What is Mental Health?
The term “mental health” can bring up so many questions? Are we talking about positive mental health or negative mental health? In this blog post I will define mental health. What is positive mental health and what is negative mental health? Then throughout the next blogs, tools will be given around how to increase positive mental health and decrease negative mental health symptoms.
Let’s begin. What is mental health? According to Mentalhealth.gov., “Mental health is emotional, psychological, and social well-being”. It determines how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices (August 29th, 2017). According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness, negative mental health is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood. Such conditions may affect someone’s ability to relate to others or function on a day-to-day basis.
The question is, how do we build on positive mental health and decrease symptoms of negative mental health, or symptoms?
There are several tools at a one’s disposal, whether you or someone you love is having negative symptoms of a mental health condition.
Tools and/or coping skills can include: distraction, journaling, gratitude, resilience building, living a balanced life style, building self-esteem, practicing good self-care, etc.
