Understanding Mental Health and Hygiene: Key Characteristics and Definitions
Mental health, as defined by the World Health Organisation and Hadfield, emphasizes well-being, coping with life stresses, and contributing positively to society. Mental hygiene aims to prevent mental illness and maintain mental health. Key characteristics such as life satisfaction, resilience, social support, and flexibility are vital for good mental well-being.
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Mental Health and Hygiene T.Premalatha Asst.Prof, Dept. of Education
Mental Health Definition According to the World Health Organisation Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. According to Hadfield mental health is the full and harmonious functioning of the whole personality. It is a positive, active quality of the individual s daily living.
Mental Hygiene American Psychiatric Association has defined mental hygiene as a science which suggests measures for prevention of mental illness and restoration of mental health by the cure of mental illness . Encyclopedia Britannia: mental hygiene as the science of maintaining mental health and preventing the development of psychosis, neurosis, or other mental disorders . It is the science, which deal with The prevention of mental illness, The preservation of mental health, and The care of mental illness.
Characteristics 1.Satisfaction in Life A person's ability to enjoy life is frequently used as an indicator of mental health and wellness. It is often defined as the degree to which a person enjoys the most important aspects of their life. Some factors that have been found to play an important role in life satisfaction include the absence of feeling ill, good relationships, a sense of belonging, being active in work, a sense of achievement, positive self-perceptions, and feelings of hope.
Characteristics 2.Resilience The ability to bounce back from adversity has been referred to as "resilience." People who are resilient also tend to have a positive view of their ability to cope with challenges and seek out social support when they need it. Those who are more resilient are better able to not only cope with stress but to thrive even in the face of it.
Characteristics 3.Support Social support is important to good mental health. Loneliness has been shown to have a number of negative health effects. It has been linked to problems with both physical and mental health including cardiovascular disease, depression, memory problems, drug misuse, alcoholism, and altered brain function.
Characteristics 4.Flexibility Having rigid expectations can sometimes create added stress. Emotional flexibility is as important as cognitive flexibility. Mentally healthy people experience a range of emotions and allow themselves to express these feelings. Some people shut off certain feelings, finding them to be unacceptable.
Characteristics A mentally healthy person has an ability to make adjustments. sense of personal worth, feels worthwhile and important. solves his problems largely by his own efforts and makes his own decisions. sense of personal security and feels secure in a group, shows understanding of other people s problems and motives.
Characteristics sense of responsibility He can give and accept love. He lives in a world of reality rather than fantasy. He shows emotional maturity in his behaviour, and develops a capacity to tolerate frustration and disappointments in his daily activities.
Factors affecting mental health Self-esteem People with high self-esteem generally have a positive outlook and are satisfied with themselves most of the time. Feeling loved Children who feel loved, trusted and accepted by their parents are more likely to feel comfortable, safe and secure, and are better able to communicate and develop positive relationships with others. Confidence Youth should be encouraged to discover their own unique qualities and have the confidence to face challenges and take risks. Family breakup or loss Separation or divorce or the loss of a parent or sibling is extremely painful. This can affect young people negatively for years to come.
Factors affecting mental health Difficult behaviour When people are unhappy, they either internalize their unhappiness or act out. The latter usually appears as bad or difficult behaviour, such as using abusive language, being aggressive or violent, damaging property, stealing, lying, refusing to comply with requests or expectations at school or home, or displaying other inappropriate actions. Physical ill health Diseases, injuries and other physical problems often contribute to poor mental health and sometimes mental illness. Some physical causes (such as birth trauma, brain injury or drug abuse) can directly affect brain chemistry and contribute to mental illness. More commonly, poor physical health can affect self-esteem and people s ability to meet their goals, which leads to unhappiness or even depression. Abuse The mental health of abused children is at great risk. Abused children are more likely to experience mental illness during childhood and into adulthood. Abuse may be physical, sexual, psychological or verbal. Abuse can cause feelings of low self- esteem, lack of self-confidence, depression, isolation and anger all feelings that impair a child s chance to lead a happy life.
What is Frustration? Frustration can be understood as a feeling of dissatisfaction that stems from an individual s inability to achieve a goal. For example, imagine you work hard to pass an exam. Even though you have worked as hard as possible, you end up failing the exam. In such an instance, you feel frustrated.
Causes of Frustration Internal factors of frustration are those that stem from within the individual, such as individual weaknesses, confidence issues, personal dilemmas, etc. Example. In a working environment, an employee works on a project proposal with the intention of gaining the approval from the board of directors to implement the project. Even though he works hard, at the presentation, he fails to perform well due to his stage fright and lack of confidence. The employee feels frustrated. External factors of frustration refer to those that are outside the individual such as working conditions, co-workers, deadlines, etc. Example. Imagine, in this case, the employee worked in a team. The proposal was rejected by the superiors due to the lack of commitment of the other group members.
What is Conflict? A conflict can be defined as a condition where the individual faces difficulty in arriving at a decision due to two or more different interests. Example, imagine a student who has doubts regarding his future. He does not know whether to enter the University and pursue his higher education or else start working as he has financial difficulties. Such a situation creates a conflict within the individual.
Types of conflict Approach-Approach conflict: This arises when an individual is faced with the problem of making a choice between two or more positive goals almost equally motivating and important. For example, a child may have to choose between watching a movie in TV or going out to play games. Avoidance-Avoidance conflict: In this, an individual is forced to choose between two negative courses of action. For example, a child who does not want to study and at the same time does not want to displease the parents by failing in the examination may experience such conflict. Approach-Avoidance conflict: In this, an individual is faced with a problem of choice between approaching and avoiding tendencies at the same time.
Types of Frustration The different types of frustration are divided into Environmental frustration, Personal frustration, Conflict-produced frustration and Motivational conflict.
Environmental frustration Environmental frustration is the frustration that arises from an individual's surroundings, such as his workplace or his family. It may also come in a physical form, such as untimely rain, famine, flood or earthquakes.
Personal frustration Personal frustration is caused when a person tries to achieve an unrealistic or impractical goal. When an individual experiences frustration due to his limitations as a person, it is called personal frustration. For instance, a student with average intelligence who hopes to get the highest score in his class, or a physically challenged person who wants to compete with fit people in a race, will probably experience personal frustration.
Conflict-produced frustration An individual is said to experience conflict- produced frustration when he is not on good terms with the people he has to deal with regularly. It can be caused by the hostility he feels towards others, or the hostility others have towards him. Such conflicting frustration usually occurs between colleagues, or between an employee and the employer.
Motivational Frustration Motivational conflict occurs when an individual has contrasting ideologies. For instance, an individual who values independence and needs strong relationships with others may experience motivational frustration.
Ways to Promote Positive Mental Health Talk About Your Feelings Keep Active Eat Well Avoid Alcohol Stay in Touch Get Help and Advice Take Time for You Do Things You re Good At Self-acceptance Care for others
