Mental health- is not a destination but a process

Mental Health, according to SAMHSA is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.

In other words, Mental health is a term used to describe emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The quality of a person's mental health is often measured by how adaptively they can cope with everyday stressors. Mental health allows people to use their abilities, be productive, make decisions, and play an active role in their communities.

Having poor mental health is often confused with having a mental illness but mental health actually refers to a person's state of mental well-being whether or not they have a psychiatric condition. Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. 

People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.

Impacts and determinants of mental health

Mental health is determined by a complex interplay of individual, social, and structural stresses and vulnerabilities. The state of a person's mental health has a significant impact on their quality of life. Taking care of your mental health allows you to contribute to your community, cope with stress, have quality relationships, and maintain physical health.

Mental health can help you to work toward your full potential in all aspects of your life. Improved mental health is also linked with better physical health. Research has found that positive mental health can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Poor mental health, on the other hand, is linked with issues like increased stress, sleep problems, smoking, and substance use. If your mental health is suffering, you might feel overwhelmed more easily, have trouble maintaining relationships, and experience low self-esteem.

Throughout our lives, multiple individuals, and social and structural determinants may combine to protect or undermine our mental health and shift our position on the mental health continuum.

Individual psychological and biological factors such as emotional skills, substance use, and genetics can make people more vulnerable to mental health problems.

Exposure to unfavorable social, economic, geopolitical, and environmental circumstances – including poverty, violence, inequality, and environmental deprivation – also increases people’s risk of experiencing mental health conditions.

Risks can manifest themselves at all stages of life, but those that occur during developmentally sensitive periods, especially early childhood, are particularly detrimental. For example, harsh parenting and physical punishment is known to undermine child health and bullying is a leading risk factor for mental health conditions.

Protective factors similarly occur throughout our lives and serve to strengthen resilience. They include our individual social and emotional skills and attributes as well as positive social interactions, quality education, decent work, safe neighborhoods, and community cohesion, among others.

Mental health risks and protective factors can be found in society at different scales. Local threats heighten the risk for individuals, families, and communities. Global threats heighten the risk for whole populations and include economic downturns, disease outbreaks, humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement, and the growing climate crisis.

Every single risk and protective factor has only limited predictive strength. Most people do not develop a mental health condition despite exposure to a risk factor and many people with no known risk factor still develop a mental health condition. Nonetheless, the interacting determinants of mental health serve to enhance or undermine mental health.

History of mental health

A paper in the World Psychiatry journal states that mental health officially emerged as its own field of study in 1946 during the International Health Conference.

It was during this conference that the World Health Organization (WHO) was founded. The WHO Constitution stated that mental "well-being" is an integral part of overall health, even in the absence of psychiatric illness.

Before mental health, "mental hygiene" was a term used in the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to the impact that mental processes have on overall health.

A mental hygiene movement had formed in the United States in 1908. Its goal was to advocate for people who were "mentally sick," or people who had psychiatric conditions, in a more humane way as historically, people with mental illnesses were abused, neglected, and lacked adequate care.

Though stigma surrounding mental illness still exists, more and more people have realized the importance of receiving treatment—like psychotherapy—for the maintenance of their mental well-being, regardless of whether they have a mental illness.

Additionally, an abundance of research has found that positive mental health is linked with improved quality of life, including better productivity, closer social connections, higher educational achievement, and improved relationships.

Characteristics of mental health

Mental health refers not only to emotional well-being but also to how people think and behave. Several different factors have been found to influence mental health.

Ø  Life Satisfaction

A person's ability to enjoy life is frequently used as an indicator of mental health and wellness. It is often defined as the degree to which a person enjoys the most important aspects of their life. Some factors that have been found to play an important role in life satisfaction include the absence of feeling ill, good relationships, a sense of belonging, being active in work and leisure, a sense of achievement and pride, positive self-perceptions, a sense of autonomy, and feelings of hope.

Ø  Resilience

The ability to bounce back from adversity has been referred to as resilience. Resilient people also tend to have a positive view of their ability to cope with challenges and seek out social support when they need it. Those who are more resilient are better able to not only cope with stress but thrive even in the face of it.

Ø  Support

Social support is important for positive mental health. Loneliness is linked with both physical and mental health issues including cardiovascular disease, depression, memory problems, drug misuse, alcohol misuse, and altered brain function. Decreases in social support caused by life changes such as going to college, facing social adversity, changing jobs, or getting divorced can hurt mental health. Fortunately, research suggests that it is not necessarily the number of supportive connections you have that is the most important but rather the quality of these relationships.

Ø  Flexibility

Having rigid expectations can sometimes create added stress. Emotional flexibility may be just as important as cognitive flexibility. Mentally healthy people experience a range of emotions and allow themselves to express these feelings. Some people shut off certain feelings, finding them to be unacceptable. Lack of psychological flexibility has been linked to some types of psychopathology, while research suggests that increased flexibility is connected to better life balance and improved resilience.

Challenges of mental health

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that an estimated one in five U.S. adults experiences a mental health problem each year. Several risk factors can increase the likelihood that a person may experience poor mental health.

•  Discrimination: Being treated unfairly due to personal characteristics such as age, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity is linked with increased anxiety and depression.

• Exposure to Trauma: Trauma is linked with anxiety, depression, changes in mood (increased anger and irritability), feelings of hopelessness, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

• Family History of Mental Illness: Research suggests that a variety of mental illnesses run in families such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia.

