What is good mental health? We are all healthier or less mentally, and this often varies in our lives especially as we face difficult life events, changes and so on. Whether we call it mental health, happiness, contentment, a positive attitude, all these words are related to good mental health.
With our physical health, it is part of our daily conversation to have a desire. We want to feel physically fit, energetic, strong, balanced, eat healthy, soft, strong and prone to minor ailments. We actually complain about our problems, and talk about how we can’t do all the things we know we should do. We know that it is not easy to stay healthy without working for it, especially when we have health problems. We know that even if we reach the peak of physical strength, we will not be able to keep this in our entire lives without paying attention to it.
Research tells us that good mental health is far more beneficial than good physical health. A positive mental attitude increases the rate and speed of recovery from a serious illness, or life-threatening condition. Mental health and well-being give people the strength to turn problems into challenges.
However, whenever I ask a group of people to tell me what words come to mind regarding ‘mental health’, their answers are about mental illness! It is as if the word has been used extensively to emphasize the problem.
At the moment, we are facing an epidemic of mental illness. About 1 in 4 people suffers from some common mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, and various symptoms related to depression. GP surgery is fraught with such problems, mental health services can only provide support for 1% of people with severe mental health problems, and there are plenty of poorly managed services, treatments and remedies on the private market. Recent studies have shown that the majority of long-term illnesses at work are caused by stress-related conditions.
The problem with focusing on problems and pain, is what we become experts at. We want treatment and ways to fix this problem, instead of focusing on creating good mental health. We know that physical health is divided into two parts – no one thinks that pulling weight to build your muscles is the way to live a lifetime, even if it will strengthen you in certain activities.
essentials of good mental health
Connectivity is certainly one of the most popular. Having good relationships is good for our mental health, as is the case with having a wide network of friends, co-workers and acquaintances that will change over time. Giving to others is one of the most important aspects of connecting, improving our self-esteem and living well.
The challenge is about learning and development, it is the way we grow. For children, every day brings new challenges, but as adults we often fear change, not wanting to learn new skills or put ourselves in unfamiliar situations. So expanding our comfort zone, sometimes in small ways when we feel we are in great danger, will help improve our self-confidence and sense of accomplishment.
Stability means a sense of balance, as well as the ability to distance ourselves from our thoughts and emotions. It means our ability to respond rather than respond. This can be defined as our concept of spiritual communication, which can be derived from a particular belief or belief, or can be acquired through connection with nature. A mentally healthy person will feel the inner strength of the spirit, and find ways to support that.
The character is related to how we explain our experiences and our responses to them. We all have our own story, or stories, that we can tell others or not tell others. We can disguise ourselves as a hero, a victim or a villain, but still doing so will have a huge impact on our mental health. A person who has experienced a great deal of trauma can have great difficulty putting together his or her story, leaving them feeling literally isolated. Good mental health means having a strong sense of personal values, awareness of our strengths, skills and resources, and personal stories of learning from mistakes, survival, success and appreciation.
Creation reflects wonderful things, like the child of our mental health. As children we naturally create good things and play. As we grow older, our intelligence and playfulness often become discouraged or degraded, and this can cause great frustration, literally reducing our brain power to function as efficiently as possible. Exploring creative works is often found to have a powerful therapeutic effect, and good mental health certainly depends in part on the opportunities to bring pleasure, play and art to our lives.
These 5 Cs for good mental health provide a framework in which we can think about our mental health in the same way that we would use our physical health. It is very good to be a perfect example of physical health, but who needs perfection? Like our physical health, our mental health is an ongoing process and will last forever.
Over the years, many people with physical ailments have been brutally treated for ignorance and embarrassment. I remember when the cancer was mentioned in a silent whisper as Big C. These days mental health is an ‘elephant in the room’ that we need to look at for a long time and hard, to express common sense and intelligent communication.