The Importance of Understanding Mental Health When we are asked to stop and take a moment – if and when of course we can find a moment – and we think about what we do with our time on a daily basis, many of us might be quick to answer that we have our every day routines, habits, and schedules that provide us with the foundation for our lives. Like the gears of a well-oiled machine, we as individuals and members of society continue to keep moving forward day in and day out, but just like machines, we too can eventually start to slow down, feel worn out, and even feel a little bit rusty. Not only do we need to take care of ourselves physically, but our mental health is crucial to our wellbeing. For some, the awareness and acknowledgement of …show more content…
While the definition can be interpreted differently and can vary from person to person, the U.S. Department of Mental Health and Services defines mental health as, “our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” (What Is Mental Health?) While some of this appears to sound like common sense and one might assume most people understand what mental health awareness is, it is more important to understand that in our ever-changing, forward thinking, fast paced times, people don’t reflect upon and take care of their mental health quite as much as we would hope, and it would be beneficial to consider the importance of improving, maintaining, and sustaining one’s mental …show more content…
Today, we are so caught up in the daily grind that many of us feel unable to spend the full amount of time that we need on refreshing our minds in order to maintain a healthy, well-managed, positive state of mental health. When I asked ten different people how important their mental health is to them, all ten of them said it is very important. Unfortunately, and honestly a little surprisingly, all ten of them additionally stated that they do not spend enough time on their mental health, wishing they could practice more methods of relieving stress and finding more ways to use their downtime to refresh their minds after dealing with their everyday tasks and routines. Each person said they try to take enough time to themselves for their mental health, and they all agreed that we as individuals and a society can benefit from more mental health coaching, assistance, equal opportunity for care, and references for support and finding additional or alternative ways to cope with stress and
Mental wellness is more than the mere absence of mental illness. Mental wellness encompasses positive affect, life satisfaction, psychological and social well-being. (Mitchell, 2011) Seligman postulates that happiness is determined by a combination of set range(50%), intentional activities(40%) and circumstances(10%). (Mitchell, 2011) This show that Amanda can increase her happiness intentionally by as much as 40%. Activity like keeping a gratitude journal can promote happiness. The habit could again be encourage with motivational interviewing (Rollnick and Miller, 1995) and SMART goal
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
Mental health is being aware, accepting yourself, and striking a balance in all aspects of your life like social, spiritual, physical, economical, and mental (Association, 2001). Mental health can be described as our positive interactions with the context and events in our life, and having the ability to cope with life’s stressors. Mental health problems can begin at anytime during your life (CAMH, 2010). In fact anything can make it difficult for an individual’s ability to interact effectively, and may lead into a mental health problem (Association, 2001).
Mental health can described as being the psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment; this refers to our mental and emotional well-being. Once hearing that someone is mentally unhealthy, or has a mental illness, usually their first reaction is one of concern, fear, or confusion.
Mental health is a crucial part of our being and has a profound effect on how we live our lives. It determines how we socialize, how we reason, how we deal with our emotions, and how we handle stress; and when impaired and/or neglected, it can have crippling effects on the way in which we function on a cognitive or even physical level. Anyone can become susceptible to mental illness or compromised mental well-being. However, throughout history mental health has often been overlooked by society and mental illness, in particular, has been long stigmatized. This has left many of those affected untreated, poorly treated, destitute, and even outcast from society. Through education and the changing attitudes of society, mental health treatment has
Mental Health is the well-being of an individual due to their emotional, psychological, and social status. An individual’s mental health can be affected by many factors, such as, brain chemistry, personal experiences, and family history (HHS). One in every five adults are affected by a mental health illness or disorder (NCBI). Mental health is important because it affects how an individual interacts in school, work, and society and how they address their physical health (APA). Mental health issues not only affect the individual, but the people around them as well.
Every year, about 42.5 million American adults (18.2 percent of the total adult population in the United States) suffer from some mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that mental illness refers to disorders generally characterized by dysregulation of mood, thought, and/or behavior. Mental illness refers to a broad scope of mental health conditions, disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and, addictive behaviors. A mental illness can cause misery and problems within everyday life encounters, such as school, work, or relationships. In most cases, symptoms
The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of
The Wheel of Wellness compromises various components of life, all of which are directed towards optimal healthy living for the individual. At the center of its focus, is spirituality, which is considered the most important characteristic of well-being because it sets the foundation for all other aspects of life (Myers et al., 2000). Aside from spirituality, self-regulation, work and leisure, friendship, and love are the other components of the wheel that correlate to our overall wellness. This model is extremely useful in treating clients overall mental health because it covers many aspects of life and allows them to be a part of working
Furthermore, people should understand that moods matter, not just to mental health, but to physical health as well. If someone is suffering from emotional illness such as depression or anxiety, they should seek treatment, since evidence is mounting that these conditions can lead to physical illness and a shorter life. Bibliography Books: Martin, P. (1997). The 'Secon The Healing Mind.
Mental health is just as important as physical health in a person’s life. Mental health is critical to a person’s well-being, their ability to live a productive life and to keep a healthy family and interpersonal relationships. Mental health does not just affect the mind it also affects people’s physical health. Some physical health diseases can cause a mental health disorder and vice versa. Mental health disorders are associated with the occurrence, development, and outcome of some of the today’s most chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. When people go untreated from a mental health disorder are at a higher risk for many unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, violent behavior, and suicide.
The topic that I choose is mental health education for teenagers in school. Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. In schools we have classes focusing upon the physical and educational well-being of students but has ignored the mental well-being. The lack of mental health education results in people not knowing how to properly interact with mental illness both in others and with themselves. Not only is the knowledge of how to deal with mental illness an issue but the stigmatization that has derived from the lack of understanding creates a negative environment in confronting these illnesses.
To maintain and strengthen your mental and emotional health, it is important to pay close attention to your needs and feelings. I have chosen three ideas that I feel are important. Do things that positively impacts others: by being useful to other people and feeling like what you do or have done has meaning and can help your self- esteem. Practice self-discipline: by practicing self-discipline it can lead to having a sense of hopefulness and it can help you overcome helplessness and negative thoughts. Limit unhealthy mental habits: by limiting mental habits like worrying try to avoid receptive mental habits like negative thoughts about yourself. By using these three healthy behaviors, I feel that they could be helpful to a person with mental health issues and their well-being. As well as improve their mental and emotional health by taking care of
Our society today does not value our mental health like it should. If society would only pay as much attention to mental health, they would be better off in the long run. Think about an athlete playing a sport, they certainly understand how important physical health is. When a baseball player injures his knee, he is out and waits until it heals. But like many people, mental health is overlooked. Most teenagers do not realize that the many things like stress or eating disorders are coming from a poor mental state. They think that if they just ignore it they will snap out of it, this is not true and many times this kind of thinking will only make it worse (Change Your Mind). Mental health is not seen as important as physical health due to misconceptions and stigma behind mental health patients. By increasing the importance of personal mental health, people can reduce issues associated with mental health problems and raise awareness for people who suffer from mental health issues.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several