Today and thanks to advances in medical research, the concept of health has been redefined: now Not only is it a physical construct, but terms such as social health and health are now included. mental. Mental health is one that refers to our psychological well-being and the emotional stability that we possess.
Defining mental health is very important to be able to correctly treat psychological disorders, mental illnesses and to be able to maintain a correct state of health in general. For that same reason, in this Psychology-Online article, we want to make an approach to the mental health and its definition according to psychology.
First of all, it is important to know the main characteristics of this concept and how it has evolved throughout history:
- From the classical eraIn philosophy, there have been various theorists who have dealt with the relationship between the body and the non-material (the soul, the mind, the essence ...) in various ways within their ideas.
- Centuries later Discards it defined the dualism between mind and body, thus forming the bases of psychological study.
- However, it would not be until the early 19th century that an important German anatomist named Ernst Heinrich Weber, affirmed that our senses influence the way we perceive the world and that this perception formed our personality and emotions.
- Finally, the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud he established the piars of psychology proposing a mental and verbal therapy to alleviate and treat the various problems that the psyche and the subconscious had and that seemed not to have a physical origin.
The characteristics of mental health therefore reside in its nature introspective, personal and emotional. This concept ends up becoming (almost) completely independent of physical health, although today the close relationship between the two disciplines has been discovered.
As we have observed, there are several points of view that can define mental health, however, we are going to use two major and important axes: American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
- According to APA, Mental health is seen as the way our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect our lives. Good mental health leads us to have a positive image of ourselves and, at the same time, it fosters satisfying relationships with friends and others.
- On the other hand, the who defines mental health as a welfare state in which the person is empowered to face the various challenges that life proposes, thus being an individual who works productively and makes contributions to his community.
As we have seen in these definitions of mental health according to psychology, a person with good mental health will be one who:
- Be able to lead a stable life and control your emotional ups and downs in a correct way
- Contribute positively to your community, whether through studies, working, taking care of your loved ones ...
- Can overcome an obstacle in your life in a satisfactory way, developing correct coping strategies
- keep up healthy relationships with others and be able to communicate your needs in a clear and assertive way
We can see that mental health is a very important aspect that we sometimes neglect because it is more complicated to observe than physical health. However, it is essential to pay attention to the alarm signals that can warn us of a possible emotional downturn, otherwise, we can develop a mental illness or a mental disorder.
Now that we know mental health and its definition according to psychology, we can ask ourselves one thing:What is mental illness?
Nowadays, there is a wide debate that calls into question the use of that term, some experts prefer to address this issue by talking about neurodivergences (differences in mental structures). Be that as it may, there is no doubt that there are people who are not capable of developing correct mental health.
Following again the regulations of the APA and its diagnostic manual (the DSM-V[1]) we will refer to mental disorder as follows:
"A metal disorder is a syndrome or a markedly destabilizing behavioral or psychological pattern, which appears related to pain or discomfort, a disability or a high risk of dying or suffering pain, developing a disability or losing freedom. Furthermore, said syndrome or pattern cannot be a culturally accepted response to a particular isolated phenomenon (such as the death of a loved one)
Mental illness: examples
Psychosis, schizophrenia, eating disorders, anxiety, depression and various personality disorders are some examples of mental illness that psychology deals with. The objective of this discipline is, in short, to be able to achieve a correct state of mental health for those people who come for consultation.
Today, the lack of mental health is a problem that seriously affects the population. Suicide has become one of the leading causes of violent death worldwide and problems such as anxiety or depression have become related to various physical illnesses, especially heart disease.
The importance of mental health lies in the close relationship with our well-being and survival. Living happy and stable increases our life expectancy and allows us to be people capable of facing the challenges that life offers us.
Mental health and psychology
In order to promote mental health, there are promotion programs that invite people to develop skills to prevent future mental illnesses. These programs recommend us:
- Foment positive attitudes
- Improve communication with others
- Establish a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine
- Learn relaxation techniques
We can also find other types of strategies aimed at treat disorders from different psychotherapeutic and psychiatric focuses to recover that state of mental health already mentioned.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
