What is Mental Health?

Many People, when they hear the term mental health think first of mental illness.. But mental Health is far more than merely the absence of mental illness.

Mental Health is what we all want for ourselves -- HAPPINESS!! Mental Health has to do with everybody's everyday life. It means the over all way that people get along -- in their families, at school, on the job, with their associates, in their communities. It has to do with the way that each person harmonizes his desires, ambition, abilities, ideals, feelings, and his conscience in order to meet the demands of life as he has to face them. It has to do with:
1) How you feel about yourself;
2) How you feel about other people; and
3) How are you able to meet the demands of life.

Mental Health is Feeling Good about Yourself!!
       

Life Style and Mental Health (MH)

"Attitude and Self-Esteem are Keys to Mental Health"

Feeling good about yourself is self-esteem. It is an important part of the identity that everyone develops during childhood. Your self-esteem is greatly affected by two sets of expectations: What you expect of yourself and what peers expect of you. These expectations need to balance for you to generally feel comfortable with who you are.

High self-esteem is essential for an emotionally rich, rewarding life. How you see yourself affects every part of your life. Your self-esteem is partly the result of choices you make daily. The value you place on yourself is the key to making positive choices.

Without self-esteem, you may be so busy putting yourself down for your weaknesses that you don't see your strengths. Do you see yourself as a loser? This self-image can feed on itself and make you feel even worse. It also makes you more likely to accept put-downs from others, and to keep negative attitudes and behavior that just reinforce your low opinion of yourself.

A lack of self-esteem contributes to many other problems that can affect your life. You may feel overwhelmed with a sense of how inadequate and inferior you feel, as well as suffer from painful emotions like jealousy, loneliness, anger, and boredom.

Identifying your emotions and exploring the possibilities of a need for developing a more positive self-esteem, may be the first step towards overcoming a poor self-image. An additional step, may be seeking professional help from a counselor or psychologist. If you felt that counseling would benefit you, what would keep you from following through and finding a counselor. Are you feeling embarrassed? Why?

What you are feeling is the result of stigma. You may feel that seeking out helps, labels you a loser, rather than seeing yourself as taking positive steps for improvement in your life. Stigma is caused by a fear of the unknown, a set of false beliefs that stem from a lack of awareness and understanding. It is a judgmental conclusion you make on yourself or that others make. You don't think the worse of someone who begins a healthier diet of starting a consistent exercise program for better physical health, do you? Then why put a stigma on improving your mental health. There is definitely substance to the old adage: "Your attitude is everything!" Your attitude is your mental health.

They Feel Comfortable about Themselves

They are not bowled over by their own emotions --by their fears, anger, love, jealousy, guilt or worries
They can take life's disappointments in their stride.
They have a tolerant, easy-going attitude towards themselves as well as others; they can laugh at themselves.
They neither under-estimate nor over-estimate their abilities.
They can accept their own shortcomings.
They have self-respect.
They feel able to deal with most situations that come their way.
They get satisfaction from the simple, every day pleasures.

They Feel Right About Other People:

They are able to give love and to consider the interest of others.
They have had personal relationships that are satisfying and lasting.
They expect to like and trust others, and take it for granted that others will like and trust them.
They do not push people around, nor do they allow themselves to be pushed around.
They can feel they are a part of a group.
They feel a sense of responsibility to their neighbors and fellow men.

They Are Able to Meet the Demands of Life:

They do something about their problems as they arise.
They accept their responsibilities.
They shape their environment whenever possible; they adjust to it whenever necessary.
They plan ahead but do not fear the future.
They welcome new experiences and new ideas.
They make use of their natural capacities.
They set realistic goals for themselves.
They are able to think for themselves and make their own decisions.
They put their best effort into what they do, and get satisfaction out of doing it.

Do these things happen to you?

Do minor problems and disappointments throw you into a dither?
Do you find it difficult to get along with people, and are people having trouble getting along with you?
Do the small pleasures of life fail to satisfy you?
Are you unable to stop thinking about your anxieties?
Do you fear people or situations that never used to trouble you?
Are you suspicious of people, mistrustful of your friends?
Do you have the feeling of of being trapped?
Do you feel inadequate, suffer the tortures of self-doubt?

If your answer is "yes" to most of these questions, here are some things you might do -- positive forms of action:

Talk it out
Escape for a while
Work off your anger
Give in occasionally
Do something for others
Take one thing at a time
Shun the superman urge
Go easy with your criticism
Give the other fellow a break
Make yourself "available"
Schedule your recreation

How to deal with Mental Problems

Understanding is the key to dealing with mental problems of family and friends. It is more than sentiment. It has healing qualities that can keep minor upsets from becoming worse, and help mentally sick people recover.

There are two kinds of understanding. The first kind is sympathetic understanding as you make allowances because the person is sick and you know that she can't help her sickness even though what she does may be disturbing. There is also rational understanding -- an understanding of what's behind mental problems, why troubled people behave the way they do. This kind of understanding helps you to keep things in perspective and puts you in a reasonable frame of mind to deal with the troubled person -- to help him rather than fight him.

The first step in understanding the troubled person is to realize that her disturbing behavior or problem behavior may be more painful to her than to anyone else. Then, also recognize that troublesome behavior without apparent cause may be the effect of an emotional illness rather than a fault of character ... that troublesome people are people in trouble.

belligerence - has a continuous "chip" on the shoulder, argues or quarrels at the slightest excuse.
excessive moodiness - spells of "the blues" or "feeling down in the dumps"; feeling a great deal of the time that "nothing is worthwhile or really matters."
exaggerated worry - continuous anxiety about nothing at all, or entirely out of proportion to the cause.
selfishness and greediness - lack of consideration of the needs of others; a "what's in it for me attitude" about most everything.
helplessness and dependency - a tendency to let others carry the burden; difficulty in making decisions.
poor emotional control - exaggerated emotional outbursts out of proportion to the cause, and at inappropriate times.
day-dreaming and fantasy - spending a good part of the time imagining "how things could be," rather than dealing with them the way they are.
hypochondria - worrying a great deal of the time about minor physical ailments; experiencing imaginary symptoms of illness.

How to give Helpful Understanding

1.) Let the person know you are truly interested and care with a friendly attitude.
2.) Be a good listener with little interruption.
3.) Try to help out with some practical problems which relieves the emotional pressure and puts her in a better frame of mind to deal with difficulties.
4.) Read literature dealing with specific mental and emotional problems.
5.) Get the person help from a mental health professional.