Mental health refers to a person’s condition or level of mental disorder. It is often the case that a person suffering from any form of mental disorder is said to be mentally healthy, for this type of person has achieved the highest levels of success. Mental health is therefore the degree of mental health or a lack of mental disorder attained by an individual. It is usually the condition of a person who is “functioning at an acceptable level of emotional and psychological adjustment.”
What is mental health? What do we mean by this? In the simplest terms, mental health can be seen as a positive state of mind in which a person’s self-image is such that he or she does not believe in the possibility of mental illnesses. The mental state of this type is such that the individual experiences “the capacity for self-understanding.” For this reason, people who are mentally healthy are said to be happy and contented in their lives.
However, it should be noted that mental health may not necessarily be found in a person. This is because mental health is not the same as a state of well-being. The former is determined by the person’s attitudes and behaviors, while the latter is determined by the individual’s mental health. According to Dr. Norman Cousins, a professor at Harvard University, “Well-being can’t be assessed by the same standards of measurement used to assess physical health. In fact, the standards that are employed to measure physical health would be more than inadequate to evaluate the mental state of an individual.”
