Emotional, psychological, and social well-being are all components of mental health, which affect behaviour, perception, and thought processes. A “state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the usual demands of life, can work successfully and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community” is what the World Health Organization (WHO) defines. It also influences a person’s decision-making, interpersonal interactions, and stress management. Subjective well-being, self-actualization of one’s intellectual and emotional capacity, autonomy, competence, perceived self-efficacy, and intergenerational reliance are all components of mental health.
A person’s capacity to enjoy life and strike a balance between living activities and attempts to develop psychological resilience may be considered a component of mental health from the viewpoints of positive psychology or holism. How one defines “mental health” is influenced by a variety of factors, including cultural diversity, personal philosophy, subjective evaluations, and conflicting professional ideas. Early indicators of mental health issues include irritated sleep, low energy, appetite loss, suicidal thoughts, self-solitude (although introversion and isolation are not always bad), and frequent dozing off.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, mental health is the ability of a person to feel, think, and behave in ways that improve their quality of life while honouring their social, cultural, and personal limits. Any of these conditions can be a risk factor for mental illnesses or disorders, which are a part of mental health. Anxiety and sadness were the most prevalent mental disorders in 2019, affecting around 970 million people globally. Over time, the number of people with mental illnesses has increased dramatically. Health diseases that impact and modify emotional reactions, behaviour linked to distress, and cognitive performance are referred to as mental disorders.
The international standard for diagnosing, treating, studying, and reporting a variety of mental illnesses is ICD-11. The DSM-5 is the diagnostic system for mental disorders in the United States.
Numerous lifestyle factors, including food, exercise, stress, drug usage, social interactions, and social ties, are linked to mental health. With therapies like counselling, treatment, and medication, psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed professional clinical counsellors, social workers, nurse practitioners, and family doctors can assist in managing a mental illness.
William Sweetser was the first to use the term “mental hygiene” in the middle of the 19th century, and it can be considered the forerunner of modern strategies for fostering mental well-being. Mental hygiene was further described as “the art of protecting the mind against all episodes and circumstances destined to weaken its qualities, hamper its energies, or derange its movements” by Isaac Ray, the fourth president and one of the founding members of the American Psychiatric Association.
Throughout American history, those with mental illnesses were believed to be punished by their religion. Throughout the 1700s, this reaction continued, as did the cruel detention and stigmatization of these people. A key player in the growth of the “mental hygiene” movement was Dorothea Dix (1802–1887). As a school teacher, Dix worked to support individuals with mental illnesses and to highlight the inadequate circumstances in which they were placed. The “mental hygiene movement” is the term given to this.
Before this movement, it was not unusual for those suffering from mental health illness to be severely mistreated, frequently abandoned in appalling conditions with little clothing. She was successful in getting the federal government to approve the establishment of more than 30 state psychiatric hospitals between 1840 and 1880. Still, they were understaffed, underfunded, and accused of human rights violations.
The taxonomy of mental diseases, created by Emil Kraepelin in 1896, has dominated the profession for almost 80 years. Afterwards, the suggested disease model of abnormality was examined, and it was determined that normalcy depended on the defining group’s physical, geographic, and cultural characteristics.
Following the publication of his memoirs, A Mind That Found Itself, in 1908, Clifford Beers established “Mental Health America – National Committee for Mental Hygiene” at the start of the 20th century. He also established the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States.
Like the social cleanliness movement, the mental hygiene movement has occasionally been linked to promoting sterilization and eugenics for people deemed too mentally ill to be helped into productive employment and happy family lives. The word “mental health” gradually supplanted references to “mental hygiene” in the years following World War II because of its positive connotations, which extend beyond the treatment of illness to include preventive and promotional aspects of healthcare.
