This article explains what mental health is and isn't.
Mental health refers to cognitive, behavioural, and emotional well-being—it is all about how we think, feel, and behave. It's not merely the absence of mental illness but also involves maintaining a balanced state of emotional and psychological wellness.
What mental health is:
Well-being: The ability to perform daily activities and deal with stresses effectively.
Resilience: Bouncing back from adverse experiences and adapting to adversity.
Balance: The ability to maintain a balance in thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that leads to overall functioning and fulfilling relationships with others.
Self-actualization: The pursuit of reaching one's potential through growth, learning, and the development of personal strengths.
What mental health is not:
Not simply the absence of mental disorders: People without mental illnesses can still experience emotional, psychological, or social challenges that affect their mental health.
Not constant happiness: Being mentally healthy includes experiencing negative emotions like sadness or anger. It's more about managing these feelings effectively, not avoiding them.
Not unaffected by physical health: Physical and mental health are interconnected. Chronic physical illnesses can affect one's mental health, and poor mental health can impact physical well-being.
Not a sign of weakness: Struggling with mental health does not indicate weakness or failure. It reflects the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors.
Understanding mental health involves recognizing its complexity and acknowledging that everyone's mental health needs vary. It is vital to overall health and should be cared for equally as physical health.
To maintain good physical health, we need to be physically fit through a good diet and exercise. The same applies to our minds. Mind diet and mind exercise can help us maintain good mental health in our challenging and fast-paced world.
Mind practice in every home, every day.
Author: Nima Sedigh, Founder of Mind Practice
