- May 12, 2022
- By admin
Mental hygiene is critical to one’s entire health.
Mental health should also be a priority.
Cognitive, behavioural, and emotional well-being are all included in mental health. One’s mental health depends on the person’s ability to think, feel and behave. The term “mental health” is correlated with the absence of mental illness. The ideals of a culture are used to define health and illness. The definitions of health and illness are based on a society’s ideals. Normal and adaptive behaviour is considered healthy, whereas unacceptable behavioural deviations are considered mentally ill. We say a person is healthy when his behaviour is adapted to his environment, and we say he is unwell when his behaviour is maladaptive. Mental health and physical health are correlated as mental health can have a negative impact on daily life, relationships, and physical health. Personal experiences, interpersonal relationships, and physical ailments are all factors that might contribute to mental health disorders. If mental health is properly taken care of, life can become more enjoyable. This entails striking a balance between daily activities, duties, and psychological resilience efforts. Mental health, according to the WHO, is “more than the absence of mental diseases or disabilities.” To have good mental health, it’s not enough to avoid mental disease; it’s also important to maintain general healthiness and enjoyment. They also emphasise the need of safeguarding and restoring mental health on a personal level, as well as in numerous organisations and countries around the world. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 11.2 million adults in the United States, or about 4.5 per cent of adults, had a severe psychiatric disorder in 2017. Mental health disorders are more likely in people who have little financial resources or who belong to a marginalised or persecuted ethnic group. Mental health is also proven to be driven by socioeconomic factors like poverty and residing.
The mental hygiene moment.
Clifford Beers’ work in the United States is credited with starting the mental hygiene movement. He wrote A mind that found itself in 1908, based on his personal experience of being admitted to three psychiatric hospitals. The book had a huge impact, and in the same year, the Connecticut Mental Hygiene Society was founded. Adolf Meyer described the book with the term “mental hygiene” and it quickly gained popularity after the National Commission on Mental Hygiene was established in 1909. The globalisation of this Commission’s work began in 1919, and certain national organisations concerned with mental hygiene were formed in France 6 and South Africa 7 in 1920, Italy 8 and Hungary 9 in 1924. The International Committee on Mental Hygiene was formed from these national groups and was later taken over by the World Federation of Mental Health. The mental hygiene movement began as a para-psychiatric movement, with efforts focused on improving psychiatric care. The inclusion of preventative actions among its aims did not set it apart from psychiatry: the movement tried to maximize what was acknowledged and advocated by the most sophisticated psychiatrists of the time in the United States, the majority of whom were psychoanalytical. The British National Association for Mental Hygiene hosted the First International Congress on Mental Health in London from August 16 to 21, 1948. It began as an International Conference on Mental Hygiene and finished with a set of mental health guidelines. Hygiene and mental health are used interchangeably throughout the conference papers, often in the same paragraph, with no obvious conceptual differentiation. However, cleanliness is only mentioned once or twice in the 17-page conference guidelines. The World Federation for Mental Health took over the International Committee on Mental Hygiene at the end of the meeting.
Mental hygiene that leads to a happy life.
The mental hygiene of an individual is as important as physical hygiene. The aim of the mental hygiene movement is to maintain mental health and prevent disorders and help people reach their full mental potential. It encompasses all actions taken to promote and preserve mental health, including mental health rehabilitation, mental illness prevention, and stress management. The link between mental health, demographic pressures, and social instability is recognised by community mental health. It also addresses social issues such as drug addiction and suicide prevention. The mental training activities like meditation, positive psychology interventions, prayers, nature exposure, etc contribute to stabilising the mental framework. Mindfulness meditation entails paying non-judgmental attention to the present moment experience. A sense of self-awareness is the ability to objectively observe the contents of one’s own thoughts. Intentional cognitive activities that help foster happy moods, positive behaviours, and positive cognitions are classified as PPIs. PPIs can involve counting things for which to be grateful, writing about good experiences, practising positive words, doing the highest suitable self exercises, and keeping a positive journal. All these activities are important in recent times for mental hygiene.
Reference:
- BERTOLOTE, J. (2008). The roots of the concept of mental health. World Psychiatry, 7(2), 113–116.
- Mental health: Definition, common disorders, early signs, and more. (2020, April 14). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543
- Mental Hygiene and Mental Health. (2014, January 31). Psychology Discussion – Discuss Anything About Psychology. https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/health/mental-hygiene-and-mental-health/726
- Mental hygiene summary | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/summary/mental-hygiene
- Tremblay, G., Rodrigues, N. C., & Gulati, S. (2021). Mental Hygiene: What It Is, Implications, and Future Directions. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 2(1), 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770211000376