Mental Health Disorders and Issues

For a person to be truly healthy, a combination of strong physical, emotional, and Mental Health must be achieved. Mental Health is often the hardest of these aspects to define as what is normal mental thought patterns can change wildly between different cultures and different life experiences. However, one of the best ways to learn about what this term means is to look at the Mental Health Disorders that define what is not positive health of the mind. In fact, many psychiatrist use the absence of Mental Health Issues as one of the ways to assess how a person is doing mentally. There are certain mental conditions that are quite common and many experts believe that they are a normal part of life. Every single person will experience some depression or anxiety in their life, but their response is often what defines their state of mind. In addition, many psychiatrists and psychologists look at the person’s ability to cope with challenges as a way to define mental wellness. Other mental problems, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are much more complicated and indicate a problem with how the brain processes everyday events of a person’s life.

The definitions of true mental well being and health often incorporate a number of aspects. To be healthy, most people are said to be capable of having a full life and are not hindered by having Mental Health Disorders that could prevent the enjoyment of a normal life. The most famous mental wellness model was created by Myers, Witmer, and Sweeney. These three psychologists listed 17 different areas of a person’s life that could serve as indicators that the person is functioning on a mentally healthy level. These areas include the following factors: essence of spirituality, friendship, self-direction, love, work and leisure, sense of worth, realistic beliefs, problem solving, nutrition, sense of humor, self care, gender identity, cultural identity, creativity, sense of control, emotional awareness, exercise, and stress management. With these factors, a person can be successfully diagnosed as having good mental wellness.

If a person is able to have acceptable rankings in all of these areas, it is generally thought that the person does not suffer from any mental illness, but it does not necessarily mean that the person is healthy in the mental sense. There are often cultural and religious considerations that will provide a frame of reference for diagnosing a person and all examinations will need to pay close attention to the cultural side of the patient’s life to determine how mentally healthy the person is. In addition, some knowledge about the person’s sociological condition or anthropological background may be relevant to the mental wellness of the person. Mental Health is often a highly subjective term and an accurate assessment of a person’s mental wellness incorporates much more than simply how they feel.