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UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH AND WHY IT MATTERS
What Mental Health is All About
For many people, the moment they hear of mental health they immediately begin to think of MENTAL ILLNESS. They just
think of the classical mental health problems. By this, the expression, "Mental Health" is often substituted for Mental Health
conditions - such as psychosis, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and so on.
No wonder, a lot of people upon hearing the mention of mental health, right away conclude that it doesn't relate to them. As
far as they are concerned, the topic is only important to those who have been diagnosed with some mental illness or
condition.
Maybe you are also one of them. You may probably feel that it doesn't matter whether you know anything about mental
health or not; because as far as you know, you believe you are mentally well and stable.
However, to understand the importance of this topic; Let's briefly look at "What Mental Health is actually all about."
A. UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH
I really like the COMPREHENSIVE definition of Mental health as given to us by the World Health Organization.
1. According to WHO, Mental health is 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."
This definition mentions a number of key things:
a. It talks about a "STATE OF WELL-BEING"
b. It also mentions a "state in you as an individual can realize your own abilities and strengths".
c. This definition also mentions a state in which you as a person "can cope with the normal stresses of life".
d. According to the definition, mental health also involves a state in which you as a person "can work productively and
fruitfully".
e. The final component of the definition indicates a state in which you as an individual is "able to make a contribution to your
community."
From the definition, we can clearly see that mental health is not so much about "what is wrong with you", as it is about
"what's going well and the indicators for measuring that wellness".
If you take time to digest this definition alone, I'm sure many of you will begin to question your initial stands that the subject of
mental health doesn't really concern you.
2. In simple terms, Mental health has to do with our Psychological, Emotional and Social well-being.
3. Mental health is all about how we THINK, FEEL and BEHAVE.
B. WHY IS THE SUBJECT OF MENTAL HEALTH SO IMPORTANT?
1. Even if, we want to look at mental health from the perspective of mental illness, as many people seem to view it,
Q: Did you know that research indicates that mental illness is so common to the extent that, about 1 out of every 5 adults has
a mental illness in a given year?
And as we know it, mental illness can begin at any stage of life, that's from childhood and adolescents, all the way to
adulthood. Therefore, let's not be tempted to take lightly the essence of understanding this subject of our own mental health
and mental well-ness.
2. Our Mental health helps to determine HOW we handle STRESS, it determines how we RELATE to others, and even how
we make HEALTHY choices or otherwise. It's our mental health that helps us through all these essential components of life, I
just mentioned.
3. Research shows that high levels of mental health are associated with a number of things:
a. increased learning
b. creativity and productivity.
c. It is also associated with you becoming more Sociable and having positive social relationships.
d. high levels of mental health can be associated with Improved Physical health and life expectancy.
4. Mental health conditions can cause DISTRESS. They can negatively impact your day-to-day functioning and relationships.
5. Mental health conditions can also cause you to experience poor physical health, and in extreme cases, pre-mature death -
for instance, in the case of suicides.
6. I believe that a better understanding of what we mean by mental health and how to achieve it, can go a long way to help
us to strive to reach our full potential.
7. The good news is that, the subject of mental health is very essential because; it contributes to the prevention of mental
health conditions. As the saying goes, "Prevention is better than Cure".
And of course, in the case of those who have already experienced these mental health conditions, the subject can help you
receive better support as you determine to recover and to lead a full and impacting life.
C. CONCLUSION
In all, let's understand that Mental Health is more about WELLNESS rather than ILLNESS."
From now, when you hear of "Mental health", immediate words that should come to your mind should include words such as
"Mental Well-ness", "Good Mental Health", "Positive Mental health", "living healthy", even "happiness", and so on.
This kind of paradigm shift can go a long way to position you in such a way that you can give the required attention to your
own mental health and wellness.
It's also important to remember that mental health is quite COMPLEX. The fact that you are not experiencing mental
condition doesn't necessarily mean that your mental health is FLOURISHING.
In similar function, it's possible to be diagnosed with a Mental Health condition, and yet end up feeling well in many other
aspects of your life. Of course, that's not to say that don't seek help when you are diagnosed with any mental health
condition.
Know that almost all the mental conditions could be TREATED when the right treatment technique and method is used by
your mental health professional.
If you need help, know that the earlier you seek support, the better.
From what you have learnt in this article, I'm sure you can better appreciate why mental health is very important at each
stage of our lives.
AUTHOR:
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Work for Psychologists
We select freelance psychologists to be included as external collaborators in our international psychological first aid network already composed of 250 freelancers present in 18 countries ( Italy, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mexico, Russia, Argentina, Greece, Kenya, Ghana, Brazil, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Jordan, Azerbaijan, India, Spain, Switzerland ). Send the curriculum vitae to info@pronto-soccorso-psicologico-roma.it .
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