What is mental health?
We all want to be healthy and enjoy general well-being, but this is impossible if we are not mentally healthy. What are the main characteristics of mental health?
What are mentally healthy people like?
What are the causes of poor mental health and its consequences?
How are mental disorders prevented? How to detect and treat them?
In this article, we will dismantle the false myths about mental health and its prejudices. In addition, we will give you tips to improve your psychological well-being and that of your loved ones.
What is the definition of mental health?
According to the WHO, it is a “state of complete mental, physical and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease”. This is the main definition that is often mentioned when talking about this topic. It is brief, very explanatory, and reminds us that to be healthy we have to contemplate a large number of variables.
Generally, when we talk about health we think of colds, headaches, or other more or less serious physical problems. However, mental health is essential for us to feel really well. Without it, it doesn’t matter how good our blood test results are.
It is impossible to separate our mental state from our body. The two maintain a bidirectional relationship. Mental health is studied by multiple professions and different models. Now there is more awareness of looking at health as a whole to enhance our personal development. One in four people will develop at least one mental disorder in their lifetime.
We should not be alarmed. But if we want to live well, we must learn about health, both physical and mental. That way we can acquire basic knowledge and skills. habits to maintain it In this article we will give you some guidelines so that you can be mentally healthy and take care of your loved ones.
Key characteristics that define mental health
Mental health affects us: It allows us to interact properly with the people around us, establish healthy emotional bonds, have adequate work performance, and be able to perform daily activities or actions as simple as winking an eye.
It allows us to develop our maximum potential: Being mentally healthy is not limited to living without many mishaps. It motivates us to reach our goals, develop our faculties, and face our adversities with vitality.
It is about being able to achieve happiness: The pinnacle of well-being is happiness as Maslow stated. If we are well, we will be able to harmonize our priorities, be part of a group, or value the good things in our life.
It is a dynamic process: Throughout our life, we go through several different circumstances. Our minds are adapting to them. We may be more concerned about our normal physical activity in our adolescence, but now we are satisfied with ourselves. Expectations of society, context, or our idea of “happiness” change, always seeking to improve mental health.
What we mean by mental health is partly cultural: who defines what is “normal”? It is mainly cultural. For more easy-to-understand information about mental health, you may visit Health well being to learn more.
There are certain parameters to assess mental health: Despite the discrepancies that may arise, it is possible to establish certain guidelines that allow us to estimate mental health and improve our quality of life. For example, a person who has serious work problems or work stress due to a need for an addictive substance to increase their mental, physical and social well-being.