•  Low Income: It is linked with increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Low income may also prevent someone from accessing necessary mental health services.

•  Medical Illness: Illnesses, particularly those that are chronic and force a person to adjust their lifestyle, can create psychological distress (especially depression).

• Poor Access to Health Services: Access to health services is linked to positive long-term health outcomes. However, when people can't get access to the health care they need, their physical and mental health may suffer as a result.

•   Poor Self-Esteem: Having low self-esteem often means you don't believe you're worthy of being happy or having positive relationships. People with low self-esteem are at higher risk of developing substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression.

•  Poor Social Skills: Having poor social skills is linked with loneliness and increased stress levels, as well as worsened physical health.

• Social Inequalities: Lacking access to goods and services in society based on personal characteristics like age, gender, religion, race, disability, or another social category can increase the risk of depression.

•  Substance Use: Substance use is linked with high rates of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Benefits of having a good mental health

Whether young or old, the importance of mental health for total well-being cannot be overstated. When psychological wellness is affected, it can cause negative behaviors that may not only affect personal health but can also compromise relationships with others.

Below are some of the benefits of having good mental health:

·         A Stronger Ability to Cope With Life’s Stressors

When mental and emotional states are at peak levels, the challenges of life can be easier to overcome. Where alcohol/drugs, isolation, tantrums, or fighting may have been adopted to manage relationship disputes, financial woes, work challenges, and other life issues—a stable mental state can encourage healthier coping mechanisms.

·         A Positive Self-Image

Mental health greatly correlates with personal feelings about oneself. Overall mental wellness plays a part in your self-esteem. Confidence can often be a good indicator of a healthy mental state. A person whose mental health is flourishing is more likely to focus on the good in themselves. They will hone in on these qualities, and will generally have ambitions that strive for a healthy, happy life.

·         Healthier Relationships

If your mental health is in good standing, you might be more capable of providing your friends and family with quality time, affection, and support. When you're not in emotional distress, it can be easier to show up and support the people you care about.

·         Better Productivity

Dealing with depression or other mental health disorders can impact your productivity levels. If you feel mentally strong, it's more likely that you will be able to work more efficiently and provide higher-quality work.

·         Higher Quality of Life

When mental well-being thrives, your quality of life may improve. This can give room for greater participation in community building. For example, you may begin volunteering in soup kitchens, food drives, shelters, etc. You might also pick up new hobbies, make new acquaintances, and travel to new cities.

Ways to improve and maintain your mental health

 Because mental health is so important to general wellness, you must take care of your mental health by using the following ways to improve and maintain mental health.

1.       Physical Exercise

Physical exercise can reduce stress and even improve the symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression. It reduces the body's levels of stress hormones and elevates levels of endorphins, which promote mood regulation and feelings of well-being. Your workout doesn't need to be strenuous either. Try taking a 20-minute walk and you might just notice the effect it has on clearing and relaxing your mind.

2.       Adequate Sleep

Not getting enough sleep can worsen mental health and cause mental distress, especially in people with existing mental health conditions. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends getting at least seven hours per night. Mental health conditions can make it extra challenging to fulfill your sleep requirements, but there are ways you can improve your sleeping habits. 

Try adhering to a consistent sleep schedule (going to bed and waking up at the same times each night), limiting distractions like using your phone before bed, and making sure you get some exercise during the day. Be sure to consult a healthcare provider if your lack of sleep is causing mental distress.

3.       Help Others

One study found that helping behavior and other kinds of social interactions were linked with reduced stress and even longer lifespans. Try volunteering in your community or even lending a hand to people in your everyday life. Performing small acts of kindness can make you and the recipient of your generosity feel a boost in mood and well-being.

4.       Learn Coping Skills

 Learning healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress can go a long way in improving mental health. Some productive coping mechanisms include getting emotional support from loved ones, finding humor in your everyday life, and taking action to better your situation.  It's all about finding what works best for you. In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapist works with patients to find the best coping skills for their unique circumstances.

5.       Stay Connected to Others

Social interaction can reduce our stress levels, improve the symptoms of depression, and even benefit our physical health. Research has found that social connection has positive impacts on health categories like cancer, weight management, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Having social interactions in a setting such as group therapy, for instance, might be especially helpful if you are coping with a specific mental health condition like post-traumatic stress disorder or an eating disorder.

6.       Keep a positive outlook and balanced thinking

We can change our mood by changing how we think. If we notice we are having all-or-nothing thinking (for example,  “nothing goes my way”, or, “no one likes me”), practice making those thoughts more balanced by seeing the other side of things (“some things don’t work out for me but other things do”, or, “some people like me while others don’t like me”). This is a key component of cognitive behavioral therapy and can actually help us start to change our moods to become less depressed or anxious and more positive and balanced.

There are many health benefits to using optimism and positive thinking in your everyday life. One study found that participants with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) who practiced replacing thoughts of negative outcomes with thoughts of positive ones experienced less worry over time than participants who didn't imagine positive outcomes.

Conclusion

Your mental health state can have a profound impact on all areas of your life. If you're finding it difficult to address mental health concerns on your own, don't hesitate to seek help from a licensed therapist.

Many factors influence mental health and overall well-being. Individual factors play an important part, but social, environmental, and financial circumstances can also either enhance or worsen mental health.

It is important to seek help if you are having difficulties. Talk to a doctor or mental health professional if you need help to improve your mental health or address a psychological problem.