health. Definitions of Mental Health: Since the founding of the United Nations the concepts of mental health and hygiene have achieved international acceptance. As defined in the 1946 constitution of the World Health Organization, “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The term mental health represents a variety of human aspirations: rehabilitation of the mentally disturbed, prevention of mental disorder, reduction of tension in a stressful world, and attainment of a state of well- being in which the individual functions at a level consistent with his or her mental potential. As noted by the World Federation for Mental Health, the concept of optimum mental health refers "not to an absolute or ideal state but to the best possible state insofar as circumstances are alterable. Mental health is regarded as a condition of the individual, relative to the capacities and social-environmental context of that person". Mental hygiene includes all measures taken to promote and to preserve mental health. Community mental health refers to the extent to which the organization and functioning of the community determines, or is conducive to, the mental health of its members. 1- W.H.O.'s definition of Health: "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". 2- Mental Health is defined as “A state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal 2  stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” 3- Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of mental illness. It is the "psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment". 4- Mental health From the perspective of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Remember The states of health and illness are defined according to the values of a society. Generally when a person’s behavior is adaptive to his environment, we say that he is healthy, and when his behavior is maladaptive, we say he is ill. There are several definitions of mental health. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The significance of this definition is that it emphasises the positive state of well-being and does not focus on the lack of disease or disorder. The state of emotional well- being, or ‘mental health’, means the person functions comfortably within his society and is satisfied with himself, his society and his achievements. We say that some person is mentally healthy, only when we see that he has maintained a balance or integration between his body, mind, spirit and his environment. In this sense We Can Say that The term mental hygiene is closely related to mental health. We use the term hygiene to refer to keeping oneself and one’s living and working areas neat and clean in order to prevent illness and disease. When we extend this concept to the domain of mind it stands for the art of developing, maintaining, and promoting necessary behavioral, emotional, and social skills to sustain good, effective and efficient mental health. One can achieve this by following some basic strategies at mental and behavioural levels in one’s daily life. These are as follows: 1- Reality Contact: In order to maintain good and sound mental health it is important to have a realistic appraisal of one’s own reactions, emotions, and abilities. If you are in touch with reality you may be able to avoid a number of disappointments and frustrations in your daily life. 2- Impulse Control: A person with healthy adjustment would have good control over his/her behaviors and impulses. So in order to maintain good 3  mental health it is necessary that you should be in complete control over your impulsive behaviors. 3- Self-Esteem: The awareness about oneself is called self-concept. It includes all the statements about “I” or “me” expressed in terms of feelings, beliefs and values. Thus self-concept is sum total of all that a person is aware about his or her own self. Self-esteem is the evaluative component of self. The personal evaluation of self could be either positive or negative. A sense of personal adequacy or positive self-concept is essential for mental health. 4- Positive Thoughts: The quality of mental health depends on whether we direct our thoughts in positive or negative ways. Negative thoughts generate negative emotions such as anger, hate, jealousy, fear, and despair. The effect of such negative emotions on our mind is unhealthy. They also harm the endocrine system. Therefore in order to maintain good mental health, we need to develop the power of positive thinking which generates positive emotions such as love, joy, happiness, hope, compassion, empathy, and optimism in us. Such emotions strengthen our capacity to cope with various life challenges. 4