MENTAL HEALTH

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health is a matter of degree. There is no hard and fast line that separate health from illness.

Definition

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 stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

The successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MENTALLY HEALTHY PERSON

1.     They feel good about themselves:

2.     They are not overwhelmed by their own emotions fears, anger, love, jealousy, guilt or worries.

3.     They can take life’s disappointments in their stride.

4.     They have a tolerant, easygoing attitude towards themselves as well as others and they can laugh at themselves.

5.     They neither underestimate nor overestimate their abilities.

6.     They can accept their own shortcomings.

7.     They have self-respect.

8.     They feel able to deal with most situations.

9.     They can take pleasure in simple, everyday things.

10.   They feel comfortable with other people:

11.   They are able to give love and consider the interests of others.

12.   They have personal relationships that are satisfying and lasting

13.   They like and trust others, and feel that others will like and trust them.

14.   They respect the many differences they find in people.

15.   They do not take advantage of others nor allow others to take advantage of them.

16.   They feel they can be part of a group.

17.   They feel a sense of responsibility to fellow human beings.

18.   They are able to meet the demands of life:

19.   They do something about their problems as they arise.

Mental Hygiene

Developing, maintaining and promoting necessary behavioral, emotional and social skills to sustain good, effective and efficient mental health.

Mental Illness

  An illness with psychological or behavioral manifestation and/or impairment in functioning, due to social, psychological, genetic, physical or biological disturbances.” (American Psychiatric Association).

  “Mentally ill person means a person who is in need of treatment by reason of any mental disorder other than mental retardation”(Indian Mental Health Act, 1987).

Mental Hygiene is a branch of psychology which deals with the mental, behavioral and emotional adjustment through the application of principles and practices which have some scientific foundation or truth.

 There are three known ways to which the principles and practices of mental hygiene are done.

1.      The preventive approach - This is base on the principle that the best way to insure a well-adjusted individual is to surround him with environmental influences that will enable him to develop his full potentialities, to obtain emotional stability, and achieve personal and social adequacy.

2.     The therapeutic method - concerned with the attempt to correct minor behavioral adjustment through the various counselling and techniques of psychotherapy,

adjust to the social and/or physical environment of the person in order to help him obtain the amount of emotional security and self-confidence necessary.

3.     The curative approach - This is sometime called"preventive psychiatry". It is concerned with the detection and correction of serious but curative behavioural maladjustments.