What is good mental health? We are all more or less mentally healthy, and this usually varies through our lives especially as we deal with difficult life events, change and so on. Whether we call this psychological wellbeing, happiness, contentment, positive mindset, all these terms relate to good mental health.

With our physical health, it’s part of our everyday discourse to be aspirational. We want to feel physically fit, energetic, strong, balanced in our weight, eating a healthy diet, supple, resilient and not prone to minor ailments. Sure we complain about our problems, and talk about how we can’t do all the things we know we ought to do. We know it’s not easy to stay physically healthy without working at it, especially if we’ve experienced health problems. We know that even if we reach the peak of physical fitness, we can’t maintain this for the rest of our lives without paying attention to it.

Research tells us that good mental health is even more beneficial than good physical health. A positive mental outlook increases the rate and speed of recovery from serious, even life threatening, illness. Psychological resilience and wellbeing gives people the strength to turn problems into challenges into triumphs.

Yet whenever I ask a group of people to tell me what words come into mind in relation to ‘mental health’, their responses are about mental ill-health! It’s as if the term has been hi-jacked to become totally problem-focused.

In the meantime, we’re experiencing an epidemic of mental ill-health. About 1 in 4 people are experiencing some form of common mental health problem such as depression, anxiety and various stress related symptoms. GP surgeries are overwhelmed with such problems, mental health services are only able to provide support for the 1% of the population with much more severe mental health difficulties, and there’s a plethora of largely unregulated services, treatments and remedies out on the private market. A recent research study showed that the majority of long term sickness absence from work resulted from stress related conditions.

The trouble with focusing on the problems and the pain, is that that’s what we become experts in. We’re looking for cures and treatments to fix the problem, instead of focusing on what makes for good mental health. We know that physical health is multi-dimensional – no-one imagines that pumping iron to build your muscles is a recipe for overall physical health, although it will certainly make you stronger for certain activities.

So what are the essentials of good mental health?

Connection is certainly one of the best known. Having positive close relationships is good for our mental health, as is having a wider network of friends, colleagues and acquaintances which will vary over time. Giving to others is another really important aspect of connection, improving our sense of self worth and wellbeing.

Challenge is about learning and development, it’s how we grow. For children, everyday brings new challenges, yet as adults we often become increasingly fearful of change, unwilling to learn new skills or put ourselves in unfamiliar situations. So expanding our comfort zone, sometimes in small ways if we’re feeling particularly vulnerable, will help develop our self-confidence and sense of personal achievement.

Composure means a sense of balance, and ability to distance ourselves from our thoughts and emotions. It means our ability to respond rather than react. This could be described as our sense of spiritual connection, which may come through a particular belief or faith, or may be found through connection with nature. A mentally healthy person will feel an inner strength of spirit, and find ways to support that.

Character relates to the way in which we interpret our experiences and our responses to them. We all have our own personal story, or stories, which we may or may not tell others. We may cast ourselves as the hero, the victim or the villain, and however we do this will impact generally on our mental health. Someone who has experienced severe life trauma may have great difficulty piecing together their story at all, leaving them feeling literally fragmented. Good mental health means having a strong sense of personal values, awareness of our own strengths, skills and resources, and personal stories of learning from mistakes, survival, success and appreciation.

Creativity represents the fun, childlike aspects of our mental health. As children we are naturally creative and we play. As we grow into adulthood, our creativity and playfulness is often discouraged or devalued, and this can cause great frustration, literally diminishing the capacity of our brain to function as well as it could. Exploring creative activities has often been found to have a powerful therapeutic effect, and good mental health certainly depends in part on opportunities to bring fun, playfulness and creativity into our lives.

These 5 C’s of good mental health offer a framework within which we can think about our mental health in the same way as we might our physical health. It’s pretty damned hard to be a perfect specimen of physical health,but then who needs to be perfect? Just like our physical health, our mental health is a work in progress and always will be.

In years gone by, many people with physical illnesses were treated cruelly because of ignorance and shame. I recall when cancer was spoken in hushed whispers as the Big C. Nowadays mental ill-health is the ‘elephant in the room’ which we need to be looking at long and hard, exposing to practical common sense and intelligent discussion.

World Mental Health Day on October 10 has been a timely reminder that good mental health really is something we can aspire to for everyone. Let’s make it so!

Hallmarks of Good Mental Health – www.hrmvideo.com This program helps viewers recognize the six key qualities that define good mental health in adolescence—having satisfying relationships, being happy with one’s academic achievements, maintaining clear and achievable goals, being capable of delaying immediate gratification, making good choices and resisting unhealthy peer pressure. Having a strong sense of self-esteem is especially highlighted: if you do not feel good about yourself, you are more likely to limit yourself and make bad choices. Each of the hallmarks is clearly demonstrated by real teens in a variety of settings, including at school, at home and at play. The peer-to-peer approach focuses students’ attention on the key qualities that they should acquire as they make their way through adolescence.

Mental Health Concepts, Claire Waughfield, Good Book

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It’s so easy to think negatively, to see the glass half empty instead of half full, but doing so puts increased stress on ourselves unneccesarily, leads to more stress related illnesses, and doesn’t allow us to be as happy in our daily lives as we could be. Would you like to feel happier, would you rather see your glass half full instead of half empty? Here are some interventions and directions to help you do just that. Read how John Stossel compared a poor man in India to a welfare family in Am

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Mental-health strategy calls for overhaul of current system

Filed under: good mental health

But workplaces too have a role to play in promoting good mental health, while non-government organizations and the media have roles to play in reducing stigma and increasing awareness. All Canadians need to become more engaged in mental health issues …
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Mental Health Court targets recidivism

Filed under: good mental health

“Your course in Mental Health Court has been nothing short of remarkable,” Jurden told the woman. “When you came in here, you were not in a good place. Look at you now – you're a lovely person. It's coming through because you're feeling better.
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OAMHC observes Mental Health Awareness Month

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The SC Department of Mental Health serves approximately 103000 citizens, including 33000 children and adolescents with mental illnesses. – Treatment for mental health problems is effective — 85 percent of patients have a very good response to current …
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