Mental Health and Hygiene

MENTAL HEALTH AND HYGIENE

MENTAL HEALTH

I. Definition♣ the successful performance of mental

function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity;

MENTAL HEALTH♣ How a person:looks at own’s selflooks at own’s life and the othersthinks, feels, and acts when faced with life's

situationsevaluates those challenges and problems, and

explore choices. i.e. handling stress, relating to other people, and making decisions.

MENTAL HYGIENE♣ developing, maintaining and promoting

necessary behavioral, emotional and social skills to sustain good, effective and efficient mental health.

BASIC STRATEGIES

1. Reality Contact• having a realistic appraisal of one’s own

reactions, emotions and abilities.

2. Impulse Control• being in complete control over your impulse

behaviors.

BASIC STRATEGIES

3. Self-Esteem• evaluative component of self• also includes self-concept which is the

awareness about oneself

4. Positive Thoughts• developing the power of positive thinking

which generates positive emotions

Mental HealthMental Hygiene Mental Wellness

Mental status has two possibilities: either health or illness/disorder

are terms used to describe the absence of mental illness

LACK OF MENTAL HEALTH AND HYGIENE AWARENESS WILL LEAD PEOPLE TO:

1. Stress

2. Problems relating to interpersonal

relationships

3. Depression

4. Anxiety

LACK OF MENTAL HEALTH AND HYGIENE AWARENESS WILL LEAD PEOPLE TO:

5. Tension

6. Adjustment

7. Hassles (day to day problems)

8. Family problems

9. Sexual problems

EXAMPLES OF MENTAL DISORDERS 1. Depression/ Bipolar disorder

2. Anxiety Disorder

3. Schizophrenia

4. Obsessive-Compulsive disorder

EXAMPLES OF MENTAL DISORDERS 5. Stress disorder

6. Social phobia

7. Eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia or over

eating)

8. Addiction

BETTER MENTAL HEALTH FOR ALL 1. To reduce stigma and discrimination against

people with mental illnesses

2. To achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care

BETTER MENTAL HEALTH FOR ALL 3. To advance promotion, prevention and early

intervention services for children and theirfamilies

4. To increase public awareness worldwide about mental health and mental illness and to stimulate local actions to address those issues

BEHAVIORS WHICH SUSTAIN GOOD HEALTH

1. Right Food (Ahara)

2. Right Routine (Achara)

3. Right Recreation (Vihara)

4. Right Thinking (Vichara)According to Ayurveda,

the Science of Indian Medicine

DEFENSE MECHANISMSWays people deal with stresses in their

lives.Used to try to solve problems, hide or

counterbalance feelings or actions.do not usually get rid of the problem,

and are often negative or not a very effective way to deal with stress.

1. Direct Attack: recognize the heart of the problem• Work to solve the problem• The goals must be realistic

Ex. “If I look at this realistically, I can set my goals and overcome this

problem”

2. Sublimation: redirecting bad or unacceptable behavior/emotions into positive behavior.

• We sublimate the desire to fight into the ritualistic activities of formal competition.

Ex. When I’m angry, I box at the gym.

3.Daydreaming: escaping from an unpleasant situation by using your imagination.

• Living in a fantasy world

Ex. “I love animals so much, so even if I fail biology, I can still be a veterinarian”

4. Denial: failure to accept reality.

Ex. “This is not happening. It can’t happen to me.”

5. Displacement: the transfer of negative emotions from one person or thing to an unrelated person or thing.

Ex. “I did so poorly on my SAT, I’ll just go home and kick my dog.”

6. Projection: Blame other people or things for your failure

• Use a scapegoat

Ex. “It’s my math teacher’s fault I failed the test”

7. Regression: using childlike ways for expressing emotions.

Ex. Crying, name calling, throwing things, swearing.

8. Acting Out: performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the person feels incapable of otherwise expressing.

Ex. Self-injury is expression through physical pain of what can’t be stand to feel emotionally.

9. Reaction Formation: is the converting of unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings or impulses into their opposites.

Ex. A woman who is very angry with her boss and would like to quit her job may instead be overly kind and generous toward her boss and express a desire to keep working there forever. She is incapable of expressing the negative emotions of anger and unhappiness with her job, and instead becomes overly kind to publicly demonstrate her lack of anger and unhappiness.

10. Repression: Burying a painful feeling or thoughts from your awareness though it may resurface in symbolic form

Ex. A little girl’s memory of being molested when she was a toddler might become a repressed memory. The little girl will completely forget about this experience, until the memory might resurface years later.

11. Rationalization: Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior

Ex. A student stealing money from a wealthy friend of his, telling himself “Well he is rich, he can afford to lose it.”

12.Compensation: people overachieve in one area to compensate for failures in another

Ex. Becoming good at a sport to overcome insecurities in other areas