Mental Health and Mental Hygiene

Mental health is integral to a person's overall health. It is intimately connected with physical health and behavior. One who has good mental health is not only physically healthy, but also socially, emotionally, and spiritually healthy. A failing health in any one aspect will impinge on his mental state. When we speak of mental health, we refer to it as more than the absence of mental illness.
 
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, is able to cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and  make a meaningful contribution to his or her community.

Mental illness is a broad category of condition which includes all the disorders of behavior which are caused by faulty perception, emotions, thinking and/or attitude.

Mental Hygiene and its Relationship to Mental Health

While mental hygiene differs from mental health, these two concepts are closely associated. One cannot attain good mental health without good mental hygiene. In order to have a better understanding of mental health, its major components should be considered together.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of illness or infirmity (WHO). 

Hygiene pertains to keeping oneself and one's living areas neat and clean in order to prevent illness and disease.

Mental hygiene is therefore defined as the art of developing, maintaining, and promoting necessary behavioral, emotional, and social skills in order to sustain good, effective, and efficient mental health.

There are two spheres of mental hygiene:

1. Prophylactic hygiene that is oriented towards the prevention of disease, breakdown, weakness, or disaster.
2. Meliorative side of hygiene that is oriented towards acquiring better health, more energy, or abundant life. It is focused on the normal and ideal as opposed to focusing on what is abnormal or pathological. 
   

Below are some basic strategies in maintaining mental health:

Reality Contact. One has to have a realistic appraisal of his or her own emotions, abilities, and reactions. if one is "in touch"with reality, disappointments and frustrations are avoided.

Impulse Control. One should have the maturity and a good control of his or her own behavior, emotions, and impulses.

Self-esteem. Knowing one's self, or having a good sense of self-concept is important in attaining good mental health. Self-concept is the sum total of  all that a person is aware about his or her own self. One can either have a positive or negative self-evaluation. But a sense of personal adequacy or having a positive self-concept is what is essential for mental health.

Positive Thinking. Quality of one's mental health also depends on whether one directs his or her own thoughts positively or negatively. Negative thoughts is intimately connected with negative emotions, such as anger, hate, jealousy, fear, and despair. Early philosophers believe in the mind-body connection, and an unhealthy mind means an unhealthy body. If one is always in a state of anxiety, it may eventually put a toil on the endocrine system and affect one's overall physical health. Develop the habit of positive thinking. Think only of positive thoughts and experience positive emotions of love, joy, happiness, hope, compassion, and empathy. There is no better way to strengthen your capacity to cope with life's various challenges than to be optimistic!

What are the indicators of poor mental health?

1. Disorganized or haphazard daily life routine
2. Short-tempered and irritable behavior
3. Anger and aggressive behavior
4. Restlessness
5. Increased or poor appetite and indigestion
6. Irregular sleeping pattern or sleeping disorders (e.g., insomnia, disturbed sleep, narcolepsy)
7. Poor interpersonal relationships
8. Anxiety and worry
9. Negative attitude toward self and others
10. Withdrawing from social relationships
11. Irregular and abnormal physiological conditions (e.g., increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, increased pulse rate)
12. Use of unprescribed drugs or substances (e.g., alcohol, tranquilizers, hallucinogens)
13. Cigarette smoking