More people suffer from mental diseases than from diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. In 2021, more than 22% of all Americans over 18 were considered to have a mental illness. Research indicates that 970 million individuals globally have a mental illness. Among the top 10 global causes of disease, major depression comes in third. It is expected to overtake all other causes of disease globally by 2030. Every year, about 700,000 people kill themselves, and another 14 million attempt. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment, the global cost of mental illness was estimated to be close to $2.5 trillion in 2010 (two-thirds of which were indirect expenses), and it is expected to rise to over $6 trillion by 2030.
According to WHO data, mental illness affects about half of the world’s population, affecting their relationships, self-worth, and capacity to carry out daily tasks. Their emotional well-being can influence a person’s physical health. Issues like substance use disorders and the inability to make wise decisions might result from poor mental health.
While bad mental health can make life worse, good mental health can make life better. “There is rising research that is indicating emotional capacities are related to pro-social behaviours such as stress management and physical wellness,” state Richards, Campania, and Muse-Burke. Additionally, their study found that those who are unable to communicate their emotions are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviours, such as substance and alcohol abuse disorders, physical altercations, and vandalism.
It is feasible to think of mental health as a continuum with a wide range of potential values for each individual. This definition of mental health emphasizes emotional well-being, the ability to live a whole and creative life, and the adaptability to handle life’s unavoidable problems. Mental wellness is seen as a positive attribute. Specific conversations are phrased in terms of happiness or contentment. Numerous self-help books and treatment systems include philosophies and methods that promote tactics and strategies hailed as successful for enhancing mental wellness. In the field of mental health, positive psychology is becoming more and more popular.
The idea of mental health is socially constructed; different societies, groups, cultures (both national and ethnic), institutions, and professions have very different ideas about what constitutes mental health, how it arises, and what interventions, if any, are appropriate. As a result, the cultural, socioeconomic, political, and religious backgrounds of various specialists will influence the therapy approach used. Professionals providing deaf mental health care must be culturally competent in the context of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. They must also know how to appropriately rely on licensed, qualified, and trained interpreters while working with clients who are culturally Deaf.
The process of helping a person in a setting achieve freedom from overlapping internal and external problems (social and economic situations, family and other relationships, the physical and organizational environment, psychiatric symptoms, etc.) is known as mental health social work or psychiatric social work. It seeks self-actualization, peace, quality of life, and individual adaptation in all systems. Psychiatric social workers are mental health specialists who can help patients and their families achieve better mental health and well-being by helping them deal with mental health concerns as well as numerous social or economic problems brought on by mental illness or psychiatric dysfunctions. They are essential members of the treatment teams in hospital behavioural sciences and psychiatry departments.
Mental health concepts
People who are in a state of mental health can manage life’s stressors, reach their full potential, learn and work effectively, and give back to their communities. It is a crucial aspect of health and well-being that supports our capacity to make choices, form bonds with others, and influence the world in which we live, both individually and collectively. A fundamental human right is mental health. Additionally, it is essential for socioeconomic, communal, and personal growth.
The absence of mental diseases is only one aspect of mental wellness. It is situated on an intricate continuum; It is experienced differently by each individual, with differing levels of distress and difficulties as well as possibly highly disparate social and clinical effects.
Mental disorders, psychosocial disabilities, and other mental states linked to severe distress, functional impairment, or self-harm risk are all considered mental health issues. Although this is not always the case, people with mental health disorders are more likely to have lower levels of mental well-being.
Factors influencing mental health
Multiple individual, social, and structural factors can work together throughout our lives to either strengthen or weaken our mental health and change where we fall on the mental health continuum.
There are many levels of mental health dangers and protective variables in society. Risk is increased for people, families, and communities by local dangers. Global hazards, such as economic downturns, disease outbreaks, humanitarian crises, forced migration, and the escalating climate problem, increase the risk for entire populations.
The predictive power of each risk and protective factor is only moderate. Despite being exposed to a risk factor, the majority of people do not develop a mental health issue, and many people nonetheless develop a mental health condition even if they have no known risk factors. However, mental health is either strengthened or weakened by the interplay of variables of mental health.
