What exactly is mental health?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as “… a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” [1]. This definition seems all-encompassing, but a group of researchers proposed a different definition of the term in 2017.
Researchers from universities in Italy, Germany, the UK and Switzerland proposed the following:
“Mental health is a dynamic state of internal equilibrium which enables individuals
to use their abilities in harmony with universal values of society. Basic cognitive and
social skills; ability to recognize, express and modulate one’s own emotions, as well
as empathize with others; flexibility and ability to cope with adverse life events and
function in social roles; and harmonious relationship between body and mind represent
important components of mental health which contribute, to varying degrees, to the
state of internal equilibrium” [2]
(Galderisi et al., 2017)
Why did this band of researchers decide to expand mental health? It is because of the well-being used in the WHO’s definition. Well-being is believed to include emotional and psychological aspects and positive feelings, attitudes and functioning. But this study correctly states that people in good mental health may experience many different emotions, and ‘raising the bar of mental health may create unrealistic exceptions, encourage people to mask most of their emotions while pretending constant happiness…’ (Galderisi et al., 2017).
It is true, it is impossible to be in ‘constant happiness’ in a world characterized by death, sickness, disappointments and disasters. In light of this proposed new definition, how is your mental health? Have you had a mental health check-up recently? Are you in need of one? If you recognize your need for better mental health and want to speak to a mental health professional, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to help you find one.
References:
[1] World Health Organization. (2018, March 30). Mental Health: Strengthening Our Response. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response
[2] Galderisi, S., Heinz, A., Kastrup, M., Beezhold, J., & Sartorius, N. (2017). A proposed new definition of mental health. Propozycja nowej definicji zdrowia psychicznego. Psychiatria polska, 51(3), 407–411. https://doi.org/10.12740/PP/74145