Mental Health-Sane or Insane
What is Mental Health?
Every aspect of your life, the place you live, the people you live with, your friends and acquaintances, the things you do or don’t do, the things you own, your work, even things like pets, music, and color affect how you feel. If you are concerned about your mental health or the quality of your life, you can do many things and make changes in your life that will help you to feel much better.
A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.
Proverbs 14:30
Having good mental health means that your perceptions and feelings lead you do behave in a normal manner. Mental health is often defined in the negative sense of being free from mental, psychological or emotional disorders. Everyone wants to be mentally healthy, but achieving that goal can be a challenge due to outside forces and your own destructive attitudes.
“Taking care of your mental health to prevent problems should be a major focus. Healing, repair and behavior management are the necessary efforts in restoring mental health once there is a problem. Effectively dealing with psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and healthcare professionals is also important in recovery.” Ron Kurtus (revised 22 September 2002 www.schoolfor-champions.com}.
17
Be In Good Health
Living A Life of Happiness, Wholeness and Wellness!
It has always been easier to define mental illnesses than to define mental health. In the United States the American Psychiatric Association has traditionally been the organization to define mental disorders (beginning as early as 1917 when it was known as The Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions of the Insane). More recently many have recognized that mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Even though many of us don’t suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, it is clear that some of us are mentally healthier than others. The study of the characteristics that make up mental health has been called “positive psychology.” Here are some of the ideas that have been put forward as characteristics of mental health:
•
The ability to enjoy life is essential to good mental health.
•
The ability to cope with stress and life situations.
•
The ability not to take things so seriously.
•
The ability to see the good in everything.
•
The ability to bounce back from stressful situations.
•
The ability to find balance in one’s life.
According to Ron Kurtus “just as the body needs good nutrition to sustain its health, so too does the mind need good mental nutrition for its health. This nutrition consists of positive thoughts and feedback from others. Negative thoughts and criticisms from others can be toxic or poisonous and harmful to your mental health.” Ron Kurtus (16 January 2006 www.school-for-champions.com}. It is necessary to replace negative self-talk or other negative influences with positive affirmations and positive thinking.
18
My Story: Over the years, I have had struggles with my mental wellness at times, because of the pressures & stresses of life. It is my belief that everyone could use the assistance of a mental health practitioner. Whether it is a professional counselor, psychologist, minister or friend, find someone to help you sort through your problems, concerns or life situations. It is my belief that we are all one-step from going from sane to insane, if the right situation presented itself. It is important that we develop a strong mental outlook on life and the things around us, so that we may maintain a healthy mental state of mind. I have been on the verge of a total mental breakdown many times, I utilized the tools and coping mechanism that I have learned over the years to bring myself from the brink of a complete mental meltdown. It is important that we are aware of what pushes us to the limit, so that we can counteract the inevitable by knowing how to move pass the mental stresses of life toward a peaceful state of mind. Let’s now take a look at our emotional